Dec. 12, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Compiled by ANN Staff

Myanmar: Adventist Church Baptizes Record Number ... Six simultaneous outreach efforts held from November 11 to 18 resulted in 903 baptisms in Myanmar. The baptisms came about with the help of local laypeople and church leaders, along with a 46-member support team from the United States and South Korea. Before the meetings, themed “Back to Eden,” began, a Bicycle Ministry was organized, enlisting some 80 cyclists to distribute Voice of Prophecy Discovery Bible courses to people living in the country’s remotest villages. Nearly 1,500 individuals earned the Discovery Bible certificate as a result. Organizers and conductors of “Back to Eden” plan to return to Myanmar in two years to help “finish God’s work,” said Suan Sawm Sang, a local translator. [MAN/AND/ANN Staff]

World Church: ADRA Launches New HIV and AIDS Web site Section ... Despite the horrendous scale of the AIDS epidemic worldwide, many people remain uninformed and misinformed about the disease. That’s something the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International hopes to change with the launch of The HIV and AIDS Crisis, a new Web site section. By arming readers with a wealth of information about HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, ADRA hopes to debunk AIDS myths. The new section includes special downloadable resources and direct links for helping those who suffer from the epidemic. It also features links to articles about how AIDS affects children, along with a question and answer section, among many other helpful and informative features. To visit the new page, click here. [ADRA/ANN Staff]

Inter-America: Mourners Remember Former Regional Treasurer and Vice President ... At age 73, Pastor Ramon H. Maury, former treasurer and then vice president for the Seventh-day Adventist church’s Inter-America (IAD) region, died on December 2 of respiratory arrest. Regional and world church officials joined Maury’s family and friends at the Spanish Adventist Church in Miami, Florida for funeral services. “I think that the most that we can take of [Maury’s] life is that he led an example worthy to imitate,” said Pastor Israel Leito, IAD president. During the service, many present paid tribute to Maury’s strong leadership and development work in the region, along with his support for the work of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). Pastor Filiberto Verduzco, current IAD treasurer, announced at the service the establishment of the Ramon H. Maury Scholarship Fund for needy students at Colombia Adventist University (CAU). Maury, a native of Colombia, studied theology at CAU. Speaking on behalf of the world church was Bob Lemon, its treasurer, who commended not only Maury’s financial expertise, but also his “love and dedication to the church.” [Libna Stevens/IAD/ANN Staff]

World Church: AWR Podcasts, Audio Players Reach New Listeners ... In November of this year, Adventist World Radio (AWR) celebrated the one-year anniversary of its first podcast release by adding two new languages to its current podcast lineup: Juba Arabic, a pidgin variation spoken mainly in Southern Sudan, and English, targeting speakers in Africa and India. AWR resource engineer Daryl Gungadoo says Juba Arabic is not a written language and there is very little web content available, making the AWR podcast groundbreaking.  AWR plans to release podcasts in Tachelit, a Berber language spoken in North Africa. AWR has also launched a project to distribute MegaVoice Ambassadors, digital audio players pre-loaded with 40 hours of programming, to listeners in remote areas. The target audience is listeners in Sudan, where distributors are setting up a library system for passing the MegaVoice Ambassadors from listener to listener free of charge. [Shelley Nolan Freesland/ANN Staff]

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