Pacific Union Recorder—October 2020

PA C I F I C U N IO N

His Love Shining in the Night

BY RICARDO GRAHAM

O C T O B E R 2 02 0

A Passion for God’s

Love in Jesus

BY CHARLES WHITE

“The gifts have been set in the Church and not in any one family.”

LEWIS CHRISTIAN, EUROPEAN DIVISION PRESIDENT, 1934

F

or almost 15 years Elmshaven, the Californian home of Ellen White, was the busy hub of development for the Adventist church on the West Coast. And then in July 1915 her voice fell silent. What to do with her writings became an enormously complicated problem

for the church. In 1937 the literary collection was eventually relocated to Washington, DC—but the journey was not undertaken easily. The road from Elmshaven to the East Coast was long and winding, and at times the going was quite rocky.

The 1930s witnessed significant conflict within church leadership over the content of the White Estate vaults and what to do with it. The debate was painful and awkward at times.

But eventually all agreed that the residue of the gift of prophecy did not belong just to one family. The spiritual resource resident in the collection of Ellen White’s writings belonged in a unique way to the entire church.

In this book Dr. Gil Valentine—a recently retired

professor of Leadership and Administration at La Sierra University—relates the intriguing story of conflict and a maturing theological awareness that led gradually to the development of new structural arrangements for the White Estate, ensuring that the writings of Ellen White continued to be a blessing to the church.

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2 Pacific Union Recorder

PA C I F I C U N IO N

His Love Shining in the Night

BY RICARDO GRAHAM

O C T O B E R 2 02 0

A Passion for God’s

Love in Jesus

BY CHARLES WHITE

As part of our continuing “Love.

Serve. Lead.” themed issues, Elder Ricardo Graham writes eloquently about the way first responders touch our lives— and touch our hearts! (See page 4.) The composite image on the cover is of a firefighter, but it is a symbol of all of the first responders, including a large number of Adventists who work in healthcare, public safety, law enforcement, the military, civil service, and disaster response.

What’s inside

4 His Love Shining in the Night

8 A Passion for God’s Love in Jesus

12 First in Love 16 Look for More 20 Life’s Aromas 23 Adventist Health 24 Arizona Conference 26 Central California Conference 30 Hawaii Conference 32 Holbrook Indian School

Download the Recorder to your mobile device! For iPad/iPhone: open your QR reader and scan the code. For Android: activate the QR scan extension in your Internet browser, then select “Scan QR Code.”

34 La Sierra University 36 Loma Linda University Health 38 Nevada-Utah Conference 40 Northern California Conference 42 Pacific Union College 44 Southeastern California Conference 46 Southern California Conference 48 Newsdesk 55 Community & Marketplace 58 Sunset Calendar

Recorder PA C I F I C U N I O N

The Recorder is a monthly publication reaching approximately 76,000 Seventh-day Adventist homes in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.

Our mission is to inform, educate, and inspire our readers to action in all areas of ministry.

Publisher Ray Tetz Editor Alberto Valenzuela Assistant Editor Faith Hoyt Assistant Editor Connie Jeffery Design/Layout Stephanie Leal • Alberto Valenzuela Printing Pacific Press Publishing Association www.pacificpress.com

Adventist Health 916-406-0784 Japhet De Oliveira Deolivj@Ah.org

Holbrook Indian School 505-399-2885 Chevon Petgrave cpetgrave@hissda.org

Northern California 916-886-5600 Laurie Trujillo Laurie.Trujillo@nccsda.com

Arizona 480-991-6777 Phil Draper phildraper@azconference.org

La Sierra University 951-785-2000 Darla Tucker dmartint@lasierra.edu

Pacific Union College 707-965-7100 Ashley Eisele aeisele@puc.edu

Central California 559-347-3000 Cindy Chamberlin cchamberlin@cccsda.org

Loma Linda 909-651-5925 Ansel Oliver anoliver@llu.edu

Southeastern California 951-509-2200 Enno Müller communications@seccsda.org

Hawaii 808-595-7591 Miki Akeo-Nelson mnelson@hawaiisda.com

Nevada-Utah 775-322-6929 Michelle Ward mward@nevadautah.org

Southern California 818-546-8400 Lauren Lacson Llacson@sccsda.org

Editorial Correspondents

Postal Regs: The Pacific Union Recorder (ISSN 0744-6381), Volume 120, Number 10, is the official journal of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is published monthly. Editorial office is at 2686 Townsgate Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91361: 805-497-9457. Periodical postage paid at Thousand Oaks, CA, and additional mailing offices. Subscription rate: No charge to Pacific Union Adventist church members; $16 per year in U.S.; $20 foreign (U.S. funds); single copy, $2. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Circulation Department, Pacific Union Recorder, Box 5005, Westlake Village, CA 91359. Info@adventistfaith.com.

October 2020 3

Love S

His

in the

Night

By Ricardo Graham

4 Pacific Union Recorder

To all of the first responders, we offer our heartfelt thanks and prayers that God will bless you and keep you safe.

Shining

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W

hile we are undergoing the shutdown caused by the incessant spread of the coronavirus, the first responders among us continue to step up and valiantly provide the protection and lifesaving services the country needs.

I have never needed to call 911 for an ambulance, firefighters, or police help. However, I have been in the care of nurses and physicians—first responders who unselfishly and compassionately serve in hospitals, clinics, and urgent care centers to alleviate suffering.

I talked to Paula Weir-Scott, RN, a member of the Market Street church in Oakland, California. She works in a hospital emergency department. “My life as a healthcare worker has been one of happiness and joy for many reasons,” she says. “I became a registered nurse because I love people. I love to care for and serve others who need medical care. No matter the ethnicity, socioeconomical background, or medical condition, I choose to give compassion and love. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, being a caregiver has its stressors every day—wearing uncomfortable PPE for hours, isolating myself from family members, and taking care of the very ill who have no family beside them. When I chose the profession of a registered nurse, I took the commitment seriously to provide compassion, excellent medical care, and sensitivity to all people.”

Before everything was in lockdown, I attended a meeting at Adventist Health in which Alex Bryan, chief mission officer, gave a presentation that documented historically how modern hospitals and healthcare are an outgrowth of Christian compassion. Hospitals as we know them today had their origins in the responses of compassionate early Christian communities to the epidemics and disasters of the time.

Bryan told us that Eusebius, a historian of Christianity, wrote this about the Roman plague of 312-313 A.D.: “The fruits of the Christians’ limitless enthusiasm and devotion

October 2020 5

Those early Christians were “first responders” long before that descriptive phrase was ever used.

became evident to all. Alone in the midst of this terrible calamity they proved by visible deeds their sympathy and humanity. All day long some continued without rest to tend the dying and bury them—the number was immense, and there was no one to see them; others rounded up the huge number who had been reduced to scarecrows all over the city and distributed loaves to them all, so that their praises were sung on every side.”

Did you catch the words sympathy and humanity?

Those early Christians were “first responders” long before that descriptive phrase was ever used.

First responders also include our law enforcement personnel, who work on the frontlines every day to keep our communities safe. They never know what they may face in the performance of their duty. Those in uniform frequently put themselves in harm’s way as they “serve and protect,” keep the peace, and safeguard lives and property.

Deputy Sheriff Anthony Sanchez of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was recently interviewed by Faith Hoyt, communication specialist and assistant editor of the Recorder.

Sanchez, a Seventh-day Adventist, stated that he “became a police officer to be able to spread the gospel to those in need, and to provide safety to those who cannot protect themselves. In a world filled with hurting people, I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I be the light in their life while doing my job?’ I wanted to become a police officer since I was little; I always looked up to them. When I joined, I knew it was the correct decision, and I knew God was going to have great plans for me.”

6 Pacific Union Recorder

You may have never wondered why law enforcement personnel might join that profession, and Sanchez’s explanation might surprise you. But his thoughtful and perceptive comments make me even more grateful for the protection and safety the police provide. Officer Sanchez and thousands of his colleagues are to be thanked for their unselfish service to others.

As of this writing 14,000 firefighters are fighting the second, third, and fourth largest fires ever to ignite in the state of California. Over 42,000 people have been displaced, many of them losing their homes.

Noe Anthony Lopez has been a firefighter and paramedic for nearly 21 years. He started with the L.A. Fire department and is now with San Pedro Fire Station 36. He told me that he first got interested in the profession when he was 18, about to graduate from high school, and not exactly sure of his next step.

While riding with a friend, he witnessed a car strike a bicyclist, who was then propelled through the air onto the pavement. They stopped their car and watched as others exited their cars to aid the wounded cyclist. Someone called the police, and soon paramedics arrived. They gave care to the injured man and had him stabilized in less than 15 minutes.

It was then that Lopez knew his calling. He went to the fire station nearby, saw the paramedic who had given aid to the bicyclist, and told him, “I want be you!” The paramedic responded, “You can’t be me; you gotta be you!” Lopez then said, “Well, I want to do what you do.” After several years as a rookie,

you remember “We Are His Hands” by Jeff Wood?

“We are His hands to touch the world around us.

We are His feet to go where He may lead, And we are His love burning in the darkness.

We are His love shining in the night.”

The healthcare workers’ healing touch.

The law enforcement officers’ willing feet. The firefighters facing the darkness. What do they all have in common? Their compassionate care for suffering humanity. “His love shining in the night.”

I believe this compassion links them to Christ, the Compassionate One who spent His ministry on Earth healing, serving, and saving others.

Of course, not all first responders are ardent believers in the Christian ethic of love, but even if they aren’t, they are interested in helping others, in improving the status of the suffering. First responders have a special calling. We are blessed to have them among us.

There are many others that I don’t have room to write about here—for instance, those who serve in the military, who protect our country and stand ready to go to war for us. To all of the first responders, we offer our heartfelt thanks and prayers that God will bless you and keep you safe. _______________________________________ Ricardo Graham is the president of the Pacific Union Conference.

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he landed a full-time position working with the same paramedic he had spoken to after the bicycle incident and partnered with him for several years.

When asked how he saw God in his profession, he related a story about being called to a church that had been targeted by arson. As he and his partner entered the church, they couldn’t see anything. Smoke completely filled the sanctuary; flames were attacking the interior walls, but the room was totally black. Being familiar with church sanctuaries, they found the center aisle and walked towards the altar, looking for the source of the smoke. He paused, then felt his partner gently pushing him forward. After a few more steps, he saw a glow and realized that was the base of the fire.

Later, after the fire was extinguished, he thanked his partner for the push prompting him forward.

“Huh?” his partner said. “You left me way behind in the middle of the aisle! That wasn’t me.” He realized that God or an angel must have edged him forward to find the fire source that he was looking for. He recognized that God was with him in the darkness of life, that God is always there.

Lopez and his wife have two children, both of whom have decided to become first responders.

Their daughter has decided on nursing, and their son has chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a firefighter.

A song kept running through my head while I spoke with these courageous first responders. Do

First responders have a special calling.

We are blessed to have them among us.

October 2020 7

Passion ISTOCK.COM/ARTISTEER

A

I

am a retired Adventist pastor and a great-grandson of James and Ellen White. My father was W.C. White’s youngest son. My dad, Francis, was not quite two when Ellen died in 1915, so obviously I never met my great-grandmother. But I did know personally family members who knew her—my grandmother and my aunts and uncles. These relatives were loving, caring Christian people, and they remembered her with warmth and affection.

They frequently shared their recollections with me.

Some people may think Ellen White’s primary role in the early Adventist Church was to tell people what do—frequently in negative terms. They may feel her primary work was to give correction, instruction, admonition, and criticism. I have heard it said, “Wind up the Ellen White doll, and what does she say? ’No, No, No, No.’” Her “testimonies” were very direct, and they can even seem harsh. Faithfully, though sometimes reluctantly, she administered these responsibilities. However, though these messages were a part of her

8 Pacific Union Recorder

for God’s Love in Jesus

By Charles White

prophetic role, they were not at the heart of her ministry. Admonition was not her calling or her first love.

What was it that gave direction to my great-grandmother’s life and ministry?

What were the passions that empowered her to work, and speak, and write, and live as she did? I would suggest that there were three: 1. Ellen White had a great love for God’s Word. She referred to the Bible as the “greater light” and to her writings as the “lesser light.” She also said, “The Bible is the only rule of faith and doctrine” (Christian Education, p. 118). At her last General Conference in 1909, her final statement to the delegates as she held up the pulpit Bible was, “I commend to you this Book.”

2. She had a deep love for those who were without Christ. She said, “I have pledged that every energy of my life should be devoted to the work of winning souls to Him” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 103). Her most quoted text was Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world.…” At a camp meeting in Fresno at age 75, she stated, “I would go the ends of the earth to bring men and women a knowledge of the truth” (The Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1902).

3. She had a passion for Jesus and for God’s amazing love. Shortly after her conversion, she wrote, “I felt an inexpressible love for God.… My views of the Father were changed. I now looked upon Him as a kind and tender parent, rather than a stern tyrant.… My heart went out toward Him in a deep and fervent love.… I felt the assurance of an indwelling Saviour” (Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 39).

These are three great themes that gave direction and purpose to her ministry and mission. She loved the LIGHT. She loved the LOST. She loved the

“I would go the ends of the earth to bring men and women a knowledge of the truth.”

ELLEN WHITE

October 2020 9

“Christ’s favorite theme was the paternal character and abundant love of God.” LORD. I see the central focus and passion of her life as being rooted in this third theme: the amazing love of God in Jesus.

She stated a number of times, “Christ’s favorite theme was the paternal character and abundant love of God” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p.

55). I would suggest that this was also my greatgrandmother’s “favorite theme.” She spoke and wrote of God’s love in Jesus throughout the course of her 70 years of service and ministry.

How appropriate that October is Spirit of Prophecy month in the Recorder and that the general theme for this issue is love. What an opportunity to focus on vital priorities that transform our lives and can a make a difference in our homes, in the workplace, and in our communities.

Let me share a brief sampling of some phrases and quotes that illustrate Ellen White’s passion for God’s love in Jesus.

She wrote about “the infinite, exhaustless love of

COURTESY OF THE ELLEN G. WHITE ESTATE, INC.

Ellen G. White with family, “Elmshaven,” St. Helena, Calif., Aug. 24, 1913.

10 Pacific Union Recorder

God” that could never be fully comprehended in its length and breadth, depth and height (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 740).

After writing for an extended period of time, she emotionally penned, “I lay down the pen, and exclaim, O what love! What wondrous love! The most exalted language cannot describe the glory of heaven, nor the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love” (Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, pp. 210-211).

From her diary of July 15, 1892, we read, “My whole being longs after the Lord. I am not content to be satisfied with occasional flashes of light. I must have more.”

Ellen White did not just write thematically or theoretically. Her frequent emphasis was on personal experience and appropriation of God’s love.

“What shall account for the great love wherewith He has loved us? We cannot understand it, but we can know it is true in our own experience” (The Desire of Ages, p. 327). Again, she wrote: “If Christ be in us the hope of glory, we shall discover such matchless charms [a favorite expression of EGW] in Him that the soul will be enamored” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 162) Also, from her classic book on the life of Christ: “The love of Christ will animate the believer with new life” (The Desire of Ages, p. 280).

Just a year before her death, Ellen White was interviewed by C.C. Crisler, one of her assistants.

She made this meaningful statement: “I find tears running down my cheeks when I think of what the Lord is to His children, and when I contemplate His goodness, His mercy, and His tender compassion” (C.C. Crisler, July 2, 1914).

Ella Mae (White) Robinson was the first of Ellen

White’s grandchildren. She spent a lot of time with her grandmother and often traveled with her. My Aunt Ella was 33 years old when Ellen passed away.

Jim Nix (current director of the E. G. White Estate) had the foresight to interview Ella before she died in the ‘70s. He asked her for her favorite recollection of her grandmother, and this was her response: “I see grandma standing in the pulpit, dressed in her loose fitting, black sack suit, narrow cuffs of white, narrow white collar secured at the throat by a small brooch. She’s been telling of the matchless love of Christ in suffering ignominy and death and even running the risk of eternal separation from His Father in heaven by taking upon Himself the sins of the world. She pauses, looks up, and with one hand resting on the desk and the other lifted heavenward she exclaims in a ringing voice, ‘O Jesus how I love you, how I love you, how I love you.’ There is a deep hush.

Heaven is very near.”

Ellen White was a pioneer and visionary who was instrumental in helping establish Adventism, especially here in the West. Her deep passion was God’s love in Jesus. This passion infuses her writings, and we can recapture it when we read her messages. What a transformation it makes in our lives when we experience and comprehend how much God loves us and those around us. We can find the encouragement and inspiration to let our LIGHT shine, sharing with the LOST our love for the LORD. _______________________________________ Charles White, great-grandson of Ellen White, retired from Camelback church in Phoenix, Arizona, and hosts Ellen G. White seminars.

October 2020 11

First in

Love

By Ramรณn Verduzco

12 Pacific Union Recorder

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O

n January 12, 1992, Kenny Hedrick was killed in the line of duty. He was a volunteer firefighter with Morningside Volunteer Fire Department in Maryland and had responded with his coworkers to a call for help from a family who lived near the fire station. Their home was on fire, and they worried that a 7-year-old boy was trapped in the house. Kenny and another firefighter arrived on the scene and began to search the house. They found a small boy and carried him out to the paramedics, but the child was pronounced dead a short time later. Returning to the house to search for more victims, Kenny became trapped in the basement when fire conditions deteriorated.

We see them on news broadcasts. They’re the ones running toward danger, not away from it. In 2001, we watched firefighters racing in the direction of the World Trade Center in New York City. We have seen police officers carefully approaching buildings that shelter active snipers, paramedics stepping over mangled cars in search of survivors, and exhausted medical professionals hurrying through hospital wards crowded with COVID-19 sufferers.

This list could include teachers instructing students who could be superspreaders, checkout clerks tallying up the purchases of defiant, unmasked customers, or delivery people rushing to place online purchases on porches.

October 2020 13

who were following instructions from God Himself.

Some hesitated because the dangers seemed so overwhelming. But when their courage wavered, their love and training kicked in.

We see Ananias moving stealthily along the streets of Damascus on his way to assist a blinded visitor to his town—a man named Saul, who was infamous for causing suffering and even death to followers of Jesus. Ananias was just such a follower.

We see Moses making his way through the desert, heading for Egypt’s capital with one purpose in mind: to free an enslaved people. He didn’t want to go. He felt he was the wrong person for the job.

But God had assured him that he wasn’t alone—that even his words would be chosen for him.

Then there’s Noah, building a ship, miles from the sea and surrounded by people who thought he was crazy.

These first responders acted in concert with the

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All of these individuals—these essential workers and first responders—are heroes on some level.

They’re putting the needs of others first—including their families who depend on them for food and shelter. They may not even realize it, but their motivation is love. They love enough to care about others and put their needs first.

However, a professional first responder doesn’t just appear out of nowhere and act heroically. More often than not, careful planning and meticulous training precedes their actions. They’re ready to do what they do because they’ve learned how to do it from instructors, professors, mentors, trainers, and each other. Facing a life-threatening situation without proper training can be just as deadly as the situation itself. Successful first responders have learned two vital components of their jobs: what to do and what not to do.

The Bible identifies several first responders

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We can all become the type of first responder Christ represents.

We can leave our comfort zones and go out into a burning, dangerous, deadly world to serve our fellow human beings.

Creator of love. They knew that on their own they were powerless. However, with proper guidance freely offered by God, they could—and did— accomplish great things.

There’s nothing more powerful on this earth than a man, woman, boy, or girl whose heart is filled with love and whose mind is open to God’s leading. Such individuals have changed the course of human history, ended wars, and launched social movements that survived for generations. A first responder so equipped can be a force for good, a light that darkness cannot quench.

But make no mistake. These people may pay a heavy price for their selfless service. Just ask the NYFD widows of 9/11. Talk to the family of a fallen soldier. Visit the gravesite of a medical professional who died while helping others who’d been sickened by a deadly virus. Grieve with the devastated partner of a police officer who perished trying to save someone he or she didn’t even know.

Or stand on a windy hilltop outside the city walls of Jerusalem. Listen to the sound of distant traffic and the echo of voices carrying in the breeze. On this spot, long ago, a First Responder paid the ultimate price for His service. He hung on a cross because the enemy of all He loved had eclipsed— for a moment—His attempt to save this world and everyone in it. As you and I can attest, the impact of Him doing His job has been far reaching.

We can all become the type of first responder

Christ represents. We can leave our comfort zones and go out into a burning, dangerous, deadly world to serve our fellow human beings. First responders who are motivated by selfless love are willing to put their training to the test. They’re willing to put their lives on the line to save others. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NIV). They’ve also learned that, according to God, everyone is a friend.

In His last meeting with His disciples, Christ expressed His great desire that they might love one another as He loved them. Again and again He spoke of this.

“This love is the evidence of their discipleship. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,’ said Jesus, ‘if ye have love one to another.’ When men are bound together, not by force or self-interest, but by love, they show the working of an influence that is above every human influence. Where this oneness exists, it is evidence that the image of God is being restored in humanity, that a new principle of life has been implanted” (The Desire of Ages, p. 678).

So, why not open God’s Word and begin your training today? Practice His instructions. Follow His guidelines. Learn from the Master Teacher.

This dying world desperately needs qualified, experienced first responders. This dying world needs you! _______________________________________ Ramón Verduzco is pastor of the Hayward Spanish church.

October 2020 15

Look

for more—

By Allison Casillas

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W

e all have to pivot sometimes. Life is full of change and transition. We have to navigate the unexpected, choose a trajectory, and then move forward into the unknown.

For Christians, ideally, this is going to be something that we seek out. We look toward growth and transformation.

So, what does this look like in your spiritual walk? Like the rich young ruler, we like things to be straightforward and clear: Keep the commandments. But simple formulas don't really cover it. They're too confined, too narrow. If we don't do the work of spiritual growth and development, when we come into situations where things are not what we expect, our formula doesn’t fit. We're left at loose ends and life slaps us down.

When it comes to living, you can't have faith in a system.

You can have faith in God, but not in a system. If our idea of God is a confined and narrow formula, it’s going to be too small. God is bigger than that.

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who God is is more than what He looks like

If we feel we've got a handle on Him and He's safe, comfortable, predictable; if we feel like we know Him because He lines up with our checklist; if He fits in our box of fundamental beliefs and, as a result, we feel like we understand who He is and what He's supposed to do, then we're in for some hard times. Because even people who have a wide and expansive view of God are constantly surprised by Him. He is unchanging and yet forever changing and surprising. Sometimes our small vision of God can keep us from recognizing when He's at work right around us. We miss it completely. We're so focused on what we think He is that we miss His action in the world around us.

A story in Luke 24 starts with this kind of obliviousness to God and His presence. About three days after Jesus' death, two disciples were on the road Emmaus. They were talking about everything that had happened in Jerusalem, and suddenly Jesus joined them—only they didn't recognize Him. They were talking about Him, He was right there, only they didn't catch on.

They didn't have any clue what was going on.

Jesus asked, "What are you talking about?" They looked at Him as if He were the one who didn't understand what was going on. They said, "You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days" (Luke 24:18*). They started telling Jesus about His own death. They told Him about their grief and how disappointed they were because they thought He was the Messiah, but He hadn’t done what they thought He was supposed to do.

And now He was dead, but His body was missing, and they just didn't know what to think. So they kept rehashing the story. It happens to us. Things don’t happen the way we expect, so we find ourselves spinning, rehearsing, rehashing the details because we don't understand why. There are times when we're so convinced that God is supposed to act in a certain way that we miss Him. We miss His action right beside us.

Jesus said, "’Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?’ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:26-27). They asked Him to supper, and as He blessed the bread “suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each

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He is unchanging and yet forever changing and surprising. Sometimes our small vision of God can keep us from recognizing when He's at work right around us.

October 2020 17

other, ‘Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’" (Luke 24:31-32).

Their hearts burned within them. Within an hour, they were back on the road to Jerusalem. Because the encounter with the unexpected God changed everything.

Many artists have created paintings of this story.

There is one in which the Christ figure is a woman.

Some people might be troubled by this and may even feel it is blasphemous. For others, the feeling is completely different. Perhaps this painting isn’t questioning the gender of Jesus but instead can be seen as an exercise to help us honestly consider some other ideas.

What are you looking for and how does that impact what you see? If the suggestion of a female Christ makes you feel uncomfortable, ask yourself why. Why is the suggestion of God in a different form, particularly in a female form, so hard for us?

Why does that feel funny when we are completely comfortable with the idea of God as a bird?

Remember, God appears as a dove in the baptism story in all four Gospels. If we are upset by an image of Christ that is of a different gender or race from us, maybe what is happening is that the image is revealing to us our deeply seated sexism, racism, and prejudice.

Because we have the tendency to zero in on one thing that we think God is, we need illustrations that make us think differently, that move us from our assumptions.

These images are subversive— they push us and cause us to think again and to renew our minds.

When Moses asked to see God, He responds with a character sketch: "Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive inequity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the

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guilty" (Exodus 34:6-7).

God is explicitly telling us that who He is is more than what He looks like. He goes out of His way, multiple times, to both appear as and to talk about Himself in terms that are completely different: burning bush, nesting hen, rock, lion, lamb, bread of life, shepherd, light, healer, vine, and the list goes on and on. God is all about the unexpected imagery because He's constantly trying to shake us out of our narrow views, to pivot toward the uncomfortable, toward more.

We have a tendency to want to domesticate things about God that we're uncomfortable with, but the beauty is that God understands that about us. So He's constantly pushing us: “Don't stay stuck.

Look for more.”

And then the ultimate disruptor: Jesus Himself.

Consider Christ on the cross. It's a gruesome picture. For the early Christians there was no more terrible form of death by torture, yet this is the image they settled on as the image of God at work through Christ. So unexpected, so different.

God at work in the strange, in the shocking. Over time we can become habituated to the cross in all of its horror, but we're invited constantly to pivot. Sometimes a pivot is back to what we knew before, to look again, and to see its fuller meaning for all of us.

When was the last time that your heart burned within you? Do you ever find yourself settling for the children's Bible story version of Jesus and His actions in the world? You know those things are true, but there is another layer to Christ that is also true. He was the ultimate disruptor. He ignored the purity codes and touched lepers.

He showed compassion to those who were insane or possessed. Consider His interaction cleansing the temple—He's raging.

Think about the way He intervened for the

We're all invited to a bold, new, transformative vision of God. And we're essentially promised that it's going to shake us to our core when we experience this.

Roman centurion, the epitome of violent political power. He shows compassion for the Samaritan woman, the Gentile, the outcast, and the religious elite. All of them.

And at the same time, He's transcending these laws. Jesus transcends the things the Jews thought were the things God was concerned with, and He brings them more meaning. Everything is turned upside down. Everyone is a little bit shaken. Yet at the same time, they're all drawn to Him because there's a place for everybody. That's the thing that bothers you, but the thing that draws you at the same time.

This is the God who promises to make you new: loving, merciful, compassionate, disruptive, shamed. We're all invited to a bold, new, transformative vision of God. And we're essentially promised that it's going to shake us to our core when we experience this.

Paul was completely shattered by his experience on the road to Damascus—by the otherness of God, by the fact that God was so different from his expectation. And from that point forward, Paul was not the same. That is the experience we are all invited into—to pivot and allow Jesus to transform us through His presence. Know Him, emulate Him. His kingdom is different because there's a place for all of us. It's radical. It's the kingdom among us. We are all here together. His largeness makes a place for other people.

So, how narrow is the bandwidth of our inclusion?

Are we practicing the type of hospitality and inclusion that Christ did? And if not, what is it that is keeping us from doing that? Because that's the thing

that needs to be identified and thrown into the fire in order to cultivate fullness of heart.

Christ is concerned about not excluding people, but He is also concerned about the heart condition that causes us to do that in the first place. Our discomfort with these ideas—the things that shake us up, that burn in our hearts—will let us know where we need work, where we need to practice reconciliation. Because we're not invited to one single definitive view of who God is. We're invited to a relationship, a growing understanding, an unveiling of the layers of God. Like His mercies, He is new to us every morning.

We're invited to know Him in a different way, every day. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him."

So, pay attention. And when you feel your heart burning within you, particularly when this happens at a time or through a person who you don't expect, you're invited to pivot, to follow after, to take up residence in the work and in the presence of God in the unexpected. Pivot into newness in God, who offers us a new life and a new way of looking at the world He created and the people He loves. * All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation. _______________________________________ Allison (Tucker) Casillas is the children’s pastor at the Arlington church in Arlington, Texas.

October 2020 19

LIFE’S AROMAS

BY WILLIAM JOHNSSON

I grew up in an old house by the river. Constructed of compacted earth, our home had two small rooms and a side room added later where my mom cooked meals over a wood-burning stove.

20 Pacific Union Recorder

S

unday mornings I joined my four brothers, all older, playing cricket in our huge backyard. After an hour or two in the sun, the aroma wafting from the kitchen drew us inside like a magnet. We stood around, mouths watering, as mom, her face red from the heat, pulled out trays of hot scones from the oven. The scones were heavenly delicious; we wolfed them down plastered with butter, tray after delicious tray.

A low post-and-wire fence separated the house from the road. Morning glory vines covered the fence. I have in my possession a snapshot from those days: two barefoot kids with blonde tousled hair sit side-by-side atop the fence. That was my sister Margaret, whom I grew up calling Mollie. She was born a couple years before me and was kind and gentle. Her passing several years ago left a hole in my heart that has not closed over.

Across the road from our home flowed a small river, and on its banks grew a tall pepper tree that provided a hangout for the small boys of the neighborhood. Its big round limbs made for easy ascent. High amid its thick foliage, we were secluded from passersby. The long needle-shaped leaves of the pepper tree gave off a strong, fresh, pungent aroma when we crushed them in our hands.

Our hideaway made an ideal location for the heavy philosophical discussions that engage sixand seven-year-old boys—such as the strange, bewildering but attractive creatures so like us but so obviously different. High up in the pepper tree, we would discuss and argue about a matter that defied a satisfactory explanation: Where do babies come from? We’d grown beyond all that kid stuff about storks. We’d seen women with distended bellies that we knew held babies, but the question we could not figure out was, how do the babies get out of their mothers?

From the book Simple Gifts, the new release by Oak & Acorn, now available on Amazon.com. The book is being serialized in the Recorder. See page 58 for information about how to get a pdf copy of the entire book.

It was a seemingly unfathomable mystery. Where did they come out? I was quite sure that in some mysterious way a belly button played a key role. But what? We had belly buttons also, but we knew that babies didn’t come out of men’s bellies. One of the boys in our group insisted that we belly buttoners had it all wrong. He had heard on good authority that girls had a special place in their bodies through which babies passed from their belly into the world.

A special place? Where could it be. The problem was insoluble.

Noelene and I now live in Southern California.

The climate—cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers—is identical to that of southern Australia where I grew up. And yes, there are pepper trees here. They have the same fat trunks and limbs, the same long leaves with the same strong, fresh, pungent aroma when crushed in your hands. On our walks together, we sometimes pass under a pepper tree. I reach up and pull down a handful of leaves, holding them as we continue our walk. The strong, fresh, pungent aroma rises from my hand, and I am back by the old tree by the river, discussing mysteries with my mates.

The aromas of life! How they enrich our existence! They bring taste to what we eat—no smell, no taste. They seep into our subconscious; they are never lost, never far from the surface of our lives. After years of apparent absence, they emerge reawakened, called forth by a chance encounter.

They bring with them not just themselves but the life situations in which we first encountered them. The aroma wafts into our heads and, hey presto! we are there again.

Aromas, aromas, aromas: The aroma of bread baking. (What a gift to come home to the smell of fresh-baked bread!)

A violet by a mossy stone. Half hidden from the eye!

The milky-sweet smell of babies.

The voluptuous scent of a lover’s hair.

The moist, mushroomy, woodsy tang of rotting leaves and humus in the forest.

The aroma of coffee brewing in the morning.

October 2020 21

The first raindrops hitting the dust of summer, cleansing the air, breaking the heat.

Hot buttered toast.

Newly mown grass.

Smoke from a campfire.

Old books in the library.

Candles.

Newspapers hot off the press.

Freshly laundered bed linens.

Aromas, aromas, aromas of life. The gift of aromas.

And so many more: bracing salt air.

New car smell.

Onions, leeks, garlic.

The healing scent of eucalyptus.

Lavender, lilac, honeysuckle.

Orange blossom, apple blossom.

Mint, basil.

Peonies, sweet peas, jasmine.

And there is more. The rose, the flower of love: pink roses for love hopeful and expectant; white for love dead and forsaken; red roses for love in full bloom.

Many poets sang about the rose, but Robert Burns sang the loudest: “O my Luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June: O my Luve’s like the melodie, That’s sweetly play’d in tune.”

Late after the burning heat of the day had given way to the cool of desert night, I went walking with a friend in Doha, the capital of Qatar on the Arabian Gulf. All day we had been ensconced in the luxurious Sheraton hotel, venue for the conference we were attending. Now all meetings were over for the day, and we were free to venture outside.

Close by the Sheraton, we learned, was a souk (bazaar), and we made our way to it. The souk was humming with life as the people of Doha, having slept through the hot afternoon, went about their business. We walked on and on, looking for the spice market. At last, in the oldest part of the village,

22 Pacific Union Recorder

we found it. The thick-walled rooms where the spice merchants carried on their trade groaned with the weight of many centuries. They seemed old enough to have welcomed the caravan of Muhammad who, prior to his role as prophet for Islam, worked for a wealthy employer, Khadija, whom he later married.

We stepped down into the stores. The scene overwhelmed us. Huge mounds of spices, each mound a different color—red, white, black, yellow, green, orange, gray—covered the vast space.

Our noses twitched with the blend of cinnamon, cardamom, frankincense, nutmeg, and myrrh.

It wouldn’t have surprised us if the Queen of Sheba suddenly materialized, surrounded by her retinue, bargaining with the merchants.

The contrast was amazing: the spice souk had hardly changed in maybe a thousand years, and minutes away the glass and steel of the Sheraton rose to the sky.

Ah! The aromas of life! Simple, basic.

Delightful.

A simple gift.

In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he pauses to comment on life’s aromas.

He directs his readers to the Roman triumph, the grand procession of the Caesars returning from victorious conquest. The long parade featured captives and exotic animals. All along the route rose petals, imported from Egypt by the shipload, strewed the streets, imparting their distinctive fragrance.

Now the apostle drives home his point. We Christians, he says, march in Christ’s triumphal procession. He is victor, we His willing captives. And, like the roses imported from Egypt, we shed abroad the sweet aroma of life to all who come near.

Transforming

Culture, Mission, and Consumer Health

A

s Adventist Health continues to advance its 2030 vision to bring health and well-being into reach for everyone, the faith-inspired health system has appointed three experienced executives to its system cabinet to focus on culture, mission, and consumer health, Adventist Health CEO Scott Reiner announced.

The nonprofit integrated healthcare system, which serves more than 80 rural and urban communities on the West Coast and in Hawaii, is transforming from a hospital-centered company to one primarily focused on health.

Joyce Newmyer, the president of Adventist Health services in Oregon, has been named chief culture officer.

In her new position, Joyce leads and supports associate and provider engagement, communications, leadership development, and residencies, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also will continue to serve as the primary relationship leader for Adventist Health’s partnership with Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland and will continue to chair the community boards for Adventist Health services in Portland and Tillamook, Oregon, and on Oahu in Hawaii.

“Joyce’s varied experiences have prepared her to help us build an intentional and unified culture that will define what it means to be Adventist Health,” Scott said.

Joyce brings more than 20 years of healthcare executive experience to her role, serving at organizations in California, Kansas, Maryland, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Alex Bryan, who has more than 20 years of experience in pastoral ministry and higher education, has been appointed chief mission officer. Alex leads and supports a systemwide mission team in promoting and integrating the organization’s mission of “living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope.”

“Our mission has always been important,” Scott

said. “It’s what inspires us to transform the future of healthcare and the lives of those we touch. Now, as we intentionally expand over the next decade with bold moves, it is essential to have an even wider perspective of mission.”

In addition, Jason Wells, the president of Adventist Health’s three hospitals and services in Mendocino County, California, has been named chief consumer and innovation officer to help realign the organization around the consumer through products and services that better address health. Jason will be responsible for consumer services, experience design, marketing and brand, public affairs, and strategy activation.

“Jason has demonstrated effective leadership and exceptional engagement along with an ability to mobilize stakeholders toward a common vision with bold, creative thinking,” Scott said. “These skills will be critical in transforming Adventist Health into the innovative and consumer-focused organization we aspire to be.”

Before joining Adventist Health in 2017, Jason, who is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, served in healthcare executive and leadership roles in North Carolina and Florida.

Jason will remain in Mendocino County until a new president is identified. He will also continue to serve as chair of the community boards for Adventist Health Howard Memorial in Willits, Mendocino Coast in Fort Bragg, and Ukiah Valley. ____________________

By Christine Pickering

“Our mission has always been important. It’s what inspires us to transform the future of healthcare and the lives of those we touch.”

Adventist Health

October 2020 23

Navajos Take to the Airwaves

K

yle Boyd senses that God has given him a special opportunity to reach out to his fellow Navajo tribal members, whose territory straddles three states: Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. “Our people are desperately searching for hope,” he said. Recently he was able to realize his dream of sharing God’s message in a very special way.

ABOVE: Twelve people attended the production workshop at Holbrook Indian School in Arizona on the weekend of July 18.

RIGHT: Sam Hubbard of Holbrook Indian School records radio speaker Bud Joe Haycock at the workshop.

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About a year ago, Boyd heard from members at his home church that there was an idea to establish a radio station to reach the Navajo Nation with God’s last-day message. He immediately volunteered. He discovered that many years ago the Voice of Prophecy had produced some programs in Navajo; updated scripts from that source of long ago form the basis of his ministry. On August 2, his voice was heard for the first time around the huge reservation— the largest in North America—and the ministry was launched.

The original dream of Navajo church members was, and still is, to acquire their own radio station. However, a plan to participate in a radio license

Arizona Conference

auction scheduled for earlier this year was foiled when the COVID-19 epidemic hit America—the Federal Communication Commission postponed the auction indefinitely.

However, the church members saw the postponement as merely a temporary delay, and their strategy pivoted to the concept of a trial run on KTNN, the most powerful station on the reservation. Thanks to numerous private donations and a sizable contribution to the project from Adventist World Radio (AWR), the group had enough funds to buy airtime on “The Voice of the Navajo Nation.”

They had no expectations of receiving any feedback from listeners about their first half hour on the air, but within three weeks, eight listeners had called in to sign up for the study course that was offered!

The surprise early response has energized the program producers in their new work of preparing radio programs and the follow-up that the requests have generated. Three church conferences that have territory in the Navajo Nation agreed to help make the preparation of programs possible by installing small production studios where tribal members can conveniently record their radio messages.

The Rocky Mountain Conference helped fund a studio at La Vida Mission in San Juan County, New Mexico. The Arizona Conference installed a studio at the church in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation government. The Texico Conference installed a studio at its Gallup church in

the western part of New Mexico. Holbrook Indian School in eastern Arizona also has a studio and plans to involve students in the programs. Thanks to a weekend of training by former AWR vice president Allen Steele, a dozen volunteer program producers were ready to go into action.

Until the next opportunity arrives to acquire their own station, the trial run has convinced our church members that a radio ministry is the best way to reach out to the quartermillion Native Americans occupying the huge desert expanse of their territory. ____________________

By Phil Draper

Gregory Holiday from Monument Valley delivers an inspiring message to his Navajo Nation listeners.

The original dream of Navajo church members was, and still is, to acquire their own radio station.

Arizona Conference

October 2020 25

PHOTO: SHMUEL THALER/SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

Refuge from a Fire Storm:

CCC Opens Soquel Conference Center PHOTO: SERGIO CANO

“You have been a help in time of trouble, a refuge for the poor in time of storm. You have protected the weak during the heat of battle from the blast of enemy attack” (Isaiah 25:4, Clear Word).

Families who had to quickly evacuate pick up essentials provided by the community at the Soquel Convention Center.

T Mark Larson, from the Santa Cruz County Department of Human Services, listens to concerned volunteers.

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Central California Conference

he coronavirus pandemic led to social distancing and the cancellation of Soquel Camp Meeting, and then the hot days of summer brought even more trials throughout California. Nearly 12,000 lightning strikes started 560 fires throughout the state. This danger became all too real in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monday, August 17, with the CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

“Michael Beaton, director of general services from Santa Cruz County, called on Wednesday explaining that they were in need of an additional evacuation center,” recalled Todd Gallemore, Soquel Conference Center (SCC) facilities director. The Central California Conference (CCC) officers agreed to help and opened up the 70 cabins and full hook-up RV spaces in SCC’s Central City to the evacuees. “To open the doors to the community is something that the conference has

Central California Conference

PHOTO: SERGIO CANO

wanted to do for a very long time,” Gallermore continued.

“We have been looking for ways to be a better neighbor and to serve the community in a positive, constructive way.”

The next day, Mark Larson, from the county Department of Human Services, was onsite when the evacuee intake began.

The evacuees arrived obviously distraught and filled with anxiety and fear. “It was very chaotic to handle all the needs at first, because the fire incident was so big,” Larson explained. “On day one, all we had to give out was an MRE [Meal Ready-to-Eat] and a bottle of water. We are now having a catering service come James Salazar, an understandably emotional evacuee, and his friend show in with meals three times a day CCC President Ramiro Cano pictures of the total loss of his home. that includes treats. There have been exercise classes, movie and businesses. “I cannot take credit for what has nights, and even classes on how to improve your mental happened here,” Larson said. “It could not have been health.” done without the support of the Seventh-day Adventists, Capacity peaked at 540 people for several days. church ministries, and the other county employees that Many arriving evacuees were overcome with grief have been performing above and beyond my wildest and fear, and they were often without even the basic expectations. People even described that it is almost provisions. Amazingly, there were no shortfalls of like being on a cruise because they were treated so essential needs. Each of the county’s needs were met wonderfully.” without even being asked. Although county supplies As soon as Sam Smith, pastor of Watsonville church, were minimal at the start, they soon multiplied through received permission from the county, he was able to set generous donations from individuals and businesses. up a Share and Prayer Tent.

The overflow of Here, a safe place provided donations meant spiritual care for the many that the main who were understandably auditorium became upset to the point of tears. a warehouse. The One evacuee, who Esperanza meeting wished to remain room transformed anonymous, came by the into the Operation prayer tent. He shared Center. A makeshift his fears and frustrations stage was set up about losing his home. on Row 9 of Central When Smith asked him if City for the various he believed in prayer, he programs provided said, “Yes, but right now by pastors.

A couple who had to evacuate check out what is I’m too angry at God to The process available at the Control Center. pray.” Smith told him that required a great deal he understood and that he could come by the prayer of collaboration between the county, other pastors booth anytime. Several nights passed, and both he and from surrounding areas, and community organizations

October 2020 27

ABOVE: Central City on the Soquel campground houses many evacuees— forced from their homes—who had RVs and trailers.

LEFT: Evacuees, now safe from the fire, use the available cabins at the Soquel campground.

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PHOTO: SUE SCHRAMM

Evacuees residing in Central City display a poster: “Thank U 4 helping create our new positive future.”

Central California Conference

his wife attended the three-day evening series

by Pierre Steenberg, CCC evangelism director, on “How to Cope with Grief and Loss.” After hearing Eddy Perez, CCC evangelist, share his testimony of how God had been with him in the midst of pain, this evacuee finally told Smith, “You know, I’ve always believed in God, but He was never a priority. Now this happened and it made me angry with Him. However, you people showed up and just loved us. You did all of these things for us, total strangers, with no strings attached. You are helping me to understand that God is with me even in the midst of this horrible situation. I want to seek God for myself more deeply now.”

Antonio Huerta, CCC vice president for ministries, struck up a conversation with a couple who also had attended Steenberg’s talks. Feeling much the same as the other evacuees, they explained, “Our house has been destroyed and we have no place to go.”

Nevertheless, the wife thanked Huerta, explaining that they had come to this evacuation center devasted but had been given a new faith in God. Huerta also found out that a young man volunteering at the resource center had been there all night long. At 20 years old, his passion and compassion were evident when he responded, “My sleep is not as important as serving the evacuees. My brothers and sisters are suffering right now.”

Ken, another evacuee, shared with tears as he was checking out, “I just wanted to thank these folks for their mighty fine hospitality. They met us here with open arms, smiles on their face, catered to every

PHOTO: SHMUEL THALER/SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL

orders began to whim, and with be lifted in some every possible areas, most people thing we could at the SCC were possibly need. I able to return just cannot say home. However, it enough, but you still sheltered 200 guys have been to 250 individuals awesome.” who could no Gina Jett, longer return to a Boulder their destroyed Creek resident, homes. shared, “The “This is a truly entire town remarkable facility. was evacuated You have been Monday night. blessed by God Seeing me on Evacuees outside their cabin at the Soquel campground. to have this vast social media, property to use Manuel Garcia, a for God’s purposes,” Larsen said.

“Todd, Jeremy, Derek, former student of mine from Monterey Bay Academy, everybody has just been truly been remarkable. I will reached out to let me know our neighborhood was safe. be forever changed. I am hoping and praying that these As a firefighter, he and his team are working double relationships will continue on in the future.” and triple shifts trying to hold the fire, and we are so As Ramiro Cano, CCC president, commented, "I grateful. I think God can use this event to help us be our praise God that in the midst of a pandemic and the best selves and work together as a community.” devastating fires, the Soquel Conference Center has James Salazar, a Bonny Doon resident, shared that become a center of holy influence within the county his home was a total loss. With only the clothes on their of Santa Cruz. Designated as an evacuation site, it backs, he and his girlfriend and their animals sought provided ample opportunities to be engaged in services refuge at SCC. With emotion, he commented, “It is so of compassion to alleviate the hurting and to forge and nice to be here where people are taking care of you. deepen our relationships with the community at large."

It makes going through something like this so much Indeed, God’s hand could be seen at every turn easier. I don’t know where I’d be if I weren’t right here, by those who were working side by side to humbly right now.” serve the needs of the evacuees. Truly, CCC’s vision, By the end of August, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire “Reflecting Christ. Transforming Communities,” was was 43% contained, but 85,218 acres had burned. More demonstrated over and over during this tragic event. than 1,100 structures were destroyed, and 921 of those ____________________ were single-family residences. Once the evacuation

By Sue Schramm

Text "Fires" to 55498 or visit www.centralcaliforniaadventist.com to donate for disaster relief.

Central California Conference

October 2020 29

Castle associates, physicians, leaders, and board members prepare boxes for distribution.

Adventist Health Castle Strengthens Community Connections During Pandemic

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ince opening its doors in 1963, Adventist Health Castle has maintained close ties with its community. Many still remember going from home to home with collection jars, asking for signatures, and holding various fundraisers. And, with the support of the community, Castle made healthcare accessible to Windward O‘ahu whenever emergency procedures and acute care services were needed.

Adventist Health Castle has grown along with its community, both in size and capabilities, achieving recognition for quality as it met the growing healthcare needs of the community. In this current pandemic, our community has rallied together to provide for those most in need. And, as a community partner, Castle has had the opportunity to both give and receive support.

In the early months of the pandemic, donations from the community poured into Castle. Adventist schools cleared their janitorial closets and brought cleaning supplies, construction companies offered their N95 masks, salons dropped off gloves and masks. Students began to craft face shields, a teenager made plexiglass boxes for intubation, teachers 3D-printed masks. Food came from local churches, restaurants, food trucks, and farmers—often the donation was enough to distribute to the whole hospital. The show of support filled us with

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Hawaii Conference

While Adventist Health Castle continues to focus its efforts on clinical care, it is clearer than ever that community wellbeing can only be accomplished when we work together. hope and inspired us to do even more.

Grateful for their support, we redoubled our efforts to serve our community in the areas of food supply and the vulnerable homeless and senior population.

• Working together with the Hawaii Food Bank, Castle associates have volunteered to distribute food to up to 300 families twice a month.

• Adventist Health Castle donated to Hui Mahi‘ai Aina, Chaplains continue a tiny home village in Waimanalo that was launched in to work with nursing staff and March. These funds provided a new shared eating area leaders to provide a supportive presence and space for for its 50 residents. loved ones.

• Castle partnered with Habilitat, a group home While Adventist Health Castle continues to focus for 120 residents in addiction recovery. Funds given its efforts on clinical care, it is clearer than ever that allowed them to repurpose their commercial kitchen to community wellbeing can only be accomplished when produce hot meals intended for children and seniors. we work together and realize that what happens • Castle provided a virtual course on resilience and outside the hospital is just as important as what thriving in place to senior care home residents. happens within.

• The medical center provided funding to local ____________________ schools to allow them to restock their cleaning supplies.

By Jesse Seibel • Local eateries that donated food received large food orders for hospital events.

As the state coronavirus infection rates continue to rise, Castle continues to serve all who come for care. Our drive-through service offers a safe way to receive a COVID-19 test. New emergency room procedures safeguard staff and patients from exposure. Many Castle Health Group physicians offer virtual visits and are taking new patients regardless of insurance. Screening at each hospital entrance ensures a contained environment for all.

Kathy Raethel, president, and Alan Cheung, CMO, wave with appreciation to commuters on their way to work after a month-long shutdown.

Hawaii Conference

October 2020 31

Continuing the Legacy

O

ur students are back! After they spent five long months away from campus due to state government COVID-19 stipulations, we are happy to share that our students returned to campus on Monday, August 17th.

To help curb the spread of the virus, our students did not return to the Holbrook Indian School (HIS) campus to finish out the 2019-2020 school year. Our Summer Experience program was also canceled.

Many of our students live in the Navajo Nation, which had the highest coronavirus transmission levels in the country. This is primarily due to a lack of clean water, access to healthy foods, and adequate medical care, along with overcrowded homes.

For nearly 75 years, HIS has been a safe place for Native American children and youth to live, learn, and grow. As we begin the 2020-2021 school year, we look forward to continuing that legacy.

We have a detailed plan in place to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.

We currently have 70 students enrolled for this academic year. It is vital to use the time that we have to serve and minister to our students, especially since many of their most basic needs are not being met at home. Please continue to pray for our students and staff.

Re-opening Plans Summary Below is a summary of our re-opening plans to keep our students and staff as safe as possible: • All students and staff tested for COVID-19.

• Students and staff will wear masks supplied by school.

• Frequently check for symptoms, including using infrared thermometers to check for fevers.

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Holbrook Indian School

• Keep a 6-foot distance wherever possible.

• Hand sanitizer stations in strategic locations across campus.

• Instruct students on hygiene protocols, such as how to properly wash hands and how to manage masks.

• Barriers placed where necessary.

• Face shields provided for all students and staff during meals.

• There is a limit of 30 people in the cafeteria. Students will also eat in classrooms, gymnasium, and outside.

A more detailed list with visitor guidelines is available on our website at HolbrookIndianSchool.org.

We are so grateful for everyone who made it possible for our students to return to Holbrook Indian School for the 2020-2021 school year.

We received gifts for school supplies, staff housing, and more than enough masks to keep our staff and students safe from contracting or spreading COVID-19 for months. We are hoping we won’t need them that long, but if we do, thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends, we are ready!

Our most urgent need is our Worthy Student fund.

Most of our students are unable to afford the $85 monthly cost for their portion of tuition. Without the help HIS is given from individuals throughout the U.S., our students would not receive a Christian education or the additional programs and services HIS provides, which include: • Three nutritious meals a day.

• Individual and group counseling and mentoring.

• A variety of extracurricular activities like mountain biking and hiking.

• Vocational classes such as welding, auto mechanics, woodworking, horsemanship, and agriculture.

• Art and music programs.

We praise God for the many ways He provides for our students through the kindness of others.

t

New Outdoor School Video HIS Outdoor School is one week of classes at the beginning of each year.

We take our students to one of four national parks and one city trip to San Diego. For many of our students, the trip to San Diego is the first time they’ll get to see the ocean and learn to navigate a big city. The classes include photography, birdwatching, ecology, oceanography, painting, fire science, and so much more.

Visit our website at holbrookindianschool.org/outdoor to see the video about our past trips.

Holbrook Indian School (HIS) is a first- through twelfth-grade boarding academy operated by the Pacific Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. HIS also manages a firstthrough eighth-grade day school on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona. Eighty percent of funding comes from individuals who have a desire to support Native American ministries and Christian education. Your generosity makes a difference in the lives of our students, their families, and the communities they serve. Thank you for your support.

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 910 I Holbrook, Arizona 86025-0910 (928) 524-6845 (Ext. 109) I Development@hissda.org HolbrookIndianSchool.org

Holbrook Indian School

October 2020 33

PHOTOS: LA SIERRA UNIVERSITY

So Cal School Kids Get 5,000 Free Backpacks Through Partnership Outreach

W

hen 9-year-old Quetzalli Dominguez opened her new backpack to find the colored pencils and other school supplies inside, it was almost like Christmas. “I love it,” she said, smiling behind her face mask decorated with small hearts.

But unlike holiday toys, the backpack gift brings deeper benefits—it will help Quetzalli complete her assignments this fall, encourage her interests in school, and ease expenses for her family. The youngster was among about 150 third- and fourthgraders at Twinhill Elementary School in Riverside, Calif., who received backpacks filled with school supplies on Aug. 28. The outreach was part of the “Every Child. Everywhere. In School.” campaign rolled out over the past year by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

In total, 5,000 green and black school backpacks were filled and distributed during August and September through a partnership with La Sierra University. The majority were delivered to 41 public schools in the Alvord and Riverside Quetzalli Dominguez, unified school age 9, explores the districts, aiding contents of her new students school backpack at enrolled in Twinhill Elementary School in Riverside, Calif. free lunch

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La Sierra University

FAR LEFT: Third- and fourth-graders at Riverside’s Twinhill Elementary received filled backpacks on Friday, Aug. 28, a joint outreach between ADRA International and La Sierra University. La Sierra students (left to right): Emily Suk, Shailani Skoretz, Ashley Peak, and Jodi Wilson.

MIDDLE: La Sierra University students Ashley Peak (left) and Jodi Wilson pause for a photo while filling backpacks with school supplies.

programs. A portion of the backpacks were also contributed to students in need at several Seventh-day Adventist academies scattered around Southern California, from Needles at the Arizona state line southward to the Los Angeles area and beyond.

Around 15 La Sierra students, masked and wearing blue surgical gloves, worked at the Zapara School of Business over two weeks in late August, unwrapping boxes of backpacks and filling them with notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, glue, erasers, colored pencils, scissors, and pencil sharpeners. A blue and gold La Sierra University “Change Your World” keychain was attached to the outside of each pack.

For the La Sierra University students, the outreach was a welcomed opportunity to help others and interact with their peers. The university’s foundational service and missions programs have been reconfigured due to the pandemic, and the campus has been functioning primarily online since March.

Ashley Peak, a third-year pre-dentistry major at La Sierra and former member of the student association, was grateful for the opportunity to become the hands and feet of Jesus in the community once again. “This past summer I truly was just at home, kind of thinking like, ‘Well, what am I doing here? I really feel like I'm not helping the community whatsoever.’

And in that sort of way, it was kind of hard for me to connect with God and Jesus,” she said. “Thankfully, I was met with this wonderful opportunity to volunteer.”

She added, “I think it really means a lot for the kids to be able to receive something from a college student,

and they know that it’s from La Sierra University.…

And if they want a fulfilling college life, you know, full of volunteer outreach opportunity, I think La Sierra could be an option for them as well.”

For educators, the donation of backpacks and supplies to young students comes at a crucial moment for families, many of who live in vulnerable circumstances made worse by the pandemic.

Approximately 98 percent of the 430 students at Twinhill Elementary participate in the district’s free and reduced fee lunch program, said Principal Mary McAllister-Parsons, and about 50 percent are English language learners, with many coming from immigrant families. “I’m super grateful for this outpouring of love, because that’s what I consider this,” she said. “It provides [students] with the means to enhance their learning. And it shows them that their learning and their education is important…to our community.”

Youngsters in TK through 6th grade at Mesa Grande Academy in Calimesa, Calif., received about 100 backpacks with supplies. After discussions in her fourth-grade Bible class, teacher Kristin Penington said her students decided they would personally each donate the packs to community families in need. The other classes decided to join them. The academy students designed and wrote greeting cards, which they put inside the packs.

Penington’s students have experienced their own difficulties and traumas as a result of the pandemic, with some facing the added stress of being impacted by the nearby El Dorado wildfire. “It’s an opportunity for the students to…pay it forward to the community,” Penington said. “They can give,…and be blessed more through that process of giving. To know that you have something to give and to extend that to others comes back around.”

By Darla Tucker

La Sierra University

October 2020 35

See the latest news and Health & Wellness stories from Loma Linda University Health at news.llu.edu.

Why Immunizations are More Important Now Than Ever

G

etting vaccinated is more important now than ever. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, kids are going back to school in-person and virtually, and flu season is right around the corner.

Jennifer Veltman, MD, chief of infectious diseases at Loma Linda University Health, says research continues to show that vaccines are safe. “It’s important to get vaccinated if you can. Widespread vaccination helps protect communities from outbreaks.”

Veltman urges adults and kids to get their scheduled vaccines, and here’s why: We are still in the middle of a pandemic.

Influenza is a deadly virus that has many—but not all—of the same symptoms of COVID-19. While there isn’t yet an approved vaccine against COVID-19, there are protective vaccines against other infectious diseases.

In any given year, nearly half of the U.S. population is vaccinated against the flu, which has a tremendous impact on decreasing the number of cases and deaths from the virus across the country.

“If we let our guard down this year because of COVID-19, we will see a spike in flu cases and increased deaths,” Veltman says.

The flu vaccine is not only beneficial to individuals to reduce their risk for illness, hospitalization, and death; it is also beneficial for the healthcare system.

“The fewer resources we utilize for influenza care, the more resources we have available to care for those infected with COVID-19 and other life-threatening conditions,” Veltman says.

In school or at home, kids still need their vaccines.

“Children often do not have natural immunity from past infections and are therefore at higher risk of severe disease,” Veltman says. “When you vaccinate your child, you also protect vulnerable groups, such as infants and

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Loma Linda University Health

people with weakened immune systems.”

According to Veltman, vaccination is the best way to protect children from severe illness and has the added benefit of decreasing spread to others, especially since many small children struggle with frequent hand hygiene and covering their mouths when coughing.

Veltman emphasizes that postponing childhood vaccinations puts kids and communities at risk of serious preventable diseases and urges parents to stick to the recommended vaccine schedule, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per CDC guidelines, immunizations are not just for kids. Lifestyle factors, age, and travel can impact one’s risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. Adults 18 and older should get the Tdap vaccine every 10 years as well as a seasonal flu shot every year.

Flu vaccines typically become available in October, which doctors say is the ideal time to get vaccinated.

However, as long as flu viruses are circulating, vaccinations should continue, even into January or later, as the flu season can extend into the later winter and early spring months.

New for this year for adults under age 65 is the availability of a quadrivalent high dose flu vaccine. In the past, individuals had to choose between a higher dose vaccine with protection against three influenza strains or a lower dose vaccine with protection against four influenza strains. This year, a quadrivalent high dose vaccine will be available, increasing the amount of protection the flu shot will provide.

Loma Linda University Health wants to care for everybody in the community, and Veltman says getting vaccinated is the first step. ____________________

By Briana Pastorino

Loma Linda University

Named a “2020 Great College to Work For”

L

oma Linda University is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to a new survey

by The Great Colleges to Work For® program.

The results, released in a special insert of The Chronicle of Higher Education, are based on a survey of 221 colleges and universities. In all, 79 of the 221 institutions achieved “Great College to Work For” recognition for specific best practices and policies.

Results are reported for small, medium, and large institutions, with Loma Linda University among medium universities with 3,000 to 9,999 students.

Loma Linda University won honors in three categories this year: confidence in senior leadership, job satisfaction, and work/life balance.

“We’re pleased to receive this affirmation, which recognizes that we are a community that values the needs and contributions of every employee,” said Richard Hart, MD, PhD, president of Loma Linda University.

The survey results were based on a two-part assessment process: an institution questionnaire that

captured employment data and workplace policies from each institution, and a survey administered to faculty, administrators, and professional support staff.

The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.

The Great Colleges to Work For® program is one of the largest and most respected workplace-recognition programs in the country. For more information and to view all current and previous recognized institutions, visit greatcollegesprogram.com. ModernThink, a human capital consulting firm, administered the survey and analyzed the results.

“This year’s list of recognized institutions in the Great Colleges to Work For® program was united in their commitment to organizational culture, even in the face of a worldwide pandemic,” said Richard K. Boyer, a senior consultant at ModernThink. “They stand apart in their recognition that workplace culture can actually be a roadmap for navigating uncertainty.” ____________________

By Ansel Oliver

Loma Linda University Health

October 2020 37

Adventist C

NUC Adventist Center of Influence Serves T he Adventist Center of Influence, an outreach of the Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC), has been serving the Reno/Sparks area for over four years. Like every type of ministry, the Center of Influence is always changing and searching for better ways to reach and serve the community.

Delberth Castillo, NUC’s Adventist Community Service director, has been managing the Center since June; in August, Jocelyn Lujan joined the team to assist him.

Castillo has plans for every square inch of the Center’s property. What used to be a patch of dirt and weeds at the back of the property is now a small garden tended by volunteers. This summer the food from the garden has been going to the food pantry at the Center. Next year Castillo hopes to have enough produce to supply a produce stand at one of the many farmers markets in the Reno/Sparks area, thereby not only raising funds for the Center of Influence but also making invaluable contacts in the community.

When asked about the programs in which the Center

of Influence is involved, Castillo said, “Wherever there’s a gap [in services being provided] we want to step in and fill that need. We’re not here to be competition with other community service programs. If we think of a program, we’ll reach out to the community to see if it already exists. If it does, we’ll try to help them; if not, we’ll start it.” The Center of Influence is currently hosting a variety of programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous, grief recovery, social awareness training, anxiety and depression recovery, and a thriving thrift store that is open daily.

Due to the increased unemployment rates that have accompanied COVID-19, the food pantry has become very busy. Previously, the food pantry was open once a month, but now, with the increased demand, it is open for two hours a day, four days a week.

Currently there is not a food

Deanna Fuentes, a former UNR social work intern, assists a customer with their food bank selections.

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Nevada-Utah Conference

Centers RIGHT: Current UNR social work interns Kathleen, Cali, and Reina hold a brainstorming session.

FAR RIGHT: A customer is assisted with his food bank shopping by a Center of Influence volunteer.

pantry in the area that is open in the evenings, making it difficult for some to take advantage of the service, so Castillo has plans to offer an evening pantry every week.

The Center of Influence has partnered with the University of Nevada Reno to offer internships for students in their social work program. After college, Catherine de Leon plans to become a counselor, so she feels that helping with the mental health programs offered by the Center is a great fit for her. Another part of the interns’ job is to canvass the neighborhoods around the Center, finding out what needs are present as well as offering information on the programs already available.

Deanna Fuentes was one of the interns from UNR. Although her internship has ended, her passion for the work at the Center of Influence is still going strong. She continues to be a faithful volunteer at least twice a week.

“Wherever there’s a gap [in services being provided] we want to step in and fill that need.”

"This place has a great vibe!" says Fuentes. "I love coming here and working with Delberth and Jocelyn. Their energy and passion make me want to do more!"

Castillo says that the Center of Influence would not exist without its faithful volunteers—individuals from the Reno/Sparks area churches, as well as community members who see the good being done in their neighborhood. Thank you all for loving your community through your service! ____________________

By Moriah Ward

LEFT: A former patch of weeds and dirt has been turned into a productive garden tended by volunteers, with produce going to the food pantry at the Adventist Center of Influence.

BELOW: Eva Marie and Robert Spears, Adventist Center of Influence volunteers from the Sparks church, are assisted by former UNR social work intern Deanna Fuentes in preparation for the day’s food bank distribution.

Nevada-Utah Conference

October 2020 39

PHOTO: BOB COOMBS

Volunteers at the Willows Adventist Community Services Food Bank help provide food for about 570 people each month.

The Willows Church

Takes a Leap of Faith and Steps Up to Minister

L

ast year, the Willows church’s Adventist Community Services program served about 20 people once a month, but God had a different plan for them.

Now, its weekly food bank serves an average of 570 people each month!

For the past decade, people in the small city of Willows, located in Glenn County, relied on the community’s main food bank operated by the First Southern Baptist Church. When that congregation could no longer keep the bank open, they asked ACS Director Arliene Yankee if the Adventist church would take over.

With a 17-member congregation of mostly senior citizens and only eight ACS volunteers, the church was struggling to maintain its facilities, not to mention its outreach program. The church board reviewed the responsibility, added work, and expense. After much prayer, they felt compelled to answer the call to serve, and they stepped out in faith, believing God had a plan.

They were right! When the Baptist pastor came to explain their new responsibilities, the ACS volunteers

“I am so impressed by the number of people that the church can help every week.

They are all so kind and they make me feel special.”

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Northern California Conference

learned that they would inherit the food bank’s refrigerators, freezers, shelving, and more than $20,000 in a bank account. In addition, many community churches, businesses, schools, and individuals continue to regularly donate money and food.

The new Willows ACS Food Bank opened in December 2019, not long before the pandemic hit. Since then it has been able to safely serve the community.

“The greatest joy has been getting to know, care, and pray for the individuals,” said church member Bessie Mikeworth. “Some ask especially to be prayed for.”

Community members express gratitude for both the food and the volunteers. “I very much appreciate the lifesaving work the food bank does,” said beneficiary Mel Dodge. “I would starve without their supplies. This is truly a blessing from God.” “I am so impressed by the number of people that the church can help every week,” said another beneficiary, Joan Femino. “They are all so kind and they make me feel special.”

“The people are wonderful and pray with you if you want,” added community member Darlene Willber.

The ministry has invigorated the congregation. “I never thought that our little group could handle this large responsibility, but the Good Lord knew,” said Yankee. “It is a blessing to me to greet these people who come to our food bank and pray with them. This is the only evangelistic outreach to the community that our small church has. We feel very blessed.” ____________________

By Virginia Coombs

Ministry Happens Even During Wildfires T

housands were forced to evacuate their homes as a result of the LNU Lightning Complex fires, the third largest wildfire in California to date.

“Unfortunately, some of our church families, including several of our NCC employees, lost their homes and/ or businesses,” said President Marc Woodson. “We have been in contact with them and continue to hold them up in prayer during this really difficult time.”

During the evacuation, some Northern California Conference (NCC) churches and schools served as resource centers for evacuees. “Everyone is just pulling together and asking, ‘How can we help?’” said Robert Kurtz, St. Helena church pastor.

Five NCC schools temporarily suspended instruction, and 20 educators evacuated their homes because of the LNU fire, but principals and teachers stayed in frequent contact with school families. For example, Foothills

A fire burns in the distance, visible from the Rio Lindo Adventist Academy campus in August.

Adventist Elementary School had optional online gatherings each day, giving students the opportunity to see their friends, show off their pets, and talk to their teachers. One student, who lost his home in the 2018 Camp Fire, spoke with his teacher every day for reassurance that his school was safe.

Currently, all NCC schools are holding classes, either online or in person. “Whether it be COVID or whether it be fire, our educators continue to come back strong,” said Lynal Ingham, associate superintendent of schools.

“Our teachers do whatever they can to bring Jesus to their students.” ____________________

By Julie Lorenz and Laurie Trujillo

Believe

NCCSDA

We still

November 4-7, 2020

Prayer and Praise November 4-6 7:00-8:00 p.m.

I

Mid-term Report November 7 4:30-6:00 p.m.

I

Northern California Conference

October 2020 41

PUC Students Travel to Beirut to Aid in Relief Efforts

O

n August 4, a huge blast struck the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, killing at least 135 people, wounding more than 5,000, and leaving more than 300,000 people homeless. On the other side of the world, Pacific Union College students Alex Nelson and Gilund Fayard were spending their summer working as guides for an outdoor adventure company. When given the opportunity to join relief efforts in Beirut, both young men jumped at the opportunity.

What made you decide to travel to Beirut?

Gil: I decided to go based on my personal connections, my skill set, and my flexibility. This summer, I worked as a guide for an outdoor adventure company called “Way to Moab” in Utah. My employers have connections to a nonprofit organization called Gideon Rescue Company, which has responded to nearly every domestic and international disaster for the last several years. They invited the Way to Moab guides to go to Beirut with them.

I knew I would get to use my skills in emergency medical care and technical rescue. Additionally, as a full-time student, I don’t have flexibility most of the year; because it was summer, I could leave for a week to serve.

The final factor in my decision to go to Beirut was that I felt a calling to risk my comfort and security so I could show God’s love through service to a struggling nation.

Have you responded to other disasters?

Alex: Not exactly, but my family was living in the Dominican Republic at the time of the massive Haiti

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Pacific Union College

earthquake in 2010. We felt it where we lived, and my dad, who is an orthopedic surgeon, was on the ground in Haiti (which borders the D.R.) just a few days after the quake. When I came over a few months later, the country was still in ruins. As an 11-year-old I wasn't very helpful in the disaster recovery operations, but that experience piqued my interest in disaster relief.

You’re in the emergency services program at PUC. Do you have any other training/certificates?

Gil: Through PUC’s emergency services program, I’ve been training as an emergency medical technician (EMT), along with technical rope rescue, swift water rescue, search and rescue, and emergency vehicle operations.

I’ve also been trained as a firefighter through Napa County’s CALFIRE volunteer fire academy. I’m an active member of the Angwin Volunteer Fire Department as a firefighter EMT during the school year.

What were your days in Beirut like?

Alex: Almost every day was different. The first two days we worked in the mobile clinic with Makassed General Hospital. On Friday I worked with AlMakan, a grassroots relief organization that

was started immediately after the explosion and is run mainly by Muslim women. They assess community needs and help families by providing aid such as clothing, hygiene supplies, rubble cleaning, repairs, and financial support. Sabbath we spent at Middle East University, an Adventist University in Beirut. Sunday, we worked with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to clean up streets filled with rubble and broken glass from the explosion. On our last day we made food bags for families and handed them out in the neighborhoods.

Can you share an experience that made an impact on you?

Alex: When we booked our tickets to Lebanon, we didn’t have a place to stay in Beirut and we had no idea what we would do when we got there. The philosophy of Gideon Rescue is to respond quickly and trust God to work out the details, and that’s exactly what we did. When we arrived in Beirut at 1:00 a.m., we slept on the floor at the airport for the first night. After that, we stayed in an empty apartment owned by a friend of a friend of a friend. We still needed help with transportation, food, and logistics. On the morning of our first day in Beirut, God provided these things through a kind woman named Soulaf. Throughout the week, Soulaf drove us around whenever we needed, let us use her WiFi and washing machine, bought and made us lots and lots of food, and even worked with us to pack food bags on our last day in Beirut. She was such a blessing to us, and it was amazing to see how God sent her to provide for all of our needs.

Was there anything you learned in your classes at PUC that you were able to utilize?

Gil: I was able to use multiple skills I learned in class, such as wound care, pharmacology, and patient assessments. When working with the Lebanese patients, I had confidence in my decisions regarding their treatment. Confidence is a quality taught to me by my EMT professors, Jeff Joiner and Matt Russell, through hours of lectures, studying, and training.

Alex: We certainly used our EMT training as we worked in the medical clinic, and all of our training in disaster management and team management was valuable. It was also very educational to see how the relief response was organized and which parts of it worked well. It was like a field trip to observe all the things we talk about in class.

You responded to a disaster overseas during a worldwide pandemic. What necessary precautions did you take to ensure your own safety as well as that of others?

Gil: Responding during the pandemic was challenging.

In order to board the flight, we had to present negative COVID-19 tests to the check-in attendant. Once we landed in Beirut and passed through customs, we were immediately tested for COVID-19 again. We made sure we always wore face masks and plastic face shields as we worked and traveled in Beirut.

Do you feel your experience changed you at all?

Gil: Serving in Beirut was exciting for me. I enjoyed using my skills, meeting people, and doing God’s work.

Because of my experience here, I know I’ll definitely be open to more disaster relief in the future. I saw God work His blessings right before my eyes.

Alex: Going to Beirut was a great spiritual experience, as we were forced to step out in faith and trust God to provide, which He certainly did. From an educational perspective, it was fantastic to be part of a disaster response and put into practice all of the things we learn in class. ____________________

By Dana Negro

“We certainly used our EMT training as we worked in the medical clinic, and all of our training in disaster management and team management was valuable.”

Learn more about PUC’s emergency services program at puc.edu/academics. Our team of admissions counselors can answer any questions you have about these programs or the other majors the college offers. Call 800-862-7080, option 2, or email admissions@puc.edu to get connected with a counselor now and start learning about all the options available to you!

Pacific Union College

October 2020 43

LEFT: Faculty and staff at Mesa Grande Academy hold signs to welcome students during their drive-by welcome back to school event.

BELOW: At El Cajon Christian School, faculty set up a place for students to take their “First Day of School” picture.

Making Lemons

into Lemonade

S

outheastern California Conference schools started classes virtually this year, but students were still able to visit campus for events to meet teachers and new classmates. At schools throughout the conference, principals, teachers, and staff made sure that the students felt welcomed back to school.

As Elisa Suphol, vice principal at Mesa Grande Academy, said: “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” This optimistic attitude inspired a lemonade parade on the evening of the first day of school. The families of the MGA students drove through campus, listened to the socially distanced band of their classmates, and enjoyed the lemonade that the teachers passed out to the cars.

Inviting students and their families to decorate their cars and drive through campus proved to be a good way for Escondido Adventist Academy to welcome students back to campus. According to Principal Bill Davis, “Thanks to EAA’s use of an FM radio transmitter, each car could tune into an FM station and hear music and fun commentary as they drove through campus.”

Teachers set up supplies and welcome gifts for the new year under the portico, and students could stop their cars, collect their supplies, and take pictures with specially made signs.

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Datha Tickner, conference associate superintendent, said that although schools could not meet in person on the first day, “more and more schools have been able to successfully apply for waivers to allow for in-person instruction for grades K-6.” Tickner said that schools that have been allowed to open for younger grades follow screening measures and social distance guidelines, with masks for students and teachers. The Office of Education is working closely with schools and the county public health departments on the new criteria for instruction for all grade levels. “It keeps us on our toes,” Tickner said.

On the first day of school at El Cajon Christian School, the 32 students from kindergarten to eighth grade were able to meet their teachers and new classmates for a well-attended icebreaker with popsicles, balloons, and games. “We painted circles on the grass so that the students would stay six feet apart,” Pendeza Lawrence, principal of El Cajon Christian School, said. “The students ran to find the circle for them and enjoyed playing games for prizes.” Each student had their picture taken in front of a cheery, bright yellow banner that read “First Day of School.” ____________________

By Tricia Murdoch Zmaj

Churches Meet Growing Needs of Communities During COVID-19

I

n the months since the spread of COVID-19, families has changed. Explained Algier Ravelo, senior pastor of in the Southeastern California Conference have the church, “We have food distribution every Tuesday struggled with needs like food, rent, and childcare. and Thursday, serving 100 to 200 people.” Most come to Church-run distribution centers have become more gather food for their families, in households where they important than ever, serving their neighbors facing no longer have employment. The church also regularly hardship. receives donations of used clothing, household items, Outreaches like those operated by the Valley and even cash that they can pass on to those who are Fellowship church in Rialto have struggling. “Lately,” Ravelo recalled, “We are feeding become an important point “we received a donation of a motorized of contact with community wheelchair.” more people than we members.

Like their neighbors in Rialto did before, and the “We are feeding more people and Redlands, members of the San than we did before, and the Bernardino Community church have number is growing.” number is growing,” said Baron doubled their food bank efforts. The Sovory, Valley Fellowship church pastor, of their church has been able to provide disadvantaged families expanding food distribution. Sovory had just begun his with temporary housing, and “our food bank is now ministry at the church a few weeks prior to the spread open three days a week. On average each week we of the virus and had no clue that the pandemic was feed over 600 families,” said Jerrold Thompson, pastor about to put his church front and center. of the church. In spite of the challenges presented, the “I was still brand new!” Sovory recalled. “Though we congregation’s volunteers are not giving up. “What we are pray and hope the pandemic will end soon, this season doing is a must,” Thompson emphasized. has been an unexpected opportunity to do ministry Moving forward, all three churches are aiming for and build relationships.” further expansion of aid. As Sovory explained, “Food Similarly, the Inland Empire Filipino church has seen is the start, but not the finish.” Valley Fellowship is an increase in the basic needs of their community. partnering with Loma Linda University for community Volunteers used to serve food to approximately 50 health initiatives, while San Bernardino Community homeless people a week. Over the past few months that recently launched an outdoor church service on Sabbath evenings. “There are a lot of people who need help, and God also has a lot of resources,” Ravelo shared. “We have many challenges. But we’re all blessed.” ____________________

By Natalie Romero FAR LEFT: Food distribution at the Inland Empire Filipino church.

LEFT: Carolyn Fairley, director of community service at Valley Fellowship church.

Southeastern California Conference

October 2020 45

PHOTOS: SARAH GUTIERREZ AND SANDRA NARVÁEZ MCLEOD

LEFT: Narváez (left) pictured singing with the Lincoln Heights Spanish church choir. Narváez sang in the choir well into her 90s, often accompanying them with her cello. MIDDLE: Narváez (front, right) with volunteers at AHWM. RIGHT: Narváez pictured with her family at her 95th-birthday celebration.

Eva Narváez:

Celebrating a Woman of Faith

E

va Narváez was described by her family as a woman before her time for her professional achievements, her dedication to her community, and her passion for Christ and His church.

This woman of faith made a profound impact on our Hispanic community in the Southern California Conference.

Narváez was born April 8, 1920, in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the Catholic church. In her 30s, she met a Bible worker at Adventist Health White Memorial (AHWM), which she described as a life-changing encounter.

Shortly after, she joined the Adventist church. Later, she and her good friends Eufrosina Benitez, Atalia de la Vara, and Plácido and Eva Ortiz, became founding members of the Lincoln Heights Spanish church. She worked closely with Pastor Fred Hernandez and his wife when they became leaders of the church. Narváez helped spread the word about the church in the community as it began to grow. She purchased a van to transport members as they shared God’s word and even drove new members to church on Sabbath mornings.

Narváez ministered locally by passing out Christian literature, helping shape future generations in the church, CORRECTION: In the September issue, the article entitled “Women Driven by Service Prove COVID-19 Can’t Stop Love” on page 56 omitted the team’s name for the project and described the sandwiches they distributed as veggie. The team named their project #CovidCantStopLove, and the sandwiches were made with turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. We apologize for these errors.

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Southern California Conference

and volunteering at AHWM chaplain’s department for many years. She led groups to Los Angeles County General Hospital to read Scripture, sing hymns, and worship with patients. She also worked with the Dorcas Society, often collecting donations of clothing to take to Tijuana, Mexico.

Narváez raised three daughters on her own, working long hours to make ends meet and ensuring they learned to be independent and resourceful. She was affectionately known as “Maki” by her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and family meant everything to her.

“Every time we saw her, she asked three questions: ‘Are you going to church?’ ‘How’s work?’ and ‘Are you being nice and praying?’” recalled her granddaughter, Sarah Guiterrez.

Narváez’s determination also guided her profession.

She worked at La Opinión, a Spanish-language news outlet based in Los Angeles, for more than 45 years and became the first female manager of the classified section.

“She valued the Lord and His work in the world,” said her daughter, Sandra Narváez McLeod. “She was dedicated to spreading His word and working in the Latino community to bring individuals to the Lord.”

Narváez passed away in Glendale on July 4, 2020, at 100 years of age. She was dedicated to her family, her community, and her Lord, and she will be greatly missed. ____________________

By Araya Moss

Members Connect Through

“Stories From My Kitchen” Cooking Series

I

“ n this age of social distancing, fear, and isolation, it is especially important to be able to hear one another’s stories and to see God at work,” said Simon Liversidge, pastor at The Place Adventist Fellowship church. “We were searching for an interesting way to tell stories, and I came up with the idea of telling stories connected to food. Where better to tell stories than your kitchen?”

After the death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests against racial injustice that followed, Liversidge believed it necessary to encourage conversation from different perspectives—and the “Stories From My Kitchen” cooking series was born.

Enzo Nguyen, a new member at The Place with a background in photography, experience with film and production, an interest in food, and a passion for God, hosts the series each week.

During each hour-long episode, guests prepare a dish from their culture. Since June, viewers have learned how to make Mexican tamales, Korean japchea, Filipino lumpia, South Indian dahl and rice, Australian pavlova, and many other dishes.

The production is truly a one-person show: Nguyen plays producer, host, and crew. He is not discouraged, though. “As soon as the camera starts rolling and people begin to share, I immediately remember why I’m here,” Nguyen said. “When I hear the stories, it’s a reminder to me of how God is constantly at work.”

Nguyen presents two loaves of sourdough bread that he baked, each with a different scoring technique.

Originally, the series was set to conclude by the end of summer; however, people are still interested and willing to share. They plan to continue through the end of the year.

“The food has been amazing,” Liversidge added, “but the stories have been such a blessing.”

Learn more and watch the videos at https://scc.adventist.org/stories-from-my-kitchen. ____________________

By Araya Moss

FAR LEFT: Kristi Lee tops her Korean japchea, a glass noodle stir-fry, with garnish.

LEFT: Fred Jean-Marie places the Martinique empanadas in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes.

Southern California Conference

October 2020 47

ALCANCE

ALCANCE Scholarships Assist Aspiring Latino Students

By Faith Hoyt

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scholarship program for Latino students in the Pacific Union Conference that launched in 2015 is continuing to provide mentorship and financial assistance to young people pursing Adventist Education.

ALCANCE, a non-profit organization of Adventist educators and church leaders, helps give Latino Adventist students access to Adventist Education through various means, including scholarships and a One recent ALCANCE mentoring program. scholarship recipient “For Latinos, acquiring a Christian is Ana Chujutali, who education is often perceived as out of graduated last school their reach due to the prohibitive costs year from Redlands Adventist involved,” said Martha Havens, associate Academy (RAA). During her two and a half director for elementary education in years at RAA, Chujutali demonstrated a passion the Pacific Union Conference. “It is this for both academics and helping her community. perception that closes the door to lowincome families. Scholarships encourage students to believe that the door to Christian education is still open to them. The ALCANCE scholarship program includes educating parents about government financial resources available to them in addition to program scholarships.”

ALCANCE, which stands for Adventist Latino Council Advancing & Nurturing Christian Education, is co-sponsored by the Pacific Union Conference, the Center for Research on Adventist Education (CRAE) at La Sierra University, conferences, individual donors, local churches, and mentors.

The scholarship organization looks for highly motivated and service-oriented high school students who aim to attend an Adventist college. One of the students who fit that

“It is this perception that closes the door to low-income families.

Scholarships encourage students to believe that the door to Christian education is still open to them.”

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Three of this year’s ALCANCE scholarship recipients who attend Mountain View Academy are Alihia Barroso (left), Ashly Barroso (left), and Haisley Maceda Ponce (middle). description is Ana Chujutali, who graduated last school year from Redlands Adventist Academy (RAA).

“Ana was on my campus ministries team and had a great passion for helping the community from a school’s perspective,” says Lemar Sandiford, campus chaplain at RAA. Sandiford says that during Chujutali’s two and a half years at the academy, she demonstrated a passion for both academics and helping her community near and far.

“Ana exhibits a selfless, Christlike character and cares passionately for her circle and the wider community,” Sandiford said. “We support students like her especially because they give back. Any scholarship is important, and this one in particular, because skilled students who might

not otherwise have this opportunity are able to pursue priceless education.”

This year, six students are currently receiving scholarships. Since 2015, ALCANCE has helped 25 students total. Out of the 25 students, 10 have graduated from Loma Linda Academy, La Sierra Academy, Thunderbird Adventist Academy, Redlands Adventist Academy, and Mountain View Academy.

Church members interested in mentoring young people or starting an ALCANCE program in their local church are encouraged to talk to their local pastor.

Requirements for scholarship applicants include meeting a minimum GPA of 2.0 and submitting a letter of recommendation from a pastor and/or teacher. For more information or to apply for aid, visit alcancelatinos.org.

Hispanic Congregations Host Virtual Evangelistic Outreach

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By Faith Hoyt, n the second half of September, the Hispanic Ministries Department of the Pacific Union with Abigail Conference, together with 160 congregations across the union territory, launched a virtual Marenco evangelistic outreach series titled “An Encounter with Jesus.”

During the virtual series, Alberto Ingleton, director of Hispanic Ministries for the Pacific Union Conference, presented helpful topics for those experiencing difficult times, including biblical stories and effective methods for changing one’s destiny Continued on page 50 through an encounter with Jesus.

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“Despite the national and global crisis that we are going through under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, 160 Hispanic congregations in the Pacific Union have come together to proclaim in our communities that Christ is not quarantined,” said Ingleton. “On the contrary, He is eager to meet men, women, and youth—to free them, to heal them, to break their chains, to return their smiles and fill their hearts with hope.”

While it is not safe to present in-person evangelistic programs, these congregations are moving forward in sharing the hope a relationship with Jesus can bring to those around them. In

Continued from page 49

addition to the 160 Pacific Union congregations, churches from El Salvador and Honduras also tuned in.

The series launched September 19-26, and all were invited to tune in to recover their faith and learn how Jesus brings significance to our lives amid difficult times—which can take the form of a troubled marriage, depression, or chaotic finances.

“An encounter with Jesus brings hope to everyone,” Ingleton said. “It reignites community, strengthens faith, and provides encouragement. Our series introduced a Jesus who brings hope and salvation to all.”

The programs, hosted in Spanish, were aired on the Pacific Union Conference Hispanic Ministries Department on Facebook, @HispanicMinistriesPUC. Videos are posted to Facebook and also the Pacific Union Conference YouTube channel, @PacificUnionSDA.

PUC Church Welcomes Lead Pastor Chanda Nunes

By Ashley Eisele

“Pastoring a campus church is an exciting and unique experience!”

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he Pacific Union College Church welcomed new Lead Pastor Chanda Nunes in late summer, after more than a yearlong search to find the right candidate.

“Pastoring a campus church is an exciting and unique experience!” said Pastor Nunes.

“You have great resources at hand, the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, energy and insight from all age ranges, and the desire to come together to learn and to lift up Jesus!”

Pastor Nunes was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and is a graduate of Burman University, formerly Canadian University College, (B.A. in Religious Studies, with a minor in Biblical Languages) and Andrews University (Master of Divinity). She also holds associate degrees in Private Investigation and Paralegal Studies and is a certified life coach practitioner.

She began her pastoral ministry in August 2003, serving the Alberta Conference at the College Heights church on the campus of Burman. From 2008 to 2015, Pastor Nunes served the Kansas-Nebraska Conference at the New Haven church and was the first Black

I Newsdesk

pastor ever to serve in the conference, as well as the first Black woman pastor to serve in the MidAmerican Union. During her time there, in 2011, she was commissioned.

Pastor Nunes has served in the Northern California Conference since 2015, most recently at the Capitol City church in Sacramento. She is the first Black woman pastor to serve within the conference.

In June 2018, she was ordained.

“My biggest hope for right now,” Nunes said, “is that this pandemic will cease and that we have an opportunity to come back together as a church family to experience the love and fellowship that we have been missing all these months.”

Association of Adventist Women To Host Virtual Conference

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By Nerida Bates, he Association of Adventist Women (AAW), in partnership with the Loma Linda with Faith Hoyt University church, has put together a series of six Sabbath vespers programs addressing leadership called “Finding Purpose in Uncertain Times.”

Women speakers from Africa, Australia, Europe, and the United States will gather virtually to share their combined expertise. The series begins Oct. 10, with lead speaker Linda Becker from Union College defining leadership as finding our purpose. A discussion facilitated by Ella Simmons, vice president of the General Conference, will follow, with panelists Andrea Luxton, president of Andrews University; Helen Staples Evans, senior vice president for patient care services at Loma Linda University Health; and Olive J. Hemmings, professor of religion at Washington Adventist University.

“Because the gospel commission calls everyone to share Christ, we believe all Christians will glean strategies of courage and persistence necessary in these uncertain times from this vespers series,” said Nerida Taylor Bates, president of AAW. Subsequent vespers topics will highlight how self-care is essential for leading (Oct. 17), ministering to church communities (Oct. 24), how Jesus defines leadership as serving (Oct. 31), health promotion as a uniquely Adventist leadership role (Nov. 7), and how to create community (Nov. 14). The speakers are well placed to address the issues—from Gwendolyn Winston Foster’s fight against obesity as Philadelphia’s fitness czar to Jody Rogers story of how her quilting group pivoted to sew hundreds of face masks for local nursing homes.

The series focuses on advice for people leading during uncertain times, but the definition of crisis varies widely. Southeastern California Conference President Sandra Roberts will address moving church services online due to the pandemic. Ana Thompson Costescu will talk about how The Sabbath Sofa Project addresses evangelizing atheists. Joy-Marie Butler, founder of ADRA’s Keeping Girls Safe, Continued on page 52 will address the lack of adequate bathroom facilities in schools in Papua New

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Guinea, which puts girls at a disadvantage. Psychologist Rita Mercer will discuss the increased need for self-care for those witnessing racial injustice. Lori Barker, multicultural psychologist from Cal Poly Pomona, will address creating community, not just within groups but between diverse groups.

The international lineup of speakers includes representatives from Adventist Female Pastors of Africa and Pam Townend’s presentation on the South Pacific Division’s public health initiative “10,000 Toes.”

AAW takes full advantage of their online format’s global access. Though this did present an issue of how to be viewed in so many time zones, it was solved by using an on-demand format.

The videos will be posted on the AAW website associationofadventistwomen.com, for Sabbath vespers viewing in all time zones. It will also be broadcast live at the Loma Linda University church at 5 p.m.

The event is free. To partner with AAW in supporting Adventist women globally, donate and become a member on their website, or call 951-837-1450.

Continued from page 51

Adventist Christian Fellowship Distributes Playbook; Gears Up for Virtual Bible Studies

By Faith Hoyt

A

52 Pacific Union Recorder

dventist Christian Fellowship (ACF) teams across the Pacific Southwest are gearing up for another year of ministry—and with the help of a team outside the Union, new tools to navigate the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are available.

This year, an ACF Playbook, which was developed by the Georgia Cumberland Conference (GCC), is being distributed online to students on public campuses. This playbook is a starting point for reimagining ministry on campus during a pandemic that has brought on the need for social distancing.

“If you think COVID-19 is preventing sharing good news on campuses, think again!” shares Ron Pickell, ACF volunteer coordinator for the Pacific Union and North American Division.

“The gospel has no walls, and this very helpful resource will guide you to ways that God can still work through your ACF Chapter and use you to bring good news to campus.”

The ACF Playbook maps out ways to continue ministry inperson, online, and even during a hybrid campus experience.

“We created this little guide to help our students do ministry this year,” said Don Keele, Young Adult Ministry and Adventist Christian Fellowship director at the Georgia-Cumberland Conference. “Many may find themselves jumping from one

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scenario to another as the virus does its thing and their university makes changes on the fly. Hopefully, with their great leadership team and this guide in hand, they will be able to shift with those changes and not miss a beat in ministering to their fellow students.”

Thanks to the GCC ACF team, a free PDF download is available on the resources page of the ACF website, acflink.org. Students are encouraged to check out this resource and get started with some creative ideas for ministry on or off campus.

In addition to new planning resources, students also have access to a new Journey Series Small Group Bible Study and accompanying participant’s guide, authored

by Pickell. Journey was created for college students to use in larger, weekly meetings either on or off campus in a teaching and small group discussion setting. This latest study, titled “Before All Things,” focuses on Paul’s experience in ministering to the house church in Colossae—an experience from which college students can draw relevant lessons.

ACF members will study through the latest Journey Series with their teams on Zoom every Wednesday night at 8 p.m., starting September 16 and ending October 28. The registration form for this virtual study is also available on the resources page of acflink.org.

Begins Third “Season” for Storytelling

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twice-weekly portal for storytelling has recently begun its third “season.” Since January of 2019, Adventist academies, elementary schools, and churches across the Pacific Union Conference have contributed to a project called Pacific Sunrise. This twiceweekly email features short, inspiring stories—often showcasing what Adventist Education is all about. Now entering its third academic school year, the e-newsletter has curated over 350 stories.

“These stories sum up the inspiring things happening in our union in about 120 words or less,” said Faith Hoyt, editor of Pacific Sunrise and communication specialist for the Department of Communication and Community Engagement at the Pacific Union.

“Boiled down, each story highlights the ways our schools and churches are loving, serving, or leading their communities.”

Hoyt attributes the success of Pacific

Sunrise to close collaboration with the Pacific Union Office of Education. Now past the “beta testing” phase, the Union communication team is developing an established online presence where past stories are archived and current stories are showcased.

“What amazes me are all the unique, creative, but simple ways people are staying connected and encouraging each other during the pandemic,” Hoyt shared. “There are a lot of people going the extra mile during this time, and we can learn from these stories.”

This year, every school in the Pacific Union is scheduled to be featured in Pacific Sunrise.

While no schedule exists for churches, church members are invited to share stories via email to News.Desk@adventistfaith.com. Pacific Sunrise is sent out on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m. To subscribe to this e-newsletter, visit adventistfaith.com/subscribe/.

By Connie Vandeman Jeffery

“These stories sum up the inspiring things happening in our union in about 120 words or less.”

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New Ways to Access and Study THE WRITINGS OF ELLEN G. WHITE

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he writings of Ellen G. White have been a great source of direction and encouragement to Seventh-day Adventists across the entire history of our church. Her inspired insights

into the Scriptures and daily life have helped shape the way Adventists live out their Christian faith. Generations of Adventists have been blessed and guided into lives of devotion and service through Mrs. White’s faithful witness and the Spirit of Prophecy.

The writings of Ellen White are available in book form through the Adventist Book Center, and they may also be purchased online.

The Ellen G. White Estate has developed a powerful and effective set of tools for Bible students and readers.

They offer online databases of the writings of Ellen G. White and apps for reading on all the major computing platforms and in dozens of languages. This includes digital versions of many of her books, formatted for use on e-readers.

The 2021 Adult Devotional Book of the year is Jesus,

Name Above All Names. Ellen White used an amazing variety of names when she referred to Jesus—840, in fact.

This new devotional book gathers together 365 readings from her writings that focus on this rich diversity.

WHITEESTATE.ORG EGWWRITINGS.ORG HTTPS://ADVENTISTBOOKCENTER.COM

54 Pacific Union Recorder

Calendar Central California Conference

Many events and outreaches are now being virtually presented or streamed online. As new information is available, updates will be noted on the Events page of the website. Just click on Events above the yellow banner. Visit us online at www.CentralCaliforniaAdventist.com for all the updates.

La Sierra University

Archaeology weekend goes virtual. The Center for Near Eastern Archaeology is offering a fascinating virtual tour of its ancient artifacts collection, archaeological excavation presentations with Q&A and more. “A Passion for Preserving the Past: Showcasing Archaeology at La Sierra University” will be held Nov. 14, 3-6 p.m.

PST. For information: www.lasierra.edu/archaeology; archaeology@lasierra.edu; 951-785-2632.

Virtual music performances. To view Zoom video musical productions by vocal group United, student recitals, and other productions, visit La Sierra University Music on YouTube. On Instagram, follow @kenaiso1 to watch live home mini concerts weekly by La Sierra adjunct violin/viola instructor and concert artist Ken Aiso.

The La Sierra Report. Stay in the know and sign up to receive The La Sierra Report, a monthly e-newsletter of interesting news and events. To subscribe, send your email address and subscription request to pr@lasierra.edu.

Financial Aid Webinars.

La Sierra University is offering financial aid webinars on Wed., Oct. 28 from 7-8 p.m. (in English) and Wed., Nov. 11 from 7-8 p.m. (en Español).

To reserve your spot and learn about other informational webinars

and future dates, visit lasierra.edu/webinars.

Northern California Conference

Youth Rally (Oct. 24). Conference-wide online event. Info: eddie.heinrich@nccsda.com.

Instituto Laico Adventista de California (ILAC) (Oct. 25-26). Online training in leadership and church administration for Spanish-speaking laypeople.

“Leadership in the Bible and Ellen White’s Writings.” Info: nccsda.com/ilac, 916-886-5614.

“We Still Believe” (Nov. 4-7). Conference-wide online event. Prayer and Praise: Wed. through Fri., 7-8 p.m. Midterm Report: Sabbath, 4:30-6 p.m. Info: info@nccsda.com.

Instituto Laico Adventista de California (ILAC) (Nov. 22-23). Online training in leadership and church

Advertising

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Acceptance of any advertising shall be considered a matter of accommodation and not a matter of right, nor shall it be construed to constitute approval of the product or service advertised.

Payment in advance must accompany all classified advertisements or they will not be published. Display ads for known advertisers will be billed. To pay by credit card, please go to recorder@ adventistfaith.com.

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Information The Pacific Union Recorder is published 12 times per year with a circulation of approximately 75,000. For more information about advertising, please email to recorder@adventistfaith.com.

2020 Deadlines These are the advertising deadlines for the Recorder. Your local conference news deadlines will be earlier.

November: October 5 • December: November 5

Contributions

The Recorder pages are assigned to the local conferences, colleges, and health care institutions, and all content comes through the communication departments in those organizations. If you have a news story/idea, calendar announcement, etc., please contact your local communication department. See the masthead for contact information. Want tips for writing for us? See www.dailywritingtips. com/the-art-of-writing-news.

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I October 2020

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administration for Spanish-speaking laypeople. “Models and Styles of Leadership.” Info: nccsda.com/ilac, 916-8865614.

Get the News! Engage with the Northern California Conference by subscribing to the NCC’s weekly emailed news source, “Northern Lights.” Sign up: nccsda.com.

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SDA Immigration Attorney. We handle family and employment-based immigration cases for clients throughout the United States and around the globe. We also provide free immigration law seminars for churches and other groups. Please contact Jason Mustard at 831249-9330 or Jason@surowitz.com.

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Adventist Media Ministries treasury department is seeking a full-time staff accountant. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in accounting is required, and two years of experience is preferred. Our offices are in the Riverside area of Calif. Please contact the Human Resources department at 805-955-7715 or hr@sdamedia. com, or you may visit the following link for more information about the “Staff Accountant” position and to apply: https://www.adventistmediaministries.com/ available-positions/.

Diez palabras

que dan vida

Octubre 17-24, 2020 Será transmitido por YouTube y Facebook.

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At Rest Barnes, Leonard Allen – b. Nov. 15, 1938, Molus River, New Brunswick, Canada; d. Aug. 8, 2020, Cloverdale, Calif.

Batch, Delmar Donald – b. July 30, 1934, Acampo, Calif.; d. Aug. 18, 2020, Lodi, Calif. Survivors: wife, Doris; son, John; daughters, Laura Richards, Lisa Mack, Linda Sanchez; sister, Viola Wilbur; 10 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Bobst, Robert Ellison – b. Sept. 20, 1925, Melrose, Mass.; d. May 4, 2020, Loma Linda, Calif. Survivors: wife, Margaret; daughter, DeeDee Bobst-Gregory.

Dalton, H. Mark – b. Aug. 25, 1952, Dayton, Ohio; d. May 22, 2020, Roseville, Calif. Survivors: wife, Marilee Serns Dalton; daughters, Emily Lannuzel, Julie; brothers, Stanley, John; sisters, Dorilee Neufeld; Karyn Stagg; five grandchildren. Served as a pastor/youth pastor/family pastor in the Carolina Conference, Madison Campus in Tennessee, The Bridge in Kentucky, Blue Mountain Academy and Youth Camp in Pennsylvania, Azure Hills church in California; associate ministerial director in Pennsylvania; set up financial and construction processes for Maranatha Volunteers International in India; junior high teacher in the Central and Northern California conferences.

Diede, Rodney – b. Sept. 25, 1939, Lehr, N.D.; d. July 24, 2020, Modesto, Calif. Survivors: wife, Ilene; son, Glenn; daughter, Jolene Wolff; two grandchildren. Rodney served the denomination for 44 years, including ABC management and as the business manager for three

Vice Presidente de la Unión del Pacífico

56 Pacific Union Recorder

Real Estate

I Community & Marketplace

academies.

Greene, Clora (Jordan) – b. Sept. 12, 1930, Bivins, Texas; d. July 21, 2020, Stockton, Calif. Survivors: son, Michael; daughters, Barbara, Vickie Davis; daughter-inlaw, Monica; sister, Janice Gregory; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren.

Hansen, William E. – b. July 9, 1930, Blair, Neb.; d.

Aug. 14, 2020, Walla Walla, Wash. Survivors: son, Terry; daughter, Debbie Bullock; three grandchildren; two greatgrandchildren. He served 31 years as head of Custodial Dept. at Pacific Union College.

Herber, Raymond – b. March 1, 1932, Shattuck, Okla.; d.

Aug. 21, 2020, Loma Linda, Calif. Survivors: wife, Marilyn; son, Steve; daughters, Susan Mace, Sandra Fisher; five grandchildren.

Hibbard, June – b. Feb. 10, 1935, St. Cloud, Minn.; d. Aug. 13, 2020, Loma Linda, Calif. Survivors: husband, Tom; daughter, Dawn; three grandchildren.

Johanson, Lorraine – b. Nov. 20, 1932, El Paso, Texas; d. Aug. 29, 2020, Loma Linda, Calif. Survivors: husband, Edgar; daughters, Dana LaBard, Leslie Bedros; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild.

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SIMPLE GIFTS IS BILL JOHNSSON AT HIS BEST!

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ecorder readers can receive a free e-book of Dr. William G. Johnsson’s new SIM PLE book Simple Gifts GIFTS by signing up to receive the inspiring news from around the Pacific Southwest, including All God’s People, the weekly videoblog with Connie Vandeman Jeffery, and Pacific Sunrise, the twiceweekly email of good news from our schools and churches.

Scan the QR code in this ad or go to adventistfaith.com/subscribe to subscribe and for instructions on how to download Simple Gifts in pdf format. This book is being serialized in this magazine and on our website and is also available on Amazon.com.

d. Aug. 7, 2020, Sonora, Calif. Survivor: sister, Elsie Stock.

Schimke, Lyda Dell (Baumbach) – b. Dec. 19, 1929, Sykeston, N.D.; d. Aug. 9, 2020, Spokane, Wash. Survivors: daughters, Shelly Zinke, Candy Breitmaier, Susan Smith; seven grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren. Served Lodi Fairmont church in Sabbath School, Pathfinders, and education.

Stelling, Shauna Lynae – b. July 7,1982, Palm Springs, Calif.; d. July 24, 2020, Fallon, Nev.; Survivors: parents, Rick and Pam Stelling; aunts, uncles, and cousins from both the Stelling and Ford families.

Tayaben, Rosita “Rosie” Perez – b. April 21, 1936, San Juan, Batangas, Philippines; d. Aug. 8, 2020, Loma Linda, Calif. Survivors: husband, Roger; son, Reginald; daughter, Katherine; siblings, Anita Perez, Reuel Perez, Eunice PerezOllom, Rebecca Perez-Abuel, Elizabeth Perez-Ramos.

West, Marcella (Kulow) – b. Feb. 26, 1931, Kansas City, Mo.; d. July 17, 2020, Sacramento, Calif. Survivors: husband, Richard; daughters, Joan Hammer, Susan Cornwell, Dethene West, Ramona Dahnert, Rosalie MacArthur; 14 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; 10 great-great-grandchildren.

Workman, Sandara Lee – b. Oct. 19, 1943, Dayton, Ohio; d. May 5, 2020, Yreka, Calif. Survivors: husband, George; sons, James, Daryl; daughter, Sherrie; stepsons, George, James, Robert, Thomas.

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O A K & A C O RN IS A PU BLISH IN G MIN ISTR Y

City/Location

OCT 3 OCT 10 OCT 17 OCT 24 OCT 31

Alturas 6:39 6:27 6:17 6:06 5:57 Angwin 6:48 6:37 6:27 6:18 6:10 Bakersfield 6:36 6:26 6:17 6:09 6:01 Calexico 6:23 6:14 6:05 5:58 5:51 Chico 6:45 6:34 6:24 6:14 6:05 Death Valley (Furnace Ck) 6:27 6:17 6:07 5:59 5:51 Eureka 6:54 6:42 6:32 6:22 6:13 Four Corners [E] 6:55 6:45 6:36 6:27 6:19 Fresno 6:38 6:28 6:19 6:10 6:02 Grand Canyon (South Rim) 6:08 5:58 5:49 5:40 5:33 Half Dome 6:37 6:26 6:17 6:08 5:59 Hilo 6:06 6:00 5:54 5:50 5:46 Holbrook 6:00 5:51 5:42 5:34 5:26 Honolulu 6:16 6:10 6:04 5:59 5:55 Joshua Tree 6:25 6:16 6:07 5:59 5:52 Lake Tahoe 6:38 6:27 6:17 6:08 5:59 Las Vegas 6:20 6:10 6:01 5:52 5:44 Lodi-Stockton 6:43 6:33 6:23 6:14 6:06 Loma Linda 6:29 6:20 6:11 6:03 5:56 Los Angeles 6:33 6:24 6:15 6:07 6:00 McDermitt [N] 6:27 6:16 6:05 5:54 5:45 Moab 6:56 6:46 6:36 6:27 6:18 Monterey Bay 6:47 6:37 6:27 6:18 6:11 Mt. Whitney 6:32 6:22 6:13 6:04 5:56 Napa 6:47 6:37 6:27 6:18 6:09 Nogales [S] 6:05 5:57 5:49 5:41 5:35 Oakland 6:48 6:37 6:27 6:18 6:10 Paradise, CA 6:44 6:33 6:23 6:13 6:04 Phoenix 6:09 6:00 5:51 5:43 5:36 Puuwai, Ni’ihau [W] 6:07 6:01 5:56 5:51 5:47 Reno 6:37 6:26 6:16 6:06 5:58 Riverside 6:30 6:21 6:12 6:04 5:57 Sacramento 6:44 6:34 6:24 6:14 6:06 Salt Lake City 7:05 6:53 6:43 6:33 6:24 San Diego 6:29 6:20 6:12 6:04 5:58 San Francisco 6:48 6:38 6:28 6:19 6:11 San Jose 6:46 6:36 6:26 6:18 6:09 Santa Rosa 6:49 6:39 6:29 6:19 6:11 Sunset Beach 6:46 6:36 6:27 6:18 6:10 Thousand Oaks 6:35 6:26 6:17 6:09 6:02 Tucson 6:05 5:56 5:48 5:40 5:33 [N]=Northernmost [S]=Southernmost [E]=Easternmost [W]=Westernmost point in the Pacific Union

O F TH E P A CIFIC U N ION CON FER EN CE “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

58 Pacific Union Recorder

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!

NEW FROM

October 2020 Sunset Calendar

PACIFIC UNION

P.0. Box 5005 Westlake Village CA 91359-5005

P E R I O D I CA LS

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