News Headlines: Tornado Destroys Homes of three Garland Adventist Church Families
Three Texas Adventist Families Lose Homes to Tornado. Tornado storm damage left three Garland Seventh-day Adventist Church families homeless. A Facebook post from Dennis Austin, pastor of the Joshua Seventh-day Adventist Church, alerted members to the plight of the affected families. Texas Adventist Community Services will be assisting also. From Adventist Review, "Adventist Families Lose Homes in Deadly Texas Tornados."
Kazakhstan Adventist Given Reduced Time but to be Served in Labor Camp. The sentence for Kazakhstan Seventh-day Adventist Yklas Kabduakasov has been reduced to two years' imprisonment in a labor camp from a seven-year sentence of restricted freedom at home. The decision was revised on December 28. Kabduakasov was prosecuted for alleged incitement of religious hatred while talking to others of his faith. From Forum 18 News Service, "Two years' imprisonment for Astana Adventist."
Central California Adventists Aid Iranian Refugee Family. Members of the Ceres Seventh-day Adventist Church and Sabbath Keepers Motorcycle Ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church joined in supporting an Iranian immigrant family in Modesto. In Tehran, Stephen Sadeghi had spent two months in prison because he had tried to spread Christianity in a Muslim nation. Reading about the Sadeghi family's struggles resettling in the United States, the two groups have bought the family necessities, including a car. From the Modesto Bee, "Acts of Kindness are Common, Welcome at this Time of Year."
Haystack Video Wins $30,000 Grand Prize. Third grader Jackson Fulmer and his family entered the cooking video contest, “The Adventures of Uncle Ben Boy,” demonstrating how to make his favorite meal, haystacks. His winning video earned his Mountain View Christian School in Williamsport, Pennsylvania a $30,000 check from the Uncle Ben’s Beginners contest. The video, which can be viewed at the website below, was one of the contest's top five, grand-prize winners. From UncleBens.com, "Ben's Beginners Winners."
LLU Physician and Wife Host Annual Christmas Dinner for Cancer Patients. Continuing a 17-year tradition, Loma Linda University physician Lynn Martel and his wife Karen invited cancer patients to their home for a Christmas meal and entertainment. Martel said the biggest Christmas gatherings included about 85 people; this year about 50 attended. It takes the family about three weeks to prepare the house for the event and another four weeks to return it to normal. From Press Enterprise, "Christmas: Holiday Feast Helps with Healing."
Pam Dietrich taught English at Loma Linda Academy for 26 years and served there eight more years as the 7-12 librarian. She lives in Redlands, California.
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