Adventist Church elects Stanley Arco as South American Division President; and other world news

ANN brings you updated reports from the Adventist community: With recommendation from the South American Division (SAD), the Executive Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted to accept Stanley Arco as the division's new president. He will replace Erton Köhler, who was recently elected as Executive Secretary of the Adventist Church. Arco is an experienced leader in both Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Adventist Church. He has served as a church pastor in Brazil, a youth ministries leader for 17 years, the secretary of the South Parana Conference in southern Brazil, and later, as assistant to the SAD president. In the Philippines, a recently concluded special constituency meeting of the South Philippine Union Conference (SPUC) voted to split the territory into two distinct union organizations. With the rapid growth of church work in the region, the constituents believe that dividing the domain into two organizations is the best way to fulfill the church's mission. After approval, SPUC will send this action to the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD), which will advise the union on how to complete all the necessary paperwork to prepare for a final vote by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. In South Australia, students and staff from Prescott College Southern visited Kangaroo Island to help with bushfire recovery efforts. The activity was an Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Connections Go Local trip that impacted both residents and students. The students helped local farmers and residents with tasks like replacing burned fencing, weeding, and general garden maintenance. The resilience of the locals was a key takeaway for the students. In the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, ADRA and Adventist volunteers started providing food and clothing to hundreds of displaced persons due to the recent La Soufrière volcanic eruption. Nine Adventist churches and one secondary school are being used to shelter over 300 people. Just recently, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grenada also donated water and rice, and more supplies are expected from local fields in neighboring islands. ADRA will assist in an initial one-month response to prepare and distribute hot meals daily for 600 staying in shelters. If you feel the urge to help, please visit ADRA | Adventist Development and Relief Agency International. In Zaoksky, Russia, the Helper class of the Zaoksky Adventurer Club visited the Ellen White Research Center. The children heard inspiring stories from the lives of early Church pioneers and watched a video about Apostle Paul's missionary journey. They were also given two books, The Great Controversy, and Secrets of the Ship, and were challenged to share these with others. Most of the children finished the task and are now looking forward to receiving their Evangelist patch. In Brazil, students from the Colégio Adventista de Joinville coordinated a campaign to raise food donations for the Animal Shelter of Joinville to alleviate the animal food shortage. This children's initiative started from reading the book, The Boy and the Yellow Dog by Walda Rosa Abreu, which tells the story of a puppy who spent all day alone, ran away, got lost, and was later adopted by a family who loved animals. Watch these and more hope-filled updates. You can always visit ANN for daily news and videos. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axUDxIHYWIE