“Satan cannot penetrate a family that has strong family ties.”

 

 

 

 

The evening meeting was over (St. Louis, Missouri, 2005), and thousands of Adventists were making their way outside and down the stairway to the transit trains. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were wall-to-wall people right up to the edge of the platform—no barriers between us and the tracks several feet below. One lonely platform guard was on duty to maintain order among the surging crowd. He anxiously looked this way and that, concerned about what might happen. One inadvertent push or shove and we would witness a terrible disaster. The tension in his face was clearly visible, though he tried to maintain his official composure.

 

Just then, my wife and I decided to start singing “We Have This Hope.” Soon it spread to those around us, eventually swelling to the entire crowd in that cavernous environment and on both sides of the tracks. It was a very special and moving moment as we continued with “Amazing Grace” and other songs until the train appeared. The effect on all, including the guard, was palpable. I often wonder what impression he took home from that experience. Perhaps he thought, Who are these people? (see Rev. 7:13).

 

 

 

 

IN THE GARDEN: Rebecca Turk works and chats with a neighbor boy in a community garden planted by Rustin and Stacy Sweeney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am father of four children, and they need to go to school. So pray for me to get the school fees. Thank You, God.

 

—Robert, Tanzania

 

 

Please pray that my husband will believe and join the Seventh-day Adventist Church; and the depression I suffer will be lifted.

 

—Pat, United States

 

 

Please pray for an organization in Congo that is attempting to raise funds for a large number of orphans.

 

—Jean Marie, Democratic Republic of the Congo

 

 

I ask prayer for my health and my family.

 

—Miguel, Colombia

 

 

I thank God for answering my/your prayers. God has provided full employment at the company where I was doing my attachments. This is through your prayers. May God greatly bless you as you continue blessing others in the same way.

 

—Jinks, Zambia

 

 

I know some very difficult times these days. During an earthquake in January the last building I lived in collapsed. I lost everything, and my daughter who was my only companion died that day. I am alone and clinging to the promise of eternal life that Jesus has given us. Pray for me, please.

 

—Dorcas, Haiti

 

 

Please pray for me. I have a serious headache problem which started last year. It is disturbing me in my studies and at work. Doctors have recommended a variety of pills, but they are not helping me. I believe God is the only one who can heal me. Thank you.

 

—Leonard, Zimbabwe

 

The Place of Prayer; send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Send us your prayer requests and praise (thanks for answered prayer). Keep your entries short and concise, 75 words maximum. Items sent to this category will be edited for space and clarity. Even though we will pray for each entry during our weekly staff meetings, not all submissions will be printed. Please include your name and your country’s name with your entry. You may also fax requests to: 1-301-680-6638; or mail them to Adventist World, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A.
  

More History in Rome 

I read with enthusiasm “Adventist Outreach Takes Rome by Storm” (July 2010), which I consider to be a real miracle, a modern miracle that God allows to happen. Praise His name! I’ll be praying that those people in Rome who are anxious to know the truth will be confirmed in the truth of Jesus’ gospel and soon join His church through baptism.

 

I also pray that the ministry of It Is Written will continue to receive approval from heaven.

 

 

 

Quiet Traveler—Hardly Silent 

I had the joy to touch and read the beautiful traveling Bible described in the “Follow the Bible” article 
(July 2010).

 

 

 

A Reason to Read 

Thank you for sending Adventist World to Yangon Attached District (YAD). We receive 
200 copies every month. Members around YAD are very happy and inspired by this magazine, especially as they read stories about the gospel work around the world. I am also inspired by this message in articles and stories. These become an example for members to participate in church work and missionary activities. Some cannot read English, but when I mention the messages from the magazines, it also benefits them.

 

I am very grateful. Sometime I wonder if it can be translated into Myanmar language, so that members may read the interesting stories and articles themselves. We are blessed.

 

 

 

Common Ground 

I am writing about a feature by William G. Johnsson, “Adventists and Muslims: Five Convictions” (February 2010). For so long I have been trying to find out what we share or have in common, but never found it clearly until Sabbath when I had the chance to read it in Adventist World. I’m willing to understand more and more, and even be able to reach out to my friends.

 

We do not receive the magazine on time here—for instance, it’s June, and we are receiving the February issue.

 

Keep doing God’s work.

 

 

 

I’m an Adventist of Jewish origins. I just read “Adventists and Muslims: Five Convictions,” by William G. Johnsson (February 2010). I’m very glad God is working to dispel prejudices that are unbiblical. I hope another article will deal with Jewish-Adventists.

 

May God bless you a lot for work led by the Spirit of God.

 

 

 

I sent a copy of the February 2010 Adventist World to my son who has a Muslim housemate with whom he is on friendly terms. This Muslim gentleman found the article “Adventists and Muslims: Five Convictions” very interesting and put it straight into his computer. He is going to show it to his friends. I have since received mail from him. This is another way of making friends with people of other faiths.

 

Since then I have given copies to two other Muslims, who also found this a very good piece of work. All three people have a better knowledge of our Bible than many Westerners. I am looking forward to more contact with all of them.

 

To be on good terms and be friends with Muslims is seen by them as an honor. We have to nurture these plants.

 

 

 

Watching the World Church Grow 

We get Adventist World in our church, but not every issue. With a shrinking world, I feel Adventist World is essential to my growth in Jesus.

 

I’m retired for the past six years and am awed by the growth of the world church. Pennsylvania Conference is beginning a community work in an old factory used by artists for their studios, and a space was available. For a variety of reasons my wife and I have not been involved, but we desire to keep abreast of movements of the Lord in the world among His people.

 

 

Letters Policy: Please send your letters to the editor to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Letters must be clearly written and to the point, 250-word maximum. Be sure to include the name of the article, the date of publication, and page number with your letter. Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.

 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

—Jesus, recorded in Matthew 11:28 (NIV); inscription in Croatian language, on the wall behind the pulpit of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Pula, Croatia, circa 1972; submitted by Guillermo and Cristina Herbert, Valencia, Spain

 

 

 

A friend, who was having special music for the worship service at church, announced that he was going to attempt to play “Without Him.” After church he said, “I didn’t do too well on that song.”

 

With humor, my husband replied, “That is because you tried to play without Him!”

 

 

 

This past July my husband and I were spending our last vacation morning at the beach, watching the sun come up.

 

We were discussing the difficulties we’ve experienced in our lives during the past year and how life has become so fast-paced, so out of control. We wondered how we were going to manage it all.

 

As we were talking we noticed a plane leaving a line in the beautiful sky. A short while later a second airplane crossed the line, making a cross in the sky. This cross shape appeared just at the time when we were feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. I believe this was not a coincidence, but a sign and reminder that God will never leave us and we are never alone.

 

 

 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

—Jesus, recorded in Matthew 11:28 (NIV); inscription in Croatian language, on the wall behind the pulpit of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Pula, Croatia, circa 1972; submitted by Guillermo and Cristina Herbert, Valencia, Spain

 

 

 

A friend, who was having special music for the worship service at church, announced that he was going to attempt to play “Without Him.” After church he said, “I didn’t do too well on that song.”

 

With humor, my husband replied, “That is because you tried to play without Him!”

 

 

 

This past July my husband and I were spending our last vacation morning at the beach, watching the sun come up.

 

We were discussing the difficulties we’ve experienced in our lives during the past year and how life has become so fast-paced, so out of control. We wondered how we were going to manage it all.

 

As we were talking we noticed a plane leaving a line in the beautiful sky. A short while later a second airplane crossed the line, making a cross in the sky. This cross shape appeared just at the time when we were feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. I believe this was not a coincidence, but a sign and reminder that God will never leave us and we are never alone.

 

 

 

 

You will probably agree that if your neighbor doesn’t know Christ, they should. But what if you are literally unable to speak their language? If English is your only language, for example, how can you communicate with your Vietnamese, Ethiopian, or Turkish neighbor about the peace and hope you have through Jesus Christ?

 

It is this challenge that prompted Adventist World Radio (AWR) to launch a massive Internet podcasting outreach that makes gospel programming available to listeners around the world in their own languages, regardless of where they live. Just imagine the possibilities! Now almost 2 billion Internet users across the planet can access the Adventist message of hope in Christ in more than 100 mission-critical languages.

 

In its first 90 days of going “live,” the United States has become the largest consumer of almost every one of the 107 languages now available on the Internet. But there is more!

 

To help church members utilize the podcasts to reach their neighbors, AWR is developing downloadable “neighbor invitations” in every broadcast language, which can be printed and shared with friends and neighbors. Check it out now by going to awr.org/invite.

 

“When people are living far from their homelands they are especially anxious to hear messages in their mother tongues,” says Benjamin Schoun, AWR board chair.

 

“This is amazing technology,” says Dowell Chow, AWR president. “AWR is committed to helping you share the good news of salvation with people right in your own neighborhood. And now it is easier than ever before. 

 

“Because of faithful ministry partners like you, AWR has grown in ways that the organization’s leaders could hardly have imagined when they aired the first broadcast in 1971. Today, we are truly speaking in tongues by blanketing almost 80 percent of the world’s population. We are on the air thousands of hours each and every day using AM, FM, shortwave, Internet, and podcasts.”

 

The Holy Spirit is being poured out around the world and now is the time to act. Please pray for us today!

 

 

 

I am a student in Kagumo Teachers Training College in Nyeri. Please pray for our Seventh-day Adventist group to be strong in faith. Thank you.

 

—Askenas, Kenya

 

 

Please pray for me and my two daughters. All three of us are in bad health.

 

—Mary, United States

 

 

I have been working in Thailand for almost five years now. My contract is ending. I pray for another job, as my heart is willing to be of service to God in the church, and I want to help my family. Include me in your prayers.

 

—Jennelyn, Thailand

 

Thank you to your prayer group. My brother is enjoying the best health he’s had for 20 years! Please pray for my mum, and that I will obey Jesus in every area of my life so I can fulfill His plan for me—friendship evangelism.

 

—Claire, United Kingdom

 

The Place of Prayer; send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Send us your prayer requests and praise (thanks for answered prayer). Keep your entries short and concise, 75 words maximum. Items sent to this category will be edited for space and clarity. Even though we will pray for each entry during our weekly staff meetings, not all submissions will be printed. Please include your name and your country’s name with your entry. You may also fax requests to: 1-301-680-6638; or mail them to Adventist World, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A.

Reading and Writing 

Thank you for the editorial “Those on the Shore,” by Bill Knott (July 2010). It is heartwarming. It’s an exceptionally splendid issue.

 

 

 

Even the Least Is Much 

I am very pleased to receive the Adventist World magazine in Spanish. Kimberly Luste Maran’s article “Convicted by a Scrap of Paper” (June 2010) was very informative because it showed me the importance of the magazine in the world. I thank the Lord for inspiring leaders to undertake this project.

 

It was also very timely to read “In God’s Image,” by Richard Spillman; it came at a time when I was preparing a sermon on Fundamental Belief No. 7, the Nature of Man.

 

 

 

Cleverly Disguised 

I greatly appreciate the article by Roy Adams entitled “Spiritual Perils” (May 2010). This form of subtle spiritualism seems to surround us in our daily life in Christian books, music, television programs, even well-intentioned e-mails. This is an issue beyond our identity as Adventists; it is, as Adams rightly states, about the “integrity of our faith.”

 

Belfast, Northern Ireland
 

 

Knowing My Work in the World 

The article by Kari Paulsen entitled “What Happens to the Wanderers?” (January 2010) really touched me. I sent it to my fellow Adventist youth to help to realize our commission on earth.

 

 

 

It’s Really a Good Thing 

I write to request Adventist World magazine published by your loving organization. I came across the May 2009 edition of the magazine, and having gone through the articles therein, I was richly blessed, although I am not a Seventh-day Adventist.

 

I pray that the Lord will continue to strengthen and support your ministry. Thanks a lot for your labor of love as regards the expansion of the kingdom of God.

 

Dugbe, Ibadan, Nigeria 

 

 

I am grateful for Adventist World and have answered the questions [in the Bible Study]. I congratulate your office very much for the devotion to sending these to reach everyone in the world. Be blessed abundantly.

 

Kenyenya, Kisii, Kenya 

 

 

I commend the good work done by the publishers of this magazine. It has been a real blessing to me and my friends, both Adventists and non-Adventists.

 

I paraphrased information written by William G. Johnsson about forging relations between Muslims and Christians. I used the note in our leading newspapers, and it was a blessing to many.

 

Keep up the good work and disseminate the publications even more.

 

 

 

Satisfied Readers 

Greetings in Christ Jesus! It’s a great satisfaction being a reader of Adventist World, which is certainly blessed by God’s hand. Each month since 2007 I see my dear brothers in Christ, church programs, and the outside world in many different situations. What is amazing is that the distances seem to disappear through the faith that unites us through this link.

 

The articles are excellent spiritual food. I get it every month and read all of it without missing a single article. I do not know whose idea it was to create Adventist World, but I know it was directed by God. This magazine is a powerful way to connect the people of God throughout the world until the glorious day when we can live together forever with the Lord! Pray without ceasing for the return of the Lord Jesus! We love our church and all that is produced by it. May God continue to bless.

 

 

 

 

 

“Maybe the speck in your brother’s eye is so easily found because the speck in his eye and the log in your own eye are made of the same stump.”

 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

—A comment made during a July 17, 2010, Sabbath school class in Salzburg, Austria, submitted by Bernd Tschapowetz. The “original” in German read: “Vielleicht sehen wir den Splitter im Auge unseres Bruders deswegen so leicht, weil sein Splitter und der Balken in meinem eigenen Auge aus dem gleichen Holz geschnitzt sind.”

 

 

 

When our daughter joined her 13-year-old relaxing on the trampoline with blanket and books, she queried, “Are you reading?”

 

The surprising answer was, “No, I’m throwing names up to God. I’m not even telling Him what to do for them, just giving Him names.”

 

Frequently we don’t really know what to pray for, but we can always give names to our Creator—anytime, anywhere!

 

 

 

Have you ever had thirty-six 6-year-olds in one room? Let me tell you about it! First, 36 sleepy faces stare at me during song service like I am crazy; 36 eyes are closed during prayer while the other 36 are looking here, there, and everywhere. While only 10 students follow instructions, I run to the other 26 desks with 15 trailing behind and three with their heads buried in my skirt. Two cry from the moment they are dropped off until recess. When I line them up for recess, 15 have their backpacks on, and one constantly asks, “Madame, my mommy coming?”

 

“Yes, your mommy is coming, at three o’clock.” Three get hurt during recess. Six pull my skirt in all directions. Thirteen don’t hear me when I shout that it’s time to come inside. Twenty race to the door pushing and shoving to be the first one into the classroom. Three answer all the questions; 10 stare blankly into space.

 

But by the end of the day I have heard “Bye, Miss Shari” 36 times, had 20 hugs, seen 50 smiles with 30 teeth missing, and given hundreds of “high fives!” I am left exhausted, but also with a warm heart, knowing that I made a difference.

 

 

History in the Making 

I was very surprised with the evangelistic report entitled “Adventist Outreach Takes Rome by Storm” (World Vista Feature, July 2010). Since seeing the fruits of this mega campaign I realized that God is willing to work wonders at this time through His church though circumstances appear contrary.

 

On many occasions I have to preach our message privately for fear of the prejudices of people. But it is wonderful to see how God blesses our work when we leave aside these fears, as with the evangelistic impact in “the eternal city.” I believe God is leading our church in trying to reach these places so difficult for the gospel—He promises to join us in this work until the end of the world.

 

Julian Ortiz 

 

 

Working for the Lord 

I always start reading Adventist World by reading the editorial by Bill Knott and then reading page by page. But this time I went from the editorial to the article by Kimberly Luste Maran, “Convicted by a Scrap of Paper” (June 2010). My husband read it line by line. I was very excited to see my short note included, not because my name appeared, but knowing that I have a part in the work of God [giving the magazine to people in buses, malls, banks, etc.].

 

Ada Frech Suazo 

 

 

Makeover 

I congratulate the editors and writers for the Adventist World. I have 
found invaluable material to strengthen our 
spiritual beliefs and strengthen our mission concepts.

 

I found “Getting Down to Business,” by Ella Simmons (June 2010), to be a very interesting article. It proposes a strategic approach to the Adventist educational work. Indeed, our schools and colleges should focus their efforts appropriately to ensure quality Christian education under our assumptions and epistemological orientations. We must rescue the valuable essentials of the biblical and inspirational messages of Ellen G. White.

 

Pablo Rubina 

 

 

Bright Future With Jesus 

In my work as a social worker I start the day with prayer, allowing everyone to pray the way they’ve been taught at home, and read the daily morning prayer book and a verse from the Bible. A 16-year-old girl has been eager to come close to the Lord and looked for the book from which I read daily.

 

Gradually I introduced her to the Adventist World magazine. She was happy with the one titled “Beginning to ‘enditnow’” (May 2010) and recently another story regarding a shelter in Thailand (“Keep Girls Safe,” Lilya Wagner, July 2010). I asked for a Bible for her, and she is looking forward to learning more. Last week she told me, “When I leave the shelter I want to be baptized.” I wish to see her baptized soon. She is and will be a very good disciple of Jesus.

 

Vimala Lallmohamud 

 

 

Gospel Note 

I could not help shedding tears when I read the section “Final Flight” in “Living God’s Love,” by Barbara Ann Norton Kay (January 2010).

 

In the same magazine a letter was posted about young Adventists who
are musically inclined leaving the church. I pray God will 
help me further the gospel, reaching people through music. Please pray for me.

 

Kenneth Ufuoma 

 

 

Fan Mail 

I’m a fan of Adventist World, and the cover story of the December 2009 issue, “80 Is Not Enough,” an interview with then Adventist World Radio president Ben Schoun, really impresses me.

 

When reading “Hidden Faults,” by Olga Valdivia (September 2009), I realized that negligence could be fatal and that one should take advantage of every opportunity. I also realized that sins are not just related to what is forbidden, but to everything that does not contribute to the advancement of Christ’s work. Thank you.

 

Kervendy Coicou 

 

 

I am a 25-year-old Adventist and a reader of Adventist World. I am the kind of person who reads anything that comes my way, and I always love reading the Adventist books and magazines, especially Adventist World and the section World Report. I see a lot of wonderful people with their stories in these magazines and would love to learn more about them both morally and socially.

 

Daniel Yeboah 

 

 

This is the first time for me to write you a letter, as well as the first time to read the Adventist World,which I got from my friend who is an Adventist. The magazine is feeding my soul with everlasting truth.

 

Please send the monthly magazine to me—not just for me, but in receiving it several friends who are Christians (not Adventists) can read it, as well as our church members.

 

God bless you. 

Daniel Tsegaye 

 

 

 Letters Policy: Please send your letters to the editor to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Letters must be clearly written and to the point, 250-word maximum. Be sure to include the name of the article, the date of publication, and page number with your letter. Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.