– Ukrainian Adventist Institutions support and serve citizens – ADRA Humanitarian Agency and Adventist Church distribute food for refugees, displaced persons and Ukrainian citizens
– Mother and children travel days to reach Ukraine-Romania border – – – – – – – – – – – – More than 1 million people have been displaced due to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis… As people seek to flee conflict, ADRA teams report crowding and increased volatility across borders… In addition to border support, ADRA distributes food to internally displaced people in shelters in Ukraine… The ADRA team, even those living in the midst of conflict, continues to provide humanitarian aid with support from partners outside the country… In Odessa, faithful distribute food and books of hope…. In Khmelnytsky, homeless people are fed… Today's “ANN” ends with the image of a baptism in the city of Volochysk… What a symbol of rebirth and new life Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVi2reNOzCw

I am Maksym Krupskyi, Hope Media Group Director, Ukraine. We appreciate your prayer support so much in such a challenging time for our country. It's an unofficial information from Union, but I want to tell you little more what is happening here. We have 41,159 church members and 743 churches in Ukraine. For now, we don't have information that somebody was injured from our people and we hope that it will be in future the same. But, two Church buildings were damaged but not critical. When the invasion started, many people decided to evacuate to the west part of Ukraine, closer to borders with Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. There are hundred thousand refugees now. All our church buildings, schools, sanitariums in Western parts of Ukraine are ready to accept and already accepting people from all regions, helping them with shelters and food. Our center of higher education and seminary near Kyiv was evacuated on Thursday. On their way to the west, they experienced a huge explosion close to their transport, but finally, all students were safely delivered to their shelter. Our Hope Media Group Team numbering 162 people are safe now, but some of them remain in the big cities where the fighting is going on and they need your prayers. And now, right now, as well as millions of Ukrainians, all of us know that Jesus' second coming is near. Bible tells us that there will be war rumors and wars in the last time, but it's always scary when you wake up from explosions and understand that and realize that it's not just rumors but real war. Nevertheless, we have hope. We have God's promises and we believe in His protection. It's a time to finish our mission on this Earth and to share our hope. These people who desperately need it here in Ukraine, now in Russia, everywhere. Stand with us in prayers for peace in Ukraine.
Thank you. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80OEGeC1ks0

This week on ANN. In the United States, the Oakwood Adventist Academy High School Boys Basketball team had to forfeit a playoff game, giving up their chance to win a state championship, because the game was scheduled on Saturday, or Sabbath, February 19. The team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen playoff round. When they learned they were given a 4:30 p.m. game time, they asked the Alabama High School Athletic Association and other teams in the regional tournament if they would switch them to the 7:30 p.m. game, which was after Sabbath. The Oakwood Adventist Academy said they were not looking to change the date or location, but only switch their time with another team until after Sabbath. The Alabama High School Athletic Association has denied that request twice over email. In Samoa, vulnerable families are being assisted with new housing as part of a partnership between the Samoan government and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). The Samoan government allocated 1 million Samoan tala from its stimulus package to assist struggling families in 2020. ADRA Samoa used the grant to build a simple wooden house for 120 families. Fifty-three houses were also refurbished by ADRA. Earlier this month the Samoan government announced further funding of 2 million talas for ADRA Samoa and Caritas Samoa as part of its Shelter and Hygiene Facilities Program. Caritas has received 500,000 talas to construct water tanks, while ADRA has received 1.5 million talas to build homes, sanitation facilities, disabled ramps, washbasins and security fencing for each house. This will support 88 vulnerable households. ADRA Samoa is also continuing its Maluapapa Safe Haven Project in partnership with Habitat for Humanity New Zealand. In South Colombia, more than 1,000 laypersons were recently trained during a special congress to strengthen small group ministry in the City of Villavicencio, not far from the capital, Bogota. On February 5, the lay congress drew regional and local leaders from the East Los Llanos Conference to better equip small group leaders and active members in spreading the gospel where they live. Themed Esperanza Definitiva, or The Ultimate Hope, the congress sought to “bolster the lay forces developing the discipleship, retention, new believers, and missionary couples ministries in each congregation with the purpose to preach the gospel everywhere in the region.” The construction of the Adventist College of Alagoinhas, in Bahia, Brazil, became a point of preaching and decision. Of the 74 construction workers who worked on the project, 37 are studying the Bible. The South American Division shared this story of Juclei Araújo, a bricklayer who was baptized as a result of the work of the Caleb Mission volunteers. It’s been almost two years since the Seventh-day Adventist World Church launched the new strategic plan “Reach the World: I Will Go.” At the core of the plan, I Will Go is a rallying cry to Total Member Involvement. It’s about each of us individually and it’s about the corporate church, too. We need to partner together to share the gospel with our communities and to the ends of the earth. ANN recently sat down with a special assistant to the Seventh-day Adventist World Church president, Michael Ryan, to talk about “I Will Go” and how everyone can participate. A Brazilian journalist, television producer and researcher felt the Lord’s calling to go to Lebanon for an important mission. Larissa Preuss left her comfort zone and went to work as a volunteer teacher for Syrian refugee kids in the country. Adventist Mission has more: (link) We will never stop working diligently for God’s service while waiting for Christ’s soon return. ANN is very pleased to share how every church mission has been guided by God’s leading. Be in the know of the latest news and updates within the Adventist community. For more information, go to https://adventist.news/ Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiQFiGLyOM0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwNuECBfwFA

In this video, Pastor Ted Wilson and his wife, Nancy, talk about Creation as discussed in the sixth fundamental belief of the Seventh-day Adventists. They begin by mentioning the most complicated and expensive space observatory in history so far, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched on December 25, 2021. It was a result of decades of painstaking research, detailed planning, and complex engineering by a multinational team of astrophysicists, astronomers, engineers, and other scientists. It was designed to accomplish what other space telescopes haven't been able to—to peer deep into the cosmos and see light from the earliest galaxies to form the "Big Bang." Indeed, this is an amazing achievement by man. But it's so ironic that most people do not see that the vast universe is created by an all-powerful God Who spoke worlds into existence. We read in Psalm 19:1-3: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Also, Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." Our existence and the existence of this world and the universe come from the power of the Creator. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). With this, the fundamental belief of Creation is foundational to who we are and what we believe and practice as Seventh-day Adventists. This doctrine states: "God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation, the Lord made 'the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them' and rested on the seventh day." It continues, "Thus, He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today." "The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was 'very good,' declaring the glory of God." "The work of creation cannot be explained by science. What science can explain the mystery of life?…In the creation of the earth, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter. 'He spake, and it was;…He commanded, and it stood fast' (Psalm 33:9). All things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice and were created for His own purpose. The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, came into existence by the breath of His mouth. In the creation of man was manifest the agency of a personal God" (Ministry of Healing, p. 414). In continuation, "when God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, intelligent being. All parts of the human organism were set in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue, the hands, the feet, the senses, the faculties of the mind, all began their work, and all were placed under law. Man became a living soul. Through Christ the Word, a personal God created man and endowed him with intelligence and power" (Ministry of Healing, p. 415). How comforting it is to know that we were created by a personal, self-existing God Who loves us and has endowed us with intelligence and power! Above all this, love motivates what God has done for He is love. He created us not only for us to love Him but also so that He could love us. In the next episode, we will look more closely at why understanding Creation is important and how foundational it is to our lives today. In the meantime, Pastor Wilson invites you to visit adventist.org/creation to read more. Also, you can find videos, presentations, articles, photo galleries, and more at grisda.org. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwNuECBfwFA

Are you looking to develop a deeper, longer lasting relationship with your child? Maybe you’re worried they are having too much screen time and not enough quality time with their friends or family. Maybe you’re worried you are spending too much time on your phone, at work, or busy with day-to-day life to truly connect with your child. This week Sam and Jennifer talk to adolescent and child psychiatrist Marissa Leslie about ways to strengthen your relationship with your children. ___
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