24 November 2022 |

La Sierra University Signs Educational Partnership with Naval Center

La Sierra University signed an Educational Partnership Agreement with the Naval Surface Warfare Center of Corona on Monday, November 14, 2022, at an official signing ceremony on campus. In a video of the event, La Sierra President Joy Fehr spoke about the importance of community partnerships to further education in the Inland Empire. Fehr was joined by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) representatives Captain Michael Aiena and Karen Myles.

The agreement aims to help build La Sierra’s STEM program, and the partnership would secure a number of benefits for both organizations. NAVSEA would be able to offer positions to students who are looking to help with future technologies, paving the way for new generations of talent to bolster their programs. La Sierra would be able to share faculty and staff, and the organizations would share equipment and technological knowledge in order to give students practical skills and experience.

ADRA Helps Indonesians After Earthquake

ADRA has increased efforts to help Indonesians in the West Java province, along with four other districts, heavily affected by the 5.6 magnitude earthquake on Monday, November 21, 2022. According to ADRA’s report on Wednesday, the earthquake “killed at least 268 people, injured over 1,000, and displaced nearly 60,000 families, children, and individual citizens.” Currently, there are more than 150 people still reported missing.

ADRA workers have mobilized on the ground to provide shelter kits to local residents, enabling them to create emergency shelters or make repairs to the shelters they are currently utilizing.

In an article in The Guardian, Karlo Purba, the Indonesia program director at ADRA, said that ADRA would roll out information on saving, not destroying, damaged homes. “Once people destroy their damaged house, they will need to 100% rely on the government to reconstruct it, but that will take time, maybe a year, to get the funding.”

Resources are also being sent to some of the most vulnerable areas, and emergency construction crews are being trained in proper quake-proof techniques in order to rebuild properly.

Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) Holds Third Mental Health Summit

More than 200 representatives attended the Mental Health Summit held at Life Hope Impact Center in Silang, Cavite, Philippines, on the weekend of November 11-13, 2022. Under the direction of Dr. Lalhaine Alfanoso, SSD Health Director, the team from the (SSD) Health Ministries Department has created several mental health curricula and programs to be used throughout the division. This is the third summit held on mental health topics since 2020.

According to the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site, the summit highlights the importance of the link between spirituality and mental health and seeks to give the attendees the most recent knowledge on the best ways to handle social problems relating to mental health after the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the speakers at the summit was Dr. Torben Bergland, one of the associate directors of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ Health Ministries Department. “Bergland discussed the relationship between Christianity and mental health and how it relates to our church’s identity and mission. The breakout sessions featured discussions from medical health professionals on various subjects, including how to deal with student mental distress, minimize work burnout, look after church members and communities in distress, and more.”

One contributor to the mental health curricula and programs recently produced by the (SSD) Health Ministries Department is Dr. Rhalf Jayson F. Guanco, of the Adventist University of the Philippines. He was awarded The American Psychological Association (APA) Citizen Psychologist Award in August of this year.

Peruvian Union University Offers Free Baking Workshops to Entrepreneurs

In a program spanning from October 21 – December 12 of this year, Peruvian Union University (or UPeU, as it is known in Spanish) will be offering free baking workshops as part of a social initiative in partnership with the Agrarian Agency of Lampa and Yunguyo.

According to UPeU’s website, the program “aims to train and prepare entrepreneurs in the processing of baked goods (baking), so that they can implement good practices in their associations and obtain better results.” There are five work modules where the students will learn how to make cupcakes, cakes, cookies, empanadas, and panettone.

The program will be offered at no charge, and students in the class will be provided with all of the ingredients necessary in order to complete their training.

Trans-European Division (TED) Year-End Meeting Report

TED Executive Secretary Robert Cszimadia shared membership profiles, baptism numbers, and other data on the status of the Trans-European Division in TED’s Year-End Meetings, reported by TedNews on November 18, 2022.

TED Membership Statistics were as follows:

• 88,601 members
• In 1,399 churches and companies
• Representing 11 unions and 3 fields
• In 28 countries and territories
• And among 207,147,000 people

The Average TED Membership Profile:

“If we were to try and describe the typical TED member, she would be female, 49 years old, and married with two or more children. Half of the children, on reaching adulthood, are still church members.”

• Of all TED members, 44% are first-generation Adventist.
• On average, a long-time church member has been in the church for 26.5 years.
• The average TED congregation consists of 50 members.

TED Baptismal Numbers:

• Baptismal growth over the past year shows a 29% decline.
• There is no change in our ability to keep our young people in the church –  it is still only a 50% rate.
• The TED has received 58% fewer letters of transfer from members moving into the territory.

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