Adventist Heritage Center

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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Monday, March 7, :00 PM Adventist Heritage Center Top 5 Stories This Week Ben Carson Quits U.S. Presidential Race Unprecedented 100,000 Baptisms Expected in Rwanda in May Post-Storm Fiji: At Least I Have Free Air Conditioning Thousands of Adventists Fight Zika Virus in Brazil 1

2 Scott Christiansen, Author of the book 'Planet in Distress'', explains how natural disasters fit into the Great Controversy and Bible prophecy. Copyright 2016 Adventist Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Adventist Review Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list 2

3 Login Search Subscribe Menu Dr. Ben Carson, a noted Seventh-day Adventist and retired neurosurgeon, suspended his 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign on March 4, Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home Adventist Insurer Tells Churches and Schools Not to Overreact to Pokémon Go Nigeria Asked to Stop Holding Elections on Sabbath Dutch Adventist Leader Welcomes Burglars to Church During Opening Hours Grace in the Crucible Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon Kenya Stenio Gungadoo was passionate about reading and sharing the Bible, Australia s Victorian Conference sa SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

4 Mark A. Kellner Online Content Editor Ben Carson, Surgeon and Seventh-day Adventist, Quits U.S. Presidential Race Was first Adventist to run for President of the United States. Dr. Ben Carson, the renowned pediatric neurosurgeon whose operations to separate twins conjoined at the head catapulted him to international renown, suspended his campaign for the 2016 Republican party U.S. Presidential nomination on March 4. Carson was the first Adventist to run for the post. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference that day, Carson said he was "leaving the campaign trail," adding, "there's a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me." Carson foreshadowed his plans when he pulled out of a cable television network presidential debate due to be held in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, on March 3. In a statement, Carson noted the results of the 11-state "Super Tuesday" presidential primary balloting and said, "I do not see a political path forward." The entry of a prominent Seventh-day Adventist into the race focused attention on the church, which was organized in the United States in The church's North American Division released a statement saying the movement would not get involved in the campaign. (A U.S. federal statute enacted in 1954 at the behest of then-senator Lyndon B. Johnson, D-Texas, prohibited churches and other non-profit organizations from making political endorsements.) "The Seventh-day Adventist Church values Dr. Carson as we do all members," the 2015 NAD statement said. "However, it is important for the church to maintain its longstanding historical support for the separation of church and state by not endorsing or opposing any candidate." Carson's roots in Adventism extend back to his Detroit childhood. Raised by a single mother, he was active in Adventist congregations there and claimed he turned to God for help after a childhood fight saw him bend a knife on another person's belt buckle. Horrified at what might have happened, Carson said he embarked on a plan of Bible reading and self-improvement that won him scholarships to Yale University and the University of Michigan School of Medicine. Although his personal favorability among evangelical Christians and others was high, Carson only won three delegates to the Republican National Convention and had a total of 8 delegates committed to his candidacy. Nominating rules require a candidate to have 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination. News & Features Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriber Access Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address About Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Departments Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Resources Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

5 Login Search Subscribe Menu Pastors uniting in the water after baptizing 2,309 people in Tanzania in Rwanda's baptisms are expected to reach 100, Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home Adventist Insurer Tells Churches and Schools Not to Overreact to Pokémon Go Nigeria Asked to Stop Holding Elections on Sabbath Dutch Adventist Leader Welcomes Burglars to Church During Opening Hours Grace in the Crucible Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon Kenya Stenio Gungadoo was passionate about reading and sharing the Bible, Australia s Victorian Conference sa SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

6 Andrew McChesney News editor, Adventist Review Unprecedented 100,000 Baptisms Expected in Rwanda in May Church leaders had forecast 60,000, but a revival is under way. POSTED MARCH 4, 2016 he largest mass baptism in the Seventh-day Adventist Church s history is poised to grow a lot bigger. T Just weeks after inviting Adventist believers worldwide to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a major evangelistic initiative in Rwanda, church leaders announced that the initiative is now expected to result in 100,000 baptisms in May, nearly double the previously projected 60,000. Interest from church members and possible baptismal candidates has soared to unprecedented levels, said Duane McKey, a coordinator for the Rwanda event and a special assistant to Adventist Church president Ted N.C. Wilson. Yes, I think they can do it, McKey, who just wrapped up a visit to Rwanda, said of local church leaders expectations of baptizing 100,000. With all the prayer conferences that Jerry and Janet Page did across the country and then with the ASI DVD training that we did last week, churches are very excited. Crowds of church members flocked to 15 days of prayer and revival conferences led by Jerry Page, secretary of the Adventist world church s Ministerial Association, and his wife, Janet Page, associate secretary, in each of the church s seven conferences, missions, and fields in Rwanda in February. The intensive meetings were organized to prepare 2,300 people to conduct two-week evangelistic programs at 2,300 sites across the African country, culminating with the mass baptism on Sabbath, May 28. But McKey said the number of people who had sought and received training reached at least 50 percent more than the anticipated 2,300, and all were eager to prepare friends and neighbors for baptism. Last week McKey and ASI leaders visited Rwanda to distribute 2,500 sermon presentations on DVD and in printed form for the two-week evangelistic meetings. The materials were supplied by ASI, a supporting ministry of the Adventist Church. The united prayers of church members, including Adventist Review readers, could well be playing a role in the revival currently under way in Rwanda. McKey, speaking in an article published on the Adventist Review website in early February, asked members to pray for Rwanda. We are asking God to pour out His Spirit on the country like never before, he said. Read Adventist Church Prepares to Baptize 60,000 in Rwanda Rwanda is the latest country where the General Conference, the administrative body of the Adventist world church, has placed a renewed emphasis on large-scale evangelism. More than 10,000 people were baptized in the Philippine capital, Manila, and other places in May 2014 after months of Bible studies and community programs culminated in two final weeks of evangelistic meetings. A similar effort unfolded in Zimbabwe, resulting in 30,000 baptisms in May 2015, and the U.S. city of San Antonio, resulting in several hundred baptisms last summer.

7 The Zimbabwe baptisms represent the largest group baptism in the church s 153-year history. The Adventist Church, founded with just 3,500 members in 1863, currently has nearly 19 million members worldwide. The mass baptisms have drawn comparisons to the Day of Pentecost in the biblical book of Acts, when an outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in 3,000 baptisms. The Bible also speaks about a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days of Earth s history. God is blessing beyond imagination as church members and pastors prepare for the enormous evangelistic series, said Wilson, who will lead meetings at one of the 2,300 sites in Rwanda. I am very excited to see what God will do through dedicated members inviting and working with those who will attend the meetings. In the run-up to two weeks of evangelistic meetings, thousands of local pastors and church members are giving Voice of Prophecy Bible study lessons, organizing health seminars, doing community service, and engaging in other forms of outreach aimed at touching people s hearts with the Advent message. The efforts are part of Adventist Church s Total Member Involvement initiative, which encourages each church member to find ways to actively share Jesus in the local community. Wilson appealed for church members to continue to pray for Rwanda s population of 12 million and for each of the 645,000 Adventist believers in the country. Please pray for Rwanda and our church members as they work in a united way to proclaim the good news of Christ s coming, he said. As we see the world around us disintegrating, let us lift up the great hope of Jesus our coming King. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

8 Login Search Subscribe Menu John standing in what is left of his home after Cyclone Winston in Fiji. (ADRA) Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home Adventist Insurer Tells Churches and Schools Not to Overreact to Pokémon Go Nigeria Asked to Stop Holding Elections on Sabbath Dutch Adventist Leader Welcomes Burglars to Church During Opening Hours Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon in Kenya Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon Kenya Stenio Gungadoo was passionate about reading and sharing the Bible, Australia s Victorian Conference sa SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

9 Post-Storm Fiji: At Least I Have Free Air Conditioning A homeless teacher finds refuge at an Adventist school. POSTED MARCH 4, 2016, ADRA Australia, with Adventist Review staff ohn, a teacher left homeless by a devastating storm in the South Pacific country of Fiji nearly two weeks ago, gazes at what remains of his house. J At least I have free air conditioning now, he said. Talk about looking on the bright side. The wild winds of Cyclone Winston, the worst recorded storm in Fiji s history, destroyed his home in the village of Navesau on Fiji s main island of Viti Levu. Not quite all of the house was destroyed, admittedly. Three of the four walls still stand, and the floor is present. But the roof blew off completely, strewn across the rest of the village and invisible among the other roofs scattered around. One wall of his house lies collapsed on the ground. It looks like a bomb went off inside. John and his wife, Dalcie, along with their 2-year-old daughter, Gloria, are staying in the kitchen of a partially flooded dining hall near his house. The building usually serves hundreds of boarding students at Navesau Adventist High School. The students have returned home until the school can be repaired. The dining hall is still flooded nearly two weeks after the storm. Mud is smeared all over the floor, and part of the roof has come off. Window louvers are broken, and the wind howls through. But John s own house, in contrast, is completely uninhabitable. Wrecked appliances lie wasted on the floor among damp clothes and spoiled books. His wife s precious literature library is in ruins. Yet John remains remarkably upbeat. This is not too bad compared to those who lost family members, he said. All these books and tables and stuff can be replaced. Those families who lost family members that s beyond repair and our prayer is for them. A view of John's home and the high school dining hall. (ADRA)

10 Surviving the Storm Several dozen people were killed when the storm pounded Fiji with heavy rainfall and winds of more than 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour) on Feb. 20 and 21. A middle-aged Adventist believer was seriously injured when flying iron roofing struck him as he ran for cover during the storm. Many buildings also were badly damaged or destroyed, including several Adventist schools and churches. But buildings are nothing compared to lives, John said. We can buy new books tomorrow and buy new tables and fix the chair, he said. So I m glad that we didn t lose our life here in Navesau, and I thank God for that. John said he remembered running to the high school s dining hall to seek shelter from the storm. It started at 3 p.m. and went on for four, five, six hours. We were lying on the tables because the whole place was flooded, he said. It was terrible, one of a kind, he said. I could say I ve never experienced something so devastating. Broken glass [flying] and the sound of rushing wind, all this corrugated iron. It was just a mixture of feelings going through [my head]. It was like in a movie, in a horror movie, [but] much more than that because I m experiencing it first hand. With the danger now passed, John showed me around his house. I really don t know how to describe it, he said. It s upside down, if that s a good way to describe it. It s upside down. This used to be our home and it s completely destroyed. When the hurricane hit, we just saved what we could clothes on our backs, and a little bit of food here and there, and just ran off for safety. I guess the hurricane came in a little bit earlier than predicted. He said his biggest immediate needs are shelter and food. ADRA Distributes Food About 1,000 families who have received food and personal hygiene kits from ADRA. The food packs contain rice, lentils, tuna, sugar, and biscuits. In addition, ADRA has delievered more than 600 water, sanitation, and personal hygiene kits to families to help stop the spread of disease, which can be common after a disaster. The kits contain antibacterial soap, sanitary pads, a 10-liter water container, water purification tablets, and a first-aid kit. Another 244 households have received a water filtration system to ensure they can have clean water to drink and stop the spread of waterborne disease. Access to food has been identified as one of the most urgent needs, based on the assessments we ve done, said Iliapi Tuwai, ADRA s country director for Fiji. Gardens and crops have been destroyed, which is a major food source for people particularly in rural areas, he said. Our food packs contain items to provide temporary relief while longer-term solutions are formalized. ADRA is planning further distributions of shelter, food, and personal hygiene supplies to thousands more families in the coming weeks. John, meanwhile, is optimistic about how quickly he will be able to rebuild his home. If the materials are there and manpower, one, two, or three months tops, he said. With the amount of damage in this area, yes I believe it will take that much time. Living in the high school s dining hall is proving challenging, especially amid the uncertainty about how long he and his family will have to stay. It s quite difficult at the moment, John said. When it rains, it doesn t feel good, [and] when it s sunny. I guess we need a home as soon as possible. But we ll see whatever turns up and see how God provides. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Subscriptions Renew Account Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Reader Response Photo Galleries Contact Free Newsletter

11 Gracenotes Events Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Prayer Requests Partners Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

12 Login Search Subscribe Menu A young woman spraying a passerby with mosquito repellent doing a Zika virus campaign in Brazil. (Photos: SAD) Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home Adventist Insurer Tells Churches and Schools Not to Overreact to Pokémon Go Nigeria Asked to Stop Holding Elections on Sabbath Dutch Adventist Leader Welcomes Burglars to Church During Opening Hours Grace in the Crucible Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon Kenya Stenio Gungadoo was passionate about reading and sharing the Bible, Australia s Victorian Conference sa SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

13 Thousands of Adventists Fight Zika Virus in Brazil The church is leading a national campaign to help eradicate the inflection. POSTED MARCH 4, 2016 A, South American Division s global alarm grows about the Zika virus, hundreds of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in one of the most affected countries, Brazil, decided to respond with their hands and feet. The Adventist Church in Brazil kicked off the Zika Project, a national campaign to raise awareness, prevent new infections, and mobilize people to act against a virus that the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency. Zika, which can be transmitted by mosquito or unprotected sex with an infected partner, has no medical treatment, but the brief illness and its occasional symptoms of mild fever and headache usually go unnoticed by those who are infected. Doctors major worry is the virus may be linked to thousands of babies born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil. The church s Zika Project launched in late February with a public awareness drive that started with 200,000 students and hopes to expand to at least 600,000 Adventist believers, said Marcello Niek, the physician in charge of the initiative. Initially we worked with more than 200,000 students from our Adventist schools, colleges, and universities and their families, Niek said. But the effort snowballed, and the number of participants is likely to reach at least 2 million. The 2 million figure includes both Adventists and non-adventists. The Adventist Church has about 1.5 million baptized members in Brazil. The public awareness drive saw students organize three days of school-based seminars where people could learn about the virus and ask questions. On the fourth day, the students encouraged their families to join them in talking with neighbors about what precautions could be taken against the virus. Children passing out pamphlets about the Zika virus.

14 Students now are developing extracurricular activities that use the arts, the Internet, and public discussions to educate people about Zika prevention. A group of students has created a website, adv.st/forazika, with practical information about the virus. Later this month, Pathfinders and other Adventist young people will begin to implement community projects to eradicate the virus and to inform people about the risks of stagnant water and uncollected garbage. In the southern city of Porto Alegre, the Partenon Adventist School has reworked several classes to incorporate the Zika risk. So in addition to math and geography, students in the biology class have studied Zika symptoms and how to prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes at home. In the state of Bahia, authorities invited Adventist representatives to attend a discussion of effective measures against themosquito that transmits Zika. The local church, which was already involved in a public awareness initiative, was pleased to participate. This invitation from Governor Rui Costa is very good because we had the initiative and, with the partnership of the government, we will have more tools to lead the campaign in the community, said Luís Fernando Ferreira, ADRA s regional director in Bahia. More than 400 students are participating in the Zika campaign in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The teens are distributing pamphlets about how to fight mosquitoes at home and are spraying mosquito repellent on willing passersby. Some are standing at traffic lights, wearing mosquito costumes and holding banners and posters with health tips. The students efforts have caught the attention of one of the largest local newspapers, the Jornal do Brasil, which published a report about their work as well as the national campaign. Willian Vieira, Heron Santana, and Fabiana Lopes contributed to this report. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.