Adventist Review

Health screenings and educational seminars held during the recent Samoa for Christ evangelistic initiatives brought preventive care into local communities amid the country’s growing noncommunicable disease crisis. During the nationwide campaign that ran August 16-30, health teams and 10,000 Toes ambassadors offered free wellness checks at many sites before the nightly evangelistic meetings.

These are no metaphors. They are true horror stories. And they are heartbreaking. Since ADRA Camp in Morvedre, Valencia, Spain opened in 2003, the coordinators of its annual intercultural camp for children have listened to much more that they would have liked. Activities and games at the Morvedre ADRA Camp near Valencia help children develop their motor and social skills. [Photo: ADRA Spain Facebook] There was that child who knew his mother was practicing prostitution in the next room.

On September 19, Maranatha Volunteers International held its forty-eighth annual convention, Mission: Maranatha, at Trinity Life Center in Sacramento, California, United States, welcoming close to 1,600 people. Among the many reports from various church leaders of countries in which the ministry is currently active, Maranatha announced a new effort in Colombia, to begin in 2027. The collaboration came at the request of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Colombia.

More than 300 members of Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASi) in Europe met in Fribourg, Switzerland, September 23-26 to recommit to the mission of sharing Jesus in the marketplace. The participants, who hailed from more than 20 countries and lead various ministries and businesses, had time to learn from each other, worship together, and discuss better ways of—as the event theme suggested—sharing Christ together.

Niki Djordjevic did not arrive at Andrews University planning to use his studies for mission work. When he began the five-year architecture program, his motivations were considerably more practical. “I was doing architecture more for the money at first,” Djordjevic admits. A mission trip to Honduras during his third year began to change that perspective. Invited by a friend only two weeks before the trip, Djordjevic traveled with a group that served at an orphanage and in nearby communities.

Seventh-day Adventists across Cuba launched their local phase of the worldwide OneVoice27 initiative on September 5 during an evangelistic caravan that traveled through 12 of the island’s 15 provinces, drawing hundreds of church members and visitors for worship, training, baptisms, and evangelistic meetings.

When illness moved through 34-year-old Jenna Phillips’ household in January, it seemed like an ordinary family bug. Her husband and three young children were sick at different times, each with different symptoms. Phillips developed a fever, felt better for a little bit, but then got worse. “I was trying to chase my 2-year-old around to get her pajamas on, and I just couldn’t do it,” she said.

The resignation of Kang Soongi, Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) president, was received by Erton Köhler, General Conference (GC) president, on September 28. Kang’s resignation will be presented to the GC Executive Committee. Kang was elected NSD president at the 2025 GC Session, after serving as president of Korean Union Conference (KUC) from 2020-2025. Kang presented administration with a letter of resignation while attending pre-meetings in the United States ahead of Annual Council.

A Seventh-day Adventist who spent nearly four decades feeding and caring for people in need has been honored with a life-size sculpture in Canberra, Australia. The late Stasia Dabrowski, a longtime member of South Canberra Seventh-day Adventist Church, is among significant Canberra women recognized through an Australian Capital Territory government public art initiative.

September 5 marked a significant day for the Ukrainian Adventist community in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as nearly 300 people gathered for the official opening service of the new Ukrainian Seventh-day Adventist congregation, “Peremoha,” meaning “Victory.” The special Sabbath celebration brought together church members, pastors, community leaders, friends of the church, and many visitors.