n June 5, more than 2,500 people celebrated 100 years of Seventh-day Adventism in Cuba. Participants will also remember the day as the second-hottest in the recorded history of temperature in Havana. The Vibora Church, located in a Havana suburb, offered standing room only to many who came in the 39-degree Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, with every window, entrance, and step filled with celebrants from throughout the island.
Even in 102-degree weather, thousands came to celebrate the church's centennial in Havana, Cuba.
The year 2004 is also the tenth anniversary of Maranatha Volunteers International's involvement in church mission in Cuba. According to Daniel Fontaine, president of the Adventist Church in Cuba, as many as 80 to 90 percent of church members in Cuba worship in church buildings built or refurbished by Maranatha.
In a written message sent for the centennial, Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, said to the Cuban believers, "Let your hearts and minds be filled with sure knowledge of Christ's imminent return, and may your lives continue to reflect that knowledge." He congratulated the church on its milestone, and added, "I want to encourage you to keep trusting in our Savior, Jesus Christ." --Adventist News Network
ADRA Delivers 16 Tons of Medicine to Iraq On May 28, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) delivered 16 tons of medicine, valued at U.S.$280,000, to hospitals and clinics in the Tel Afar, Sinjar, and Al Ba'aj regions of Iraq. More than twenty doctors, pharmacists, and assistants met ADRA at the Turkish/Iraqi border to receive the medicine as part of the third phase of an ADRA relief project.
In May 2003, ADRA delivered relief supplies to the area west of Mosul in Northern Iraq. While there, an assessment of the public health system found dedicated medical staff but a serious shortage of medicine. ADRA began a relief project to provide critical drugs to three public hospitals and 31 clinics serving an ethnically diverse population of Turcoman, Kurds, and Arabs numbering more than 1.2 million. The total value of medicines ADRA has sent to Iraq during the three phases is $1 million.
"I found shelves bare of all but the most basic drugs," said Alex Balint, country director for ADRA Turkey. "There was aspirin, but nothing else."
The Iraq project was funded by the German Foreign Ministry and ADRA offices in the Netherlands, Romania, and Germany. The implementation of the project, including the purchase of medicine in Turkey and distribution and monitoring in Iraq, has involved the ADRA Turkey and ADRA Iraq offices.
Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org. --ADRA Germany
News Notes
The NET 2004 evangelistic series entitled "Experience the Power" will be broadcast live from the Miracle Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, October 2-30, and will air throughout the North American Division. Walter Pearson, speaker/director for Breath of Life, will be the speaker. For more information, visit www.Net2004.com or call 1-800-ACN-1119.
Warren C. Trenchard, Ph.D., was named the Provost for La Sierra University (LSU), located in Riverside, California, beginning July 1, 2004. The Provost is the second officer of the university, serving as both the chief operating officer and the chief academic officer. Trenchard is currently a professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and director of Graduate Programs for the School of Religion at LSU.
Mildred Lewis, a member of the South Lancaster, Massachusetts, Adventist Church, celebrated her 100th birthday on May 7, 2004.
Lewis was born in Dell Run, Pennsylvania, and worked for 18 years as a secretary for the New England Sanitarium and Hospital, then located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She and her late husband also served as missionaries in Captetown, South Africa. Lewis lives at home and enjoys reading and making quilts for her family. "I'm always busy," she says. "I have so many hobbies." Lewis attributes her longevity to her faith in God, a vegetarian diet, working in her garden, and the love and support of family and friends. She has two children, seven grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
The Seventh-day Adventist Secondary School in Amman, Jordan, celebrated its 50th anniversary during graduation ceremonies on May 26. Fifteen students graduated from the school. --Adventist News Network
n June 5, more than 2,500 people celebrated 100 years of Seventh-day Adventism in Cuba. Participants will also remember the day as the second-hottest in the recorded history of temperature in Havana. The Vibora Church, located in a Havana suburb, offered standing room only to many who came in the 39-degree Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, with every window, entrance, and step filled with celebrants from throughout the island.
Lewis was born in Dell Run, Pennsylvania, and worked for 18 years as a secretary for the New England Sanitarium and Hospital, then located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She and her late husband also served as missionaries in Captetown, South Africa. Lewis lives at home and enjoys reading and making quilts for her family. "I'm always busy," she says. "I have so many hobbies." Lewis attributes her longevity to her faith in God, a vegetarian diet, working in her garden, and the love and support of family and friends. She has two children, seven grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
