WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

inistry leaders of First Flint, South Flint, and Linden Adventist churches and Lyon Adventist Company in Michigan.

Harry never thought retirement would be like this. Childless and without siblings, Harry finds that often there is too much month left at the end of the money. A mountain of medical bills seems to be smothering his existence, and yet he is told that his pension makes him ineligible for help.

Lavonda is a single mom working two jobs. Between work and home responsibilities, life leaves no time for the unexpected. She's been renting from the same landlord for about two years and has never missed a payment, although her unit is in disrepair. And then the unthinkable happens. Her landlord had not been making his mortgage payments on her unit, and so a foreclosure notice arrives on her door. She has become part of a slumlord scam.

And the stories go on and on . . . According to a recent "continuum of care analysis," permanent supportive housing in Flint, Michigan, falls short by about 850 people at any given time. So a group of Flint, Michigan, Adventists decided to do something to help.

For five years now, Flint-area Adventists has been feeding the homeless and praying for the opportunity to do more. It started with the First Flint Adventist Church, and now four churches and three companies from two different conferences (Michigan and the Lake Region) are involved. Feeding the homeless, however, was never the "end game."

"I think we all realized that this was sort of a 'Band-Aid' approach to the problem," says Theresa Broden, one of the founders of the effort. "We knew it wouldn't solve the problem, but it was a place to start-a place where we could share Christ and make an impact."

"As we realized that the Lord had larger plans, we started praying for a house," adds Broden. "Little did we know, our vision was too small."

About three months ago, the group made an offer on property that includes a 26-unit apartment building and a house in downtown Flint.

"After much prayer, study of the Scriptures, and counseling together with the various agencies in the Flint area, we were certain the Lord was leading," says Robert Benardo, pastoral leader of the group and also pastor of the Fenton and Linden Adventist churches and the South Lyon Adventist Company. "We faced four main issues early on: duplication, longevity (do we have long-term commitment to the project?), sustainability, and soul-winning capacity," adds Benardo. "After we settled those issues and found a married couple who agreed to be 'live-in missionaries,' we put the $200,000 property under contract with $1,000."

About three weeks prior to closing, Benardo and his team still had only the $1,000, but then what Benardo describes as miracles began to happen.

"One couple I had contacted about the project had been praying about how much to give," says Benardo. "The next day they called me and asked how much we needed. I said that if we had $50,000 we could probably get started. The woman repeated, '50,000.00?' She then told me that she and her husband had prayed the night before and felt led by the Lord to give that exact amount.

"Another person, a Christian, said he was praying about giving between $5,000 and $10,000. I said, 'Praise the Lord!' Then he added, 'per month.' He is now supporting the ministry in the amount of $5,000 every month. An Adventist member from the South Lyon company then gave another large gift, and soon we had about $90,000."

The owner of the building, who was also a Christian, not only turned down a purchase offer that was $50,000 higher than what the Adventist church group offered but also gave them a land contract with the equivalent of zero interest. After the building owner heard how the Lord had worked to supply the funds, he said, "The Lord has had His hand in this thing from the very beginning!"

"I've always said that God blesses you abundantly beyond what you ask or think," says Broden.

The Adventist group is now making building repairs estimated at $186,000, and they've named the facility the Transitional Living Center (TLC). Recently, nearly 40 people came together from the community and the local Adventist churches to work on the project. After the repairs are completed the real challenge begins, says Cliff Whorle, acting program director. "Our target is the working poor, those who have jobs but just can't seem to get ahead. Our objective is to offer counseling, education, leadership, and health and spiritual training. No one will stay for free unless it is an emergency situation. We don't want to encourage or create a dependency relationship," says Whorle.

Those who help with the living center take seriously Isaiah 58:7: "Share your food with the hungry and . . . provide the poor wanderer with shelter" (NIV), and they feel assured that this form of caring outreach will result in leading many people to Jesus.

For more information about TLC, e-mail Robert Benardo at rbenardo@aol.com.

_______________________
Ministry leaders from First Flint, South Flint, and Linden Adventist churches and Lyon Adventist Company in Michigan contributed to this story.

SECC Holds Historic Election

he 770 delegates to Southeastern California's constituency session Sunday elected that conference's first black president, Gerald D. Penick, Sr., and the Pacific Union's first female officer, executive secretary, Sandra Roberts. They also re-elected Thomas Staples as conference treasurer.

Staples

Roberts

Penick

Penick replaces Lynn Mallery who retired after serving as Southeastern California Conference president for 12 years. Penick has served in the SECC office since 1989, 12 years as executive secretary and three years as assistant to the president for black ministries, and director of community services, inner city and prison ministries. He is among seven African-American leaders elected to presidencies within the Pacific Union Conference, five of whom served terms of office.

Roberts, however, is the first female officer in any conference in the Pacific Union. Since 2000 she has been associate youth director in the SECC, and before that was co-pastor/associate pastor at the Corona church for five years. Sandra has many years experience in youth and summer camp ministry, beginning when she was a student in the 1970's.

Staples has been treasurer of the Southeastern California Conference since 1994. Before that he was treasurer in the Southeast Asia Union, the Middle East Union and the Ethiopa Union.         --The Pacific Union

Garden State Academy to Close
On November 4, the New Jersey Conference Executive Committee and K-12 Board voted to close Garden State Academy in Tranquility, effective June 30, 2005, according to statement released by conference officials. The action was also recommended by the academy's board of trustees.

Low enrollment and increased financial demands were cited as reasons for the closure. "Additional financial drains, from deteriorating buildings and equipment to insurance premiums, have escalated beyond available means. In spite of the great support from dedicated students, parents, alumni, churches, institutions, and the Conference, the school has not been able to keep up with rising costs.

"We are greatly saddened to see such an institution that reaches back to the early pioneer days of the New Jersey Conference have to cease its operation. But God is good and He has promised that His grace will see us through our pain. We will work to discover and provide assistance to keep our students in an Adventist academy, and care for the dedicated, Christ-centered administrators, teachers, and staff who have given so much to this school," the statement said.

"Be assured that as we face this difficult experience, we will not waver in our commitment to providing quality Christian education for our young people. To that end, we have begun the process of engaging every church in the development of the future of our educational system."

Church leaders are soliciting the prayers of members everywhere as the conference and the academy embarks on this difficult process.

Adventist Leaders Evacuated As Fighting
Breaks Out in Ivory Coast
Three of four officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's world headquarters and Adventist Risk Management (ARM) were safely evacuated from Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) on Wednesday, November 10, after experiencing a violent weekend in the West African nation. Abidjan mobs and French troop clashed after Ivoirian assailants killed nine French peacekeeping troops and an American aid worker.

Roscoe Howard, an associate secretary of the world church and North American Division secretary, and Ray Wahlen, special assistant to the General Conference (GC) treasurer were expected to return to the United States on Thursday, November 11. Howard and Wahlen had been staying at Hotel Ivoire Intercontinental along with Goodwill Nthani, an employee of Adventist Risk Management's British office. The hotel is being guarded by French and United Nations Forces. Nthani, who is reportedly staying in a French compound at press time, is expected to leave the country in the next few days, according to Paula Webber, ARM director of corporate communication.

Gerald Karst, a GC vice president, also safely left Abidjan but went on to other appointment in Africa. The group had traveled to Abidjan to attend the year-end meetings of the Adventist Church's West Central Africa Division. The meetings concluded Tuesday, November 9.
                                                         --Adventist News Network/AR

Bristish Union Produces First
Full-length Satellite Program
LIFEdevelopment . . . The Story So Far, the British Union Conference's first full-length satellite program, is being broadcast by the Hope Channel not only throughout the United Kingdom (UK) but also North America, the Pacific Rim, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. The new program is a 30-minute documentary that focuses on the first three stages of a LIFEdevelopment satellite evangelistic strategy developed by the Trans-European Division: Mind the Gap, The Evidence, and Get Connected. Its primary aim is to raise awareness, both in the UK and around the world, of the Mind the Gap series, which is the first part of the LIFEdevelopment process to tackle Bible issues directly via satellite. Mind the Gap will be broadcast on the Hope Channel next February.                                                                             --BUC News/AR

Henkelmanns Named Missionaries of the Year
Maranatha Volunteers International announced Charlie and Naoma Henkelmann as the 2004 Missionaries of the Year at the Maranatha convention held in Gladstone, Oregon, in October. The audience of more than 600 gave the couple a standing ovation.

"Whenever he sees a need in a project, Charlie convincingly draws people in," says Maranatha president Don Noble. "As a result, people go on mission trips, and they have a great time. Charlie's enthusiasm has helped to impact thousands of lives for missions."

The Henkelmanns, who live in Roca, Nebraska, have served as Maranatha volunteers and leaders for the past 30 years. Charlie's enthusiastic recruitment for mission trips is largely responsible for the active segment of volunteers in the Lincoln, Nebraska, area.

Maranatha Volunteers International was started in 1969 in Berrien Springs, Michigan. In 35 years, it has mobilized 55,000 volunteers to 61 countries all over the world.                          --Maranatha Matters/AR

More Religious News
Adventist News Network
Religion News Service
Religion Today