Baptisms Reach 100,000 in 'Wonderful Miracle' in Rwanda

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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Friday, July 8, :21 PM Adventist Heritage Center Baptisms Reach 100,000 in Rewanda Baptisms Reach 100,000 in 'Wonderful Miracle' in Rwanda It s official: The number of people baptized after a Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic campaign in Rwanda has surpassed 100,000. With the latest spate of baptisms last weekend, a total of 100,135 people have joined the Adventist Church as a result of the May meetings at 2,227 sites across the African country, Duane McKey, a key coordinator of the event, said Tuesday. 1

2 The Rwanda experience is nothing short of a wonderful miracle, McKey, who oversees the Adventist Church s Total Member Involvement initiative, told the Adventist Review. We have been to Rwanda a number of times and spent 10 years next door in the Congo but we have never seen anything like this. Read more A weekly GraceNote from Adventist Review editor Bill Knott Where grace abounds, forgiveness rains and reconciliation reigns. The power that keeps God s church intact is undeserved compassion, distributed by Christ and us to sinners just like us. No gathering of great ideas, forms of worship, or articles of faith will ever hold His church as Christ holds us and so we re called to hold each other. Each doctrine finds its truth in grace: the kindness of our Lord is core to all that s worth believing. He is before all things; above all things; His love the measure of all things. We are a people built on grace: there is no other Rock. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott 2

3 Is Sabbath a Happy Day? Ivan s unexpected, unhappy comment jolted our Sabbath peace. As parents of two young children, we were sobered and did some heartsearching to determine the cause... Read more Fire Destroys Girls Dorm Afire roared through a girls dormitory at a Seventh-day Adventist high school in northern Zimbabwe, reducing the building to rubble and destroying blankets... Read more Adventist Volunteers Give Single Mother $250,000 Sarah Scarrow, a 47-year-old single mother of three adopted children, didn t mask her tears of joy as the school bus blocking the view... Read more 3

4 In a First, Radio Listener Visits Adventist Church in Cuba A loyal listener of the Seventh-day Adventist Church s daily radio program in Cuba stepped into a church for the first time. Read more Summer Blast Salad Ingredients Salad: 2 large ears of corn or 2 cups frozen corn, thawed 8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved (about 1 ½ cups) 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, cooked 1 avocado, diced ¼ cup red onion, diced (optional) 4

5 1 handful of fresh herb of choice (mint, cilantro, basil, dill), roughly chopped Dressing: 1 tablespoon olive oil 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon) 1 pinch salt (or more to taste) 1 clove garlic, minced (optional) Instructions If using fresh corn, boil or steam ears of corn with water in a medium pot. Cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Carefully cut kernels off the cob. Add all salad ingredients into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Lightly toss to combine. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. Adventist Review Adventist World Photo Submissions Screening Room News Blogs 5

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7 Login Search Subscribe Menu Geoffrey Pomaleu was elected president of the Papua New Guinea Union Mission last September. (Adventist Record) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Top Adventist Entrepreneurs Advise Putting God First Adventist Church Tracks Financial Impact of Britain s Exit From EU Using Junk Mail to Share Jesus for Free An ASI exhibitor has a novel way to distribute Advent literature. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

8 Adventist Leader for Papua New Guinea Dead at 54 Geoffrey Pomaleu collapses at a children s camp. POSTED JULY 5, 2016, South Pacific Adventist Record, with Adventist Review staff he 54-year-old leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Papua New Guinea has died after collapsing at a camp for pastors children. T Geoffrey Pomaleu, who was elected president of the Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) in September 2015, had dealt with a number of serious health issues in recent months. He had a bowel operation earlier this year and was rushed to the hospital in May after experiencing severe chest pains. After a period of recovery and with prescribed medication, he was able to return to work with light duties. Pastor Pomaleu collapsed on Sunday night at a pastors children camp at Gabensis Adventist School near Lae, said Henry Monape, general secretary for the Papua New Guinea Union Mission. I took him to the Lae hospital, where it was discovered that he had a very bad internal infection, among other medical challenges. Pomaleu died at the Angau Hospital in Lae, the capital of Morobe Province and the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea, at 11:45 p.m. on July 4. Monape, who was appointed secretary during the 2015 General Conference Session, will serve as acting president until a new president is elected. Pomaleu, originally from Manus Island, was a much-loved leader in Papua New Guinea. He was the Papua New Guinea Union Mission youth director for 10 years and served as secretary and then president of the Morobe Mission before being elected last September as union president. He was a great family man who, when away from home, would often comment he was thinking of his wife, sons, or daughters, said Glenn Townend, president of the South Pacific Division, whose territory includes Papua New Guinea, and who knew Pomaleu for the past eight years. In his work, Geoffrey was a man who listened to people and God before he made a decision, Townend said. He had the ability to understand the different cultures and angles involved in a situation, but was able to build a team focusing on a clear vision and mission. Geoffrey will be missed. Pomaleu is survived by his wife, Jochabed, the children s ministries director for the Papua New Guinea Union Mission, and their three adult children. I have prayed for Mrs. Pomaleu, for the family, and for the entire church family of thousands of members in the PNGUM, and I ask you to pray for the Pomaleu family and our brothers and sisters in PNGUM, Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Adventist world church, said on his Facebook page. 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.

9 Login Search Subscribe Menu Burned-out cots lining a girls' dormitory at the Mauya Adventist Secondary School in Karoi, Zimbabwe. (ZUC) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Top Adventist Entrepreneurs Advise Putting God First Adventist Church Tracks Financial Impact of Britain s Exit From EU 120 Days of Power Campaign Results in 45 Baptisms in Ohio A local U.S. initiative underscores the power of Total Member Involvement. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

10 Fire Destroys Girls Dormitory at Adventist School in Zimbabwe No one is injured in the blaze at Mauya Adventist Secondary School POSTED JULY 6, 2016 A, Zimbabwe Union Conference, with Adventist Review staff fire roared through a girls dormitory at a Seventh-day Adventist high school in northern Zimbabwe, reducing the building to rubble and destroying blankets, school uniforms, shoes, textbooks, and other belongings. No one was injured in the blaze at the Mauya Adventist Secondary School in the town of Karoi. The fire started while the dormitory s 88 residents, aged 15 and 16, were studying with other students in the school s dining hall, said Farukai A. Mbiriri, education director for the Adventist Church s North Zimbabwe Conference. We thank God they were at study in the school dining hall, and so no lives were lost, Mbiriri said. The school was investigating the cause of the June 29 fire. Mbiriri estimated that it would cost U.S.$12,000 to rebuild the dormitory and another $18,000 to replace the items lost by the girls. The girls are in a desperate situation given the fact that most parents are even struggling to raise school fees, he said. The cold winter in Zimbabwe makes the situation even more desperate. Students from other dormitories on campus were sharing their beds, blankets, and other possessions with the displaced girls. Shortly after the fire, students appealed to the teachers not to send the girls back home and promised to share what they had with them. The school, which has 623 students, including 323 living in dormitories, opened in 2002 on a 500-acre (200-hectare) plot of land donated by the government. It initially operated as a day school, using farm buildings already on the land, but expanded into a boarding school in One of the conditions for the government land grant was that it become a boarding school. The North Zimbabwe Conference refurbished six farm houses and turned them into makeshift dormitories three for boys and three for girls. The first building plans for a new girls' dormitory were submitted to the authorities shortly before the fire. Adventist school property is usually insured by the church's insurer, Adventist Risk Management. But the makeshift dormitories were not insured because the school was preparing to build proper structures, conference leaders said. Fires have happened at Adventist boarding schools in the past. In March 2015, three young boys died in a nighttime blaze at Labuiywo Seventh-day Adventist Academy in Kenya after courageously saving the lives of their sleeping classmates but then returning to retrieve their belongings. Read: Fire Kills 3 Boys at Kenyan Boarding School An outside view of the fire-ravaged girls' dormitory at the Mauya Adventist Secondary School. (ZUC) Several months earlier, in November 2014, 69 girls were left without rooms after a fire broke out in their dormitory at Pine Forge Academy in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

11 Read: 69 Girls Left Without Rooms After Fire at Adventist Boarding School Back at the Mauya Adventist Secondary School, church leaders are looking to rebuild the destroyed dormitory. The school lets out for vacation on Aug. 3, and the North Zimbabwe Conference is appealing to local church members for funds and volunteers to rebuild the dormitory before it reopens on Sept. 5. Donations of blankets, clothing, and other personal items are also being sought for the affected girls. For more information about how you can help after the fire, contact North Zimbabwe Conference education director Farukai A. Mbiriri at 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.

12 Login Search Subscribe Menu Church in the Valley pastor Mike Duancey with the Scarrow family right before their renovated home is revealed Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Top Adventist Entrepreneurs Advise Putting God First Adventist Church Tracks Financial Impact of Britain s Exit From EU First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness Ray McAllister s efforts help blind students read ancient biblical texts for themselves. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

13 Adventist Volunteers Give Single Mother a $250,000 Home Makeover Church in the Valley renovates its 15th home in 12 years in Canada. POSTED JULY 8, 2016 S, North American Division arah Scarrow, a 47-year-old single mother of three adopted children, didn t mask her tears of joy as the school bus blocking the view of her home rolled away in Aldergrove, British Columbia. Overwhelmed with emotion, the Canadian mother exclaimed: My house is gorgeous! Strangers did this for me! Thank you just seems too little, way too inadequate. Scarrow s house is the 15 th home renovated by a Seventh-day Adventist-led team of volunteers over the past 12 years in an unusual community outreach effort. The volunteers, who work under the auspices of the local Church in the Valley, an Adventist church, call themselves the Extreme Home Repair team, and they take delight in changing people s lives. Scarrow, a Christian but not an Adventist, works full-time. But most of her paycheck goes toward the mortgage, leaving little for home repair and upkeep. So the Extreme Home Repair team got to work. Basically the entire electrical system was redone, top to bottom, which was a bit of a surprise, we weren t expecting to do that, team member David Russell told the local Langley Advance newspaper. We ve moved rooms, we put in a brand-new legal suite so she can use it to rent for income, plus we put in a new back entrance going downstairs to a new bonus room that they were not really using, it was more for storage, and we just secured a donation for the pool, a new liner, pumps, everything, Russell said. New flooring, windows, a front door, and a driveway were also put in, the home was painted, and brand new fixtures, including a new stove and refrigerator were installed. In all, repairs are estimated at about $250,000. Scarrow was surprised to see just how much had changed. Her first impression when she turned the corner of her street was shock at the huge amount of people. Glad to see all the volunteers, some friends and mostly strangers, she said to her children: Wow! If those are the volunteers, I get to thank them all! Her amazement continued as the family toured the home, thanking volunteers and Church in the Valley again and again. Sarah Scarrow and her family entering their renovated home. (All photos: Trevino Warren Naidoo / NAD)

14 She s Going to Cry Less than an hour before the Church in the Valley team unveiled the home to Scarrow, volunteer Alex Weeks washed a paint brush and shared her thoughts. I talked to her [Sarah Scarrow] on the phone, and she is so sweet, said Weeks, who helps renovate homes after the church team renovated the home where she lived with her mother and brother in I want to do whatever I can to help her out. I know the feeling. I know she s going to cry, and I love that. Tears of joy are so uncommon nowadays. This is such genuine joy. You don t get this anywhere else. Josh Kwiatkowski, Weeks brother, knows the feeling. They have the biggest hearts, he said of the volunteers. The Church in the Valley dedicates so much time to a family they barely know. If more people were like that everything would be better. I ve never been a part of something so nice. Along with his sister, Kwiatkowski has volunteered every year since I m not a part of the church, but seeing all these people come together to help people they don t know he said, his voice trailing off. I know what I felt like when I experienced it, so I m just happy to help other people feel the same way. While the latest home makeover is considered the most challenging one to date, with volunteers working right up to the reveal, project supervisor Lorne Brownmiller said the work schedule was not unusual. It is always like this right to the end but it is always worth it when the family comes in, Brownmiller said. Every year we have struggles, Brownmiller added. It slows you down, and you have to regroup and still try to keep moving on that timeline. To do what we do in 15 days is absolutely divine providence. It is a God thing from beginning to end. We hit our deadlines all because of our Leader in the heavens above. How Makeover Works The church s renovation projects begin with nominations in November, followed by months of planning, acquiring sponsors, and getting home repair-experienced volunteers lined up. We find out people s expertise level, get professionals who know what they re doing, and God will lead, Brownmiller said. The home makeovers start annually in early May and finish up after 15 full days of repair. Work is not done on Sabbath. Projects can be frustrating, but I see what we are able to do with a bit of time a little bit of time in the scheme of things, said Brownmiller, who owns a contracting business with his son and has worked with the church team since it started in The blessings are enormous. The differences you can made in someone s life in just 15 days. I wouldn t not want to be part of it. Church Pastor Mike Dauncey concurred. A lot has to be accomplished in a short amount of time, he said. It s the busiest thing I ve ever done. Toward the end, there isn t much sleep. But seeing the family s response is great. The need is so great, added Dauncey. This is one way we can reach our community for Jesus in a unobtrusive way. Just meeting people s needs where they are. Dauncey said the program wouldn t be a success without huge community involvement. This year, participants included 85 construction sponsors, 100 church volunteers, and about 100 volunteers from the local community. On June 25, the Church in the Valley hosted a donor and volunteer appreciation night where church members thanked everyone, watched a video of the project, and celebrated. Scarrow, who plans to join the team as a volunteer next year, said she was embarrassed when the team first came to her home. The house was in such need, she said. But I wasn t judged. They said they respected me and honored me for being a single parent. They came and gave me such a boost. Scarrow had gotten repair estimates and prayed about the situation before the church offered to intervene.

15 I wasn t hopeless, but had no idea how it was going to happen, she said. A year later it is done. A Volunteer is Born While living in a donated condominium during the two weeks of repair, Scarrow said that she and her children had prayed every day for the volunteers that they d have joy while working on the house. I was happy to see all the unity and friendship between the volunteers, she said. For now, Scarrow is digesting what has happened. This is beyond what I could have imagined, she said. This looks like a magazine and this is my house. This is a life-changing experience. I wanted a safe place for my children. It s like somebody gave me Christmas times a million. Scarrow has a new, deeper perspective on volunteering. She talked about how she plans to have people over to talk and see what God has done. I m asking myself, Who can I give back to? How can I pay it forward? she said. I am excited. 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.

16 Login Search Subscribe Menu Ramirez, second left, meeting Rodriguez, left, in Bayamo, Cuba. With them are Ramirez's son and a friend. (Cuba Union) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Adventist Church Tracks Financial Impact of Britain s Exit From EU Essential Keys to Total Member Involvement First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness Ray McAllister s efforts help blind students read ancient biblical texts for themselves. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

17 In a First, Radio Listener Visits Adventist Church in Cuba Adventist World Radio rejoices that the nearly year-old broadcast is bearing fruit POSTED JULY 7, 2016 loyal listener of the Seventh-day Adventist Church s daily radio program in Cuba stepped into a church for the first time. A Maria del Carmen Ramirez, 51, told church members that she wanted to know more about the church that had provided her with hope and peace every day for the past 10 months. She is the first radio listener from another faith known to have walked into an Adventist church in Cuba since the radio broadcasts started in August I had just lost my father, and I felt so alone and sad, Ramirez said. When I turned on the radio that afternoon, I heard the voice of the preacher saying that not everything was lost, that there is still hope after death. My life became brighter. Ramirez listened to the program over her shortwave radio in her hometown of Bayamo, located on the eastern side of Cuba, a nine-hour drive from the capital, Havana, to the west. After a while, she wrote a letter to the Adventist Church s Arcoiris Studio in Havana and soon after received an envelope filled with devotionals, magazines, and other literature. She wanted to visit the church and now wants to know more about the Bible. Welcoming Ramirez as the first listener to visit an Adventist church on the Caribbean island is nothing short of a miracle, church leaders said. For many years it has been our dream to be able to broadcast messages through the radio, and now it s a reality, said Dayami Rodriguez, communication director for the church in Cuba. Read also: Why Adventist Church s Chinese Broadcasts Are Flourishing Rodriguez said the radio broadcast was a blessing to listeners and staffers alike. Every time we receive a letter thanking us for the work, our hearts rejoice and we praise God for allowing us to share our grain of salt for His mission, she said. Listeners like Ramirez can learn of the gospel thanks to donated airtime by Adventist World Radio s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The daily one-hour program, prepared by the Adventist Church s Cuba Union, airs at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily from Radio Miami International SW KHZ, in Miami, Florida. Dowell Chow, president of Adventist World Radio, said that years of transmissions to Cuba had ceased after the closure of a radio station in Bonaire that had broadcast programs to Cuba. That prompted Adventist World Radio to conduct training sessions in Cuba several years ago, and local programming began to grow. We tried AM from the Dominican Republic, but the signal was weak and was only reaching a few spotty areas in eastern Cuba. So we decided to go shortwave, Chow said. He added: I am so pleased to know that many do listen intently to programs produced by their very own people. This has been a very intense exercise over the last two years but it is paying great dividends. The broadcast began in August 2015, and plans are under way to install three new recording studios at the three church conference offices scattered across the island and fully funded by Adventist World Radio. This will allow for more programming to be produced to compliment programming that Arcoiris Studios has produced for years. Arcoiris Studios is located at the church s Theological Seminary in Havana.

18 As long as we get programs from the studios [in Cuba], we will continue to air programs on shortwave until other opportunities become available, Chow said. The publishing ministries department of the Adventist Church in Cuba has set up a program in every church region in Cuba that allows interested listeners to receive literature on health, devotionals, and information about the church and its beliefs. The Adventist Church has nearly 33,000 members worshipping in 440 congregations in Cuba, which has a population of 11 million. Read a miraculous story from Adventist World Radio that shows the power of God: God Has Your Phone Number 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.