Togo: ADRA Raises Awareness About HIV and AIDS ... The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is combating the spread of HIV and AIDS in Togo through educational programs that raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. According to the Integrated Regional Information Network, Togo, a small country of 5 million people, has the third highest prevalence of HIV and AIDS in West Africa with some 200,000 HIV-positive people. ADRA Togo’s HIV and AIDS awareness project, implemented in collaboration with the Red Cross and a local health center, involves staff visiting villages throughout Togo, discussing subjects such as HIV prevention, symptoms, contamination and attitudes towards those who are affected. During the programs, peer educators perform skits, songs, dances, poems, and other entertainment education to teach students about the disease. Attendees also participate in question and answer games about HIV and AIDS. In October alone, the sessions impacted nearly 1,200.

Indonesia: Church Addresses Spiritual Needs of Professionals ... Foremost in the minds of a group of Seventh-day Adventist church members in Jakarta, Indonesia is how best to meet the spiritual needs of professionals and executives working in the country’s metropolises. In response, church members organized the Indonesia Friendship Center for Executives and Entrepreneurs (IFCEEN). The first of IFCEEN’s weekly devotionals was attended by 40 professionals. Attendance has since climbed to nearly 200, drawing busy adults who are otherwise unreached by traditional methods. “I look at this initiative as the best way to reach the urban jungles of Indonesia,” said Jonathan C. Catolico, communication director for the Adventist church’s Southern Asia-Pacific region. “Church leaders and laity joining hands to preach the gospel to this vast segment of unreached people…is a manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon His people.” [AND/ANN Staff]

Japan: Second Brazilian Adventist Church Organized ... Three years ago, Seventh-day Adventist leaders at the Japan Union Conference applied for an Adventist Mission church-building project to meet the needs a growing Portuguese-speaking population in the Japanese province of Shizuoka. Of Hamamatsu City’s estimated 800,000 population, some 16,000 are Brazilians. Japan hosts more Brazilian immigrants than any other Asian nation. The church in Hamamatsu City is only the second Brazilian church to meet in Japan. The first was established last year in Kakegawa City, also in Shizuoka province. [Tadaomi Shinmyo/ANN Staff]

Costa Rica: Bible Bowl Draws Adventist Youth ...Three young people from the Inter-American region of the Seventh-day Adventist Church beat out thousands of others by being “Obsessed with His [Jesus’] Love”. The three were finalists in the third annual Inter-American Youth Bible Bowl finals competition themed “Obsessed with His [Jesus’] Love” on Nov. 25. During the competition, which was held in Central America’s Adventist University in Alajuela, Costa Rica, finalists answered some 40 questions on the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, through computer terminals. Bilgai Abner Cruz, who hails from Mexico, was the grand prize winner. The first runner up was Sonia Reyes from Mid-Central America. In third place was Mario Luis Herasme from the Dominican Republic. The three top prizes included a laptop computer, scholarships to Montemorelos Adventist University and Central American Adventist University, as well as a collection of books from Inter-American Division’s Publishing Association. All finalists received cash prizes from the Inter-American Division’s Health Food Company. Next year’s Youth Bible Bowl finals will be held in July in Medellin, Colombia. Questions on the subject will be the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. [Libna Stevens/IAD/ANN]