Reinhold Kesaulya, president of the Adventist Church in Indonesia, reports that there are new outbreaks of violence throughout the Maluku Islands. "I received a call this morning, Tuesday, November 28, from one of our church elders in Galala, Ambon," Kesaulya says. "While crying on the phone he told me that our members are suffering for lack of food. They cannot go out from their homes since there are snipers ready to shoot." Kesaulya says he reassured the elder that he had done his "very best to send news everywhere and anywhere around the world for help, while at the same time also sending special prayers to heaven."

"He [the church elder] was relieved," Kesaulya adds, "and told me that whatever happens to them, they will always be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ."

Kesaulya also received information November 28 that shooting has broken out in Kairatu, Seram island, three hours by boat from Ambon, and that the Adventist Church building there has been destroyed.

"A few years ago when Chinese Christian churches were burned in Indonesia, the international community was reluctant to denounce such acts as religious persecution," says Dr. John Graz, religious liberty director for the Adventist Church worldwide. "According to experts, it was only an 'ethnic' problem."

Calling intolerance a "monster that knows no limitations," Graz says that the church is "in constant contact with Indonesia, with other Christians, and with the United Nations" about the conflict in East Indonesia. "In this very complicated situation, we are studying the best way, with prayer and effective actions, to help those who are persecuted. You can be sure that we won't leave our brothers and sisters without help."

More than 3,000 people have died in religious violence in East Indonesia since January 1999. According to news reports, the conflict has developed into a Muslim jihad, or holy war, with Islamic fighters and weapons flooding into the area from other Indonesian regions. An estimated 15 Adventists have been killed in the sectarian violence and 12 churches burned.
                                                     –-Adentist News Network


New GRI Building Opens
Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the new 10,500-square-foot Alvin Ortner Building which houses the Geoscience Research Institute on the campus of Loma Linda University in California were held October 23.

Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremonies were Patricia Ortner Watts (left, center), daughter of Alvin Levi Ortner, whose generosity helped to make the building possible; her husband, Ralph S. Watts Jr. (right, center), president and executive director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International; their daughter, Laurie Watts Foxworthy (far left); Lowell Cooper, vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and board chair for the Geoscience Research Institute, and Robert Rawson (far right), General Conference treasurer.

Established by the General Conference in 1957, the Institute conducts its work through laboratory, field, and literature investigation. In 1974, the Geoscience Research Institute began publishing Origins, a semi-annual technical publication. A Spanish language periodical began production in 1982. First located on the campus of Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, GRI moved to Loma Linda in 1980 to take advantage of the close proximity of significant geological features as well as the scientific environment found at Loma Linda. The new building houses laboratories and office space for five full-time research scientists and houses a 20,000-volume research library.


AIDS Awareness Campaign
Reaches 1.2 Million in Malawi
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Malawi is pursuing a multi-dimensional AIDS awareness campaign, reaching more than 1.2 million people, reports spokesperson Norma Sahlin. The outreach includes drama and music performed by more than 1,500 ADRA volunteers.

ADRA International has sponsored similar campaigns for 12 years, primarily in Africa and Asia. In addition to dramatic presentations, ADRA Malawi has distributed more than 800,000 school notebooks imprinted with AIDS prevention messages. More than 350 schools now have AIDS education clubs organized by ADRA. Symbols of hope, these clubs teach members how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and how to care for AIDS victims without being afraid. Bakili Muluzi, the president of Malawi, invited one club to perform its AIDS dramas and music for a recent function.

Radio is also an integral part of the awareness strategy. ADRA produces a weekly radio program that features real life problems and villagers' suggestions for solutions, Sahlin says. A United Nations report on AIDS contains chilling predictions. At the end of December 2000, about 36 million people will be infected worldwide, with the death rate topping three million, states Dr. Mataya. New infections in Africa this year are estimated to be about 3.8 million which represents a decrease from 4 million last year. But more than 25 million people on that continent are infected.

To learn more about ADRA, visit its website at www.adra.org.


Former Missionary Dunbar W. Smith Dies
Dunbar W. Smith, 90, died on October 17 (his birthday) at Redlands Community Hospital in California. Smith died from complications following an emergency operation for a ruptured spleen.

Beginning his ministry as a pastor and evangelist, Smith later became a physician. He served the Adventist Church for 40 years as a pastor, evangelist, clinical physician and health administrator and worked in Africa, India, Inter-America, and the old Far Eastern Division. Smith authored six books.

Smith leaves to mourn his wife Kathryn; two sons Wesley and John; five grand children, and one great-grandchild.


TED to Plant 300 New Congregations
Church leaders at the Trans-European Division's year-end meetings unveiled a goal of planting 300 new congregations by the end of 2005.

"Some of these will be spontaneous church plants," explains Peter Roennfeldt, division Global Mission coordinator. "However, if they are to be healthy and make an impact in extending God's kingdom, most will need to be strategic church plants. This means conference/field leaders, pastors and members will develop strategic steps and plans to cultivate and grow the church plants."

As a part of the new strategy, the division pledges to establish 144 congregations in predominantly Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist area within the 10/40 window. --Adventist News Review