Stories & Commentaries

The clock’s hands were almost reaching 5:30 p.m. when the last call of the day came straight to my queue. "Why me?" I thought, a little bit annoyed. Modulating my voice to sound professional, I picked up the phone and answered: “Good afternoon, Pacific Press, how may I help you?” A woman’s voice on the other end of the line immediately said: “Buenas tardes, ¿me escucha?” Not for a moment did she ever ask if I spoke her language or understood what she was saying. She just assumed I did. And I followed along.

War is a tragedy — the loss of life, displacement of people, destruction of the environment, disease and other aftereffects make it more than a devasting event. As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 and reflect on the recent withdrawal of the U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, ending the nation’s longest war, one might wonder if this could possibly have been the war to end all wars.

As we remember how life in the United States and around the world changed 20 years ago when 3,000 lost their lives in terrorist acts on September 11, 2001, I urge our members in the North American Division to pray for those who were impacted by these events and lost loved ones on that day.

Tim Kosaka, director of marketing and public relations at Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU), never saw himself living and working in Texas. His prayer, though, was that God would lead him to a place where his faith would be strengthened, with a church community in which he could serve.

The Marshall Islands got a little brighter this summer with the arrival of the first Marshallese GLOW tract. These pocket-sized pamphlets attract readers by offering information on relevant topics like health, relationships, and Biblical truths. The Marshallese tract marks the first one published in the local island language.

The political and social events of the year 2020 have once again pushed unresolved issues around race relations in the United States to center stage in our national and international conversations. The video-recorded murder of George Floyd by a police officer on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, represented for millions a tipping point, one that elicited an outcry by leaders who highlighted historical inequity and called for social justice across a diverse range of political, commercial, academic, and ecclesiastical institutions.

Growing up today as a teenager is challenging to say the least. On top of social pressure, which has always been around, we have social media, which didn’t exist when I was growing up. Some of the issues that confront youth today include anorexia, bullying, cyber addiction, depression, legalized marijuana, sexting, sex trafficking, fake news, vaping, drinking, and smoking, to name a few. What is a parent to do? What can the church do? 

At 17, Charis McRoy is Guide magazine’s youngest columnist by several decades. That doesn’t, however, mean she has any less to say than her more experienced counterparts. When Lori Futcher, Guide’s editor, and Laura Samano, managing editor, met McRoy at the 2019 Pathfinder Camporee, they knew they’d found someone special. They prayed with McRoy then and there about her potential future work with the magazine.

Adventist World executive editor Bill Knott recently spoke with Karnik Doukmetzian, general counsel of the General Conference and the North American Division, about dubious charities with unverifiable projects that take advantage of church members.

The North American Division and the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church designate a special day each year during the month of June for Refugee Sabbath ("World Refugee Sabbath") to raise awareness of the needs of the unprecedented numbers of refugees who have fled their homes due to war and persecution. This year, on June 19, two significant events occurred on Refugee Sabbath, serving to empower refugees and their leaders in ministry.