Washington D.C.
Adventist Surgeon Receives Medal of Freedom
Benjamin Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist pioneer in pediatric neurosurgery, has been awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award was granted for Carson’s outstanding contributions to medicine and his motivating influence on America’s youth. President George W. Bush praised Carson for overcoming a “grim future” of poverty, crime and violence to become “a scholar, a healer and a leader.”
SOURCE: Adventist News Network
Ecuador
First One-Day Church Opens
Adventists in Valle Hermoso, Ecuador, are worshipping in the first One-Day Church. This new church and lay-sponsored program provides ready-to-assemble churches that volunteers can build within a day. Maranatha volunteers began construction at 7:30 a.m. and finished by 4 p.m. The One-Day Church program is intended to serve the needs of 200,000 Adventist congregations around the world who do not have permanent church homes.
SOURCE: Adventist News Network
India
Church Leaders Protest Government Intervention
Christian leaders in Kerala, India, are calling for an end to the Communist government’s alleged involvement in church-run institutions. A newly formed group, the Joint Forum of Churches, plan to meet with the state governor to seek his intervention on their behalf. In recent months, religious leaders in Kerala have complained the government has been interfering in the management of church institutions.
SOURCE: christianpost.com
Pakistan
Christians Abducted by Militants
While Pakistan’s government continues efforts to protect minority groups, Christians are still under attack by Islamic militants. In June, a group of more than 20 Christians were kidnapped and beaten. Meanwhile, the nation’s government has secured the release of 16 Christians who were abducted in the Northwest Frontier Province. Christians make up less than 1 percent of Pakistan’s population and are among the poorest segment of society.
SOURCE: christianpost.com
North Korea
Northern Asia-Pacific Leaders Meet in Closed Country
Adventist leaders in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division held their 2008 mid-year Executive Committee meetings in the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. This is the first such meeting since the country closed its borders in 1953. “We have no organized work in North Korea, so to have an official meeting is a historic occasion,” says Glenn Mitchell, Adventist Church in Northern Asia associate secretary.
SOURCE: Northern Asia-Pacific Division
Solomon Islands
Hundreds Baptized After Evangelistic Meetings
A recent evangelistic series in the Solomon Islands has resulted in nearly 400 baptisms. The three-week series was presented by Gary Websterl, Kukum Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor. More than 10,000 people came out to see the program each night. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Solomon Islands has a strategic goal to double their membership by 2010.
SOURCE: South Pacific Division
