Deadly Tornadoes Hit 6 US States and Kill Over 88 People; and other world news

This week on ANN Over the weekend of December 10th, deadly tornadoes tore across six US states. More than 88 people have been confirmed dead and it is expected that number will rise. North American Division Adventist Community Services (ACS) has been working to keep up with the latest situation in the US states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi. Assessment is taking place at present and three of the North American Division conferences, or administrative offices, are actively putting together their ACS teams. The North American Division is supporting these efforts and has been in direct contact with conferences in that area and nearby: Kentucky-Tennessee, South Central, Arkansas-Louisiana, and Georgia-Cumberland conferences. An Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Community Center was inaugurated in Nouakchott, the capital of the West African country of Mauritania. The ceremony took place on November 2 in El Mina. The new center was built with 34,000 plastic bottles filled with sand. The thermoregulatory building has three floors and was made with concern for environmental protection and recycling of plastic waste. The bottles were collected by community young people. Some of them were brought because they had become a precious commodity. The cost of the project was around $ 117, 000. It was co-financed by ADRA International and ADRA Belgium. This initiative is part of ADRA’s capacity building activities through education and training in small trades. In Brazil, representatives of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) arrived in southern Bahia on Friday, December 10, to assess flood damage and initiate emergency response measures for 24 towns in the region. Since December 7, torrential rains and the collapse of a dam in the interior of Minas Gerais have contributed to widespread problems in southern Bahia. An extratropical cyclone that occurred on December 9 increased the damage, leading the Government to declare a state of public calamity in the territory. ADRA director for the state of Bahia, Leonardo Mendes, announced their first priority will be the distribution of drinking water to residents. ADRA International is also mobilizing resources that will be used in the response, based on the diagnosis and more immediate needs of families affected by the disaster. AdventHealth provides health screenings to student athletes in several of its US markets, including in Volusia County, Florida, where screenings have helped identify and address risk factors like cardiac conditions. Check out the difference it made in the life of one student athlete, Ethan Piazza. More from AdventHealth: (link) March 19 is Global Youth Day. It’s a time when young people from all over the world take time to “Be the Sermon” in their communities. This year’s theme is “Loving the Forgotten.” Check out for more news updates and inspiring stories within the Adventist community. Visit Adventist News Network Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLOhuJ54Jkc