Pathfinders led a group of some 700 Adventist young people on a march through Central London. [Pictures by Matt Vincent and Tim Hulbert/BUC News/ANN]
Papua New Guinea: Adventist Doctors Perform Life-saving Heart Surgeries ... For 21 years a team of doctors from Sydney Adventist Hospital in Sydney, Australia, have flown to different countries in the region performing life-saving cardiac operations. This year was no different as the 30-member cardiac surgery team through the Health Care Outreach program operated on 22 children and 13 adults in the span of two weeks in Fiji. The all-volunteer team successfully completed their last surgery on Thursday, May 24. The team has been in place since 1986 and has been coordinated by Sydney Adventist Hospital and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency. Also known as Operation Open Heart, the team of cardiac experts has provided urgently needed open-heart and cardiac surgery to those in Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Mongolia, China, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vietnam and Myanmar. They also assist local doctors with diagnosis and treatment of heart disease patients. Since 1986 the team has saved or transformed the lives of 2,200 people. [Sydney Adventist Hospital/ANN Staff]
Togo: ADRA to Improve Access to Safe Drinking Water ... “Safe drinking water is simply not accessible to many rural villages in the Maritime region. It is common for the same water source to be used for drinking, bathing and washing,” says Todd Reese, country director for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Togo. “In some villages, women and girls spend hours each day walking to their water source, which limits their educational opportunities,” Reese adds. This is why in June ADRA will start a one-year project that will improve access to safe drinking water for approximately 13,500 people in nine villages in the Maritime region of Togo. Funded by the ADRA United Kingdom office, the project will provide access points for clean water, create local water committees to manage the new water sources, and educate beneficiaries on improved health and hygiene practices. [ADRA/ANN Staff]
United Kingdom: Adventist Youth March in Central London ... Some 700 marching Pathfinders and young people from Adventist churches around Southern England brought Central London to a standstill on Sabbath, May 19. Spectators lined the streets and burst into spontaneous applause at the sight of the London Youth Federation’s “Put It Down” anti-gun crime sign. Adventist youth flowed past Downing Street, Parliament Square and Big Ben on route to Central Hall, Westminster, for the formal celebrations that marked the 100 Years of Youth ministry in the church. Youth leaders say the procession is probably the biggest one ever conducted by Adventist Youth in the United Kingdom. [Colin Stewart/SEC Youth Director /BUC News/ANN]
United States: Andrews University Houses Papers of Adventist Missionary, Emmanuel Pedersen ... A donation of the personal papers of one Seventh-day Adventist missionary, Emmanuel Pedersen, will make it possible for future generations to learn about early Adventist mission work in Africa. Pedersen’s papers were donated to the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The papers were presented by members of the Pedersen family and Børge Schantz, a retired professor of religion and a personal friend of Pedersen at an April 17 service. Pedersen was born in Denmark and worked in the church there as a literature evangelist, teacher, pastor and missionary. In 1937, he and his wife, Esther, went to Uganda as missionaries, where they helped establish Bugema University. From 1943 to 1953, the couple served as missionaries in Kenya. The collection contains items such as official correspondence, personal letters, sermons, personal mementos, photographs, books and other items. [Bev Stout/Andrews University/ANN]
In Memoriam ... It is with great sadness that we share with our ANN readers news of the passing of our beloved friend and colleague Lynn Friday. Lynn died in her sleep on Sunday, May 27. She leaves behind a brother, Bill Friday, of Richmond, Virginia, United States. Lynn was the proofreader for Adventist News Network. She was not just a valued colleague; she was also a dear friend whose absence will be deeply felt. A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at her home church, Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church, 7700 Carroll Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland. The service will be on Thursday, May 31, at 11 a.m.
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