BY RONDI AASTRUP, GBA English teacher and recruiter

�For I know the plans I have for you,� declares the Lord.� �Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.� (Jer. 29:11 NIV)

These words have buoyed the spirits of Greater Boston Academy�s students, staff, parents, and constituents in recent months, enabling them to weather what is undoubtedly the most devastating storm in the school�s history.

Just prior to its 56th commencement services, Greater Boston Academy students and staff all but gutted their school of its furnishings and every other component of value to comply with eviction requirements precipitated by the bankruptcy of Boston Regional Medical Center in February 1999, on whose grounds the school had been located since 1965.�

EXTENSION
Originally, the Guttierez development company, which purchased the property in October 1999, wanted the building empty immediately. But after a historic jury trial, a series of negotiations, and a sacrificial gift from the New England Memorial Church (also located on the campus), both GBA and NEMC were allowed to remain on the premises until June 30, thus letting the academy finish its school year in one place.

Despite rumors of closure (that still persist), the Massachusetts academy experienced one of the strongest, most spiritual school years in its history.� The students and staff banded together in a way they probably wouldn�t have otherwise.� Prayer was almost a constant for them as they lifted their concerns up to God, at to some points on an hourly basis, individually and corporately. Everywhere the students went‑‑whether it was other churches and schools, music clinics, prayer conferences, basketball tournaments, or mission trips‑‑people let them know there were prayers being said for them.

Despite the desperate circumstances, school officials engaged the helped of area pastors, alumni, former administrators, and church members, to form a steering committee to orchestrate not only the necessary move to Edgewood Elementary (GBA�s feeder school 1.5 miles away) for the coming school year but also the purchase and/or building of a new facility for the future.

NEW POTENTIAL
In the past five months, the committee has secured a commitment from Maranatha Volunteers International� to participate in the construction or renovation of the future GBA, conferred with a Maranatha architect to create a plan for a new building, and made connections with corporations and foundations with serious interest in funding such projects as this.

The school community is excited about the potential of an even better academy than before.� The school�s spiritual environment, combined with its academic excellence and family‑dorm concept, make it more appealing than public school or a traditional boarding school-�not just for students and parents, but for potential donors as well.

So, when 26 seniors celebrated their graduation the weekend of June 9‑11, they did not have to feel guilty for their exuberance, nor did they have to worry about the future of their alma mater.� They knew, as did the more than 800 individuals who� came to celebrate with them, that not only were they graduating from �Greatest Boston Academy,� as Dr. Sylvan Lashley‑‑president� of Atlantic Union College‑‑put it, but also from �God�s Blessed Academy,� as former principal Bill Arnold once dubbed it. Greater Boston Academy is not closing but only moving�moving ahead with confidence that its future rests in God�s hands.

INDONESIANS ENDURE RELIGIOUS STRIFE
The violent conflict between Islamic militants and Christians in what was once known as the "Spice Islands" flared again in June, leaving more than 100 people dead and many more wounded.

Adventist leaders in the area say the increase in street fighting and stealth raids have caused many church members in the Maluku region to flee the ongoing unrest.

Noldy Sakul, an Adventist Church leader in east Indonesia, reports that since the violence started on January 19, 1999, in Batu Merah, Ambon, four Adventist churches have been burned to the ground and two have been damaged by rioters.� He says that at least 125 houses belonging to church members have been burned or destroyed and more than 350 Adventists have left their villages to escape the violence.

"The riot is still going on," says Sakul. "Just recently we received news from Ambon that there were riots and one of our members was shot by the police.� Two persons were killed and there were 20 people wounded."

Sakul adds that the lives of residents in the area are often further complicated by the high price of food and the rising rate of unemployment due to the instability of the region. Enrolment at Maluku Academy, an Adventist school in Ambon, has dropped from 200 before the riots began to just 50 students.

John Graz, director of the General Conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, expressed sorrow at the ongoing sectarian violence in Indonesia.� "As a Church we reject the use of violence, especially that carried out in the name of religion," says Graz. "Murder and coercion can never be justified on the grounds of religious zeal. Instead, we seek to show to the world a God of infinite compassion, not of force or vengeance."

Makete and Duma, two predominantly Christian villages located on the remote Indonesian island of Halmahera, were raided before dawn on June 5.� The attackers burned houses and killed at least 44 residents.� Thirty‑four people were killed in a similar attack on another village on Halmahera a few days earlier.

The Adventist Church has approximately 180,000 church members in Indonesia worshipping in more than 1,100 churches. �Adventist News Network

First ADRA Leadership Graduation Held
The first official graduation ceremony for participants in the Adventist Development and Relief Agency�s (ADRA)Professional Leadership Institute (APLI), a master�s in development program run in association with Andrews University, was conducted at their Berrien Springs campus in Michigan on June 4.

Seventy five people were eligible to receive their diplomas for a master�s in development at the ceremony. According to Gary Brendel, ADRA director of human resource development and director of the APLI program, it was the largest number of graduates from any of the graduate programs at the university.

"Included in the participants were a congressman from Peru, a project director for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Africa, faculty from three Adventist colleges, two lawyers, two medical doctors, and individuals from two other non-governmental organizations," Brendel explains. "Of the graduates, 16 were women, nearly 21 percent, including ADRA country directors and associate directors."

Vibrant Life Hits the Streets
Vibrant Life magazine has recently entered into a new sales and marketing arena, says editor Larry Becker.

In a joint venture with Ingram Periodicals, a leading distributer of journals in North America, the Adventist Church�s flagship health journal is now being offered on newsstands, major bookstore chains, and independent bookstores. The chains that have already accepted the magazine include Borders, Hastings, Little Professor, and Superstands.

The new venture became necessary because circulation growth has been very difficult over the years. Before entering the new market, the Review and Herald Publishing Association, the journal�s publisher, increased the number of pages in the journal, and upgraded the magazine�s paper quality and art budget, according to Becker.

Heritage Sabbath Planned
Adventist Churches throughout the world are invited to participate in Heritage Sabbath on October 21, 2000. The day is designed to increase awareness about the Spirit of Prophecy among church members.

The Ellen G. White Estate is preparing a Spirit of Prophecy booklet to help ministers prepare for the day. Persons seeking more information may write the

Ellen G. White Estate, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6600; call (301) 680-6545, or fax (301) 680-6559.