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Adventist Couples to Reestablish Medical Presence in Kabul

Gordon Hadley, MD, dean emeritus of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and his wife, Alphie, are returning to Afghanistan to continue work associated with the reorganization and update of the medical educational facility in Kabul, reports Richard H. Hart, MD, DrPH, Loma Linda University chancellor. Dr. Hadley is the immediate past president of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in the People's Republic of China,

Joining the Hadleys are Dieter and Christa Hang from the Euro-Africa Division. Both couples are a part of a continuing medical educational partnership between Loma Linda University and Kabul Health Institute and School of Medicine.

This relationship was first established more than 40 years ago by Hadley. Since then external and internal strife has caused several setbacks, resulting in outdated facilities, equipment, and medical library holdings. In 1996, Dr. Hadley, and both Loma Linda and Global Mission personnel were invited to conduct a preliminary site visit to assess the needs at Kabul and asked to provide assistance in restructuring and updating the facilities.

Maranatha Volunteers International provided a builder, and with funds from the Euro-Africa Division, private donors, and Global Mission, the Loma Linda University Center at Kabul Medical School was completed and opened in July 2001. In addition, Maranatha also constructed a house and small apartment complex associated with the school.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, resulting in conflict between Afghanistan and the United States, as well as the fall of the Taliban government, caused officials at Kabul University to request that Loma Linda return and resume more active involvement in the educational relationship. Loma Linda University has determined that all facilities constructed by Maranatha are intact and unharmed, owing in part to the efforts of the Afghan staff that Loma Linda University hired to protect and maintain the facilities.

The Hangs, who are already in Peshawar, Pakistan awaiting entrance to Afghanistan, will maintain the Loma Linda Center and housing complex as well as serve as liaisons between the two universities. The Hadleys will provide medical assistance, instruction, and research. Loma Linda University faculty and staff will rotate to the Afghanistan medical school on a regular basis.

Indonesian Churches Bombed
Adventist Church sources have confirmed that among the four Indonesian churches bombed on New Year's Eve was the biggest Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Palu, Eastern Indonesian province of Sulawesi.

The Adventist Church was hit first with a homemade bomb at 11:50 p.m. Only the front door and most of the windows were broken, according to church sources in the region. No causalities were reported. Minutes later bombs also exploded at the Indonesian Christian Church and at a Pentecostal Church. A fourth bomb exploded at another Pentecostal house of worship the next morning, Tuesday Jan. 1.

"Luckily our church members have their New Year's service at sundown, not 12 o'clock midnight," said Ernst Sahensolar, Central Sulawesi Mission president. "It is tragic that religious strife continues," say church sources. Police were guarding the four churches the next day.

"The situation in Indonesia now needs more prayers for God's interventions," says Reinhold Kesaulya, president of the East Indonesia Union.

According to reports from the region's media, this latest bomb attack is part of continuous strife over religious control of the region. More than 1,000 people have died in the Muslim-Christian clashes in the region during the past three years.—Adventist News Network

Mexican Church Accepts the Challenge of Mission
Seventh-day Adventists in Montemorelos, Mexico, long considered a "mission area," are turning old traditions upside down as they raise money for church mission work in other areas of the world. A $55,000 check, earmarked for projects in India, was donated to the world church's Global Mission initiative in a ceremony December 1, 2001 at Montemorelos University Church.

For the past 15 years, the congregation of the Montemorelos University Church has been raising funds to complete their own church building. In April 2001, they set a goal of raising $100,000 toward overseas mission projects--specifically targeting Global Mission work in India.

Michael Ryan, Global Mission Director, Armando Miranda, a general vice president of the Adventist world church and chair of the Global Mission board, and Marti Schneider, director for Global Mission programs, visited Montemorelos University in December. Miranda's return to Montemorelos was a homecoming of sorts, since he served as president of the North Mexican Union before his election in July 2001 to general vice president. The team met with university theology students, held seminars and forums on mission, and on Sabbath, received the donation check on behalf of the world church.

"This achievement reflects a growing sense of mission from within traditional "mission fields" and demonstrates a remarkable passion for sharing Christianity in hard-to-reach areas of the world," says Ryan. Although Adventists in Mexico have themselves benefitted from overseas financial support in the past, "they are now turning the tables by making significant contributions to mission outreach programs around the world."—Adventist News Network

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Spain
Cooperates with National Initiative
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Spain has joined a national initiative to break cultural silence on abuse and violence within families. This cooperative effort will serve to protect victims of abuse, to connect families with assistance, and to provide a network of practical support and encouragement within the church.

Pedro Villa, Director of Family Ministries in the Spanish Union of Churches, convened a 10-hour intensive seminar in the cities of Madrid and Valencia. Led by Karen and Ron Flowers, General Conference Family Life Directors, the seminar was designed to inform educators in the church about the problem and to contribute to the network of community resources available to families experiencing a crisis. More than 100 persons helped to create action plans for their regions.

ADRA Joins Humanitarian Organizations
Urging New Funds for Afghanistan
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) has joined 22 other humanitarian organizations in urging U.S. President George W. Bush to ask Congress for more money to finance Afghan reconstruction. The concern is that funds should not be taken from existing development accounts in order to rebuild the war-torn nation.

The 23 groups are members of InterAction, the nation's largest coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian assistance. The letter says, in part, that "it is essential that the money provided for Afghanistan not come at the expense" of aid programs serving other nations, including many countries in Africa, the Balkans, and Central America. In addition to being used for long-term development, these funds also are used for recovery from natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Copies of the letter of appeal also went to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condeleeza Rice, and Andrew Natsios, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator.

News Notes

After more than 30 years in Portland, Oregon, the North Pacific Union Conference offices, were relocated to Vancouver, Washington earlier this month. This is an interim solution while church leaders await construction of a new facility near Ridgefield, Washington.

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