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Hundreds of Seventh-day Adventists filled the streets of two St. Maarten neighborhoods to embrace communities reeling from a sharp increase in crime, illegal drug-use and violence during a March of Witness last month.
Leaders and members expressed the church’s loving support for families as they greeted residents during the March of Witness in the Dutch Quarter and Belvedere communities–two of the most densely populated communities.
July 7, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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Andrew Carter first fired an automatic weapon at the age of 14 when he joined a street gang in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston.
He spent the next 15 years talking tough and shooting people as he rose through the ranks to become a leader of a gang engaging in the illegal sales of gasoline and marijuana.
Then one evening, several friends were chatting on the porch of Andrew’s house, and one of them accidentally fired an automatic weapon into the roof. Nobody was injured, but the incident scared Andrew’s girlfriend, Annette, who fell out of the bed in fright. She pleaded with Andrew to move to her uncle’s house in another town.
July 6, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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Would God go into a bar? Fermin says He did.
Fermin Espinoza Marin grew up in a Seventh-day Adventist home in Mexico, but he left God as an adult. He drank and smoked. He grew to hate his life so much that he longed to die. He told his old friends, “If I am found dead one day, don’t blame anyone because I wanted it.”
Then Fermin looked for new friends. He hung out with thieves and other criminals, but he didn’t treat them like friends. He yelled at them. He called them bad names. He threatened them. He hoped that they would get angry and kill him.
July 6, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tijuana, Mexico, unveiled a sculpture representing King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as described in Daniel 2 during a special art expo event last month at the “Casa de las Flores” center in the Xochicalco University in Tijuana, Baja California. The 4.5 meter-high statue, which included the four imperial governments of ancient Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grece and Rome, was created by Alfonso López.
June 30, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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Little Nancy raised her hand when teacher Maria de la Paz Rodriguez asked whether any first graders had a prayer request at the Seventh-day Adventist school in Puerto Rico.
“Please pray for my dog,” the girl said.
“We can include your dog in our prayer today,” Maria said.
After hearing all the children’s prayer requests, Maria prayed for Nancy’s dog. Then she went to a piece of paper in the corner of the classroom chalkboard. The paper had two columns on it: “Reasons to Pray” and “Reasons to Say Thank You.” Maria took a black marker and wrote “Nancy’s dog” under the column for “Prayer Requests.”
June 27, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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When Adrian Cotterell enrolled in 11th grade at a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school in Jamaica, he had no interest in Christianity. He didn’t believe in the soon coming of Jesus, and thought Adventists especially were foolish for worshiping on Saturday and refusing to eat pork.
Adrian chose West Indies High School on a hilltop in the central city Mandeville because he thought it was like other boarding schools where students could have parties.
June 27, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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The most exciting day in the young life of Leticia August was when her mother sent her from Guatemala to live with her grandmother in neighboring Belize.
Her parents were staunch Sunday-keepers, and Leticia was tired of being told that she couldn’t behave like the other girls.
“When I moved, I said, ‘Yes this is it!’” Leticia said.
Leticia started going to dances and parties. She felt like free at last. But she worried nearly every day, “What will happen to me if I die tonight?”
June 23, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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More than 1,500 people were baptized at the end of “Impacto Salvador,” a series of evangelistic meetings in El Salvador, last March. The meetings were a joint endeavor with the Atlantic Union Conference church region in the US, under the direction of Dionisio Olivo, Atlantic Union Conference Hispanic and Portuguese ministries vice president, and the El Salvador Union Mission. Atlantic Union officers, departmental directors, conference administrators, and pastors all participated in the meetings as they presented evangelistic messages simultaneously at 38 different churches in and around the capital city of San Salvador.
June 22, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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Robert Gonzalez Medina liked to tease his mother. Whenever gunshots were fired at their home, he would cry out, “Mom! Mom! They hit me!”
Mother was a good sport, and she played along with Robert’s game.
“Oh no!” she said every time. “What will we do?”
But the gang violence was no joking matter. Robert grew up in a violent Los Angeles neighborhood. When he was 5 years old, his older brothers joined a street gang. People from other gangs drove by their house and shot at it, trying to scare his brothers.
June 21, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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I started to drink after getting married at the age of 20, and then I started to smoke. Soon I was an alcoholic and a chain smoker. I loved going to parties.
My wife was baptized after attending an evangelistic series by a pastor named Richard Perez at a Seventh-day Adventist church near my home in the Mexican state of Tabasco. But I refused to get baptized. Twice.
My lifestyle took a toll on my body after 13 years, and my back began to ache badly. I went to the local medical services, and they gave me medicine that didn’t help. The next day, I went to the Southeast Adventist Hospital. Doctors ran a battery of X-rays, blood tests, and other exams, but they couldn’t find anything wrong.
June 15, 2017 in From the Field, RSS English by IADComm
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