ANR NEWS: Iraq: Baghdad Church endures more bomb damage

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.
And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with
– even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.
Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. Romans 14.1: The Message

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#58371 - 10/26/05 07:04 PM ANR NEWS: Iraq: Baghdad Church endures more bomb damage
Stan Jensen Carpe Diem!!! Registered: 09/15/06 Posts: 3938 Loc: 49.05° Lat- 122.3° Long	ANR Bulletin Adventist News Review Trans-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 26 October 2005 In this Issue: * Iraq: Baghdad Church endures more bomb damage * The Netherlands: 53 baptisms result from evangelistic campaign * Israel: Church planting on the move in Israel * Pakistan: ADRA response to Pakistan earthquake disaster * Poland: First Adventist Day Care Centre opens * TED Prayer Guide for week 30 October 5 November BAGHDAD CHURCH ENDURES MORE BOMB DAMAGE BAGHDAD, IRAQ [ANR] Three powerful explosions in Baghdad has damaged the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the fourth time in two years. The blasts took place on Monday evening 24 October, outside the Palestine Hotel, which is located a mere 250 metres from the church. When I heard the first explosion I went up to the roof of my house to see the location, says Basim Fargo, secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iraq. While I was looking at the smoke, I heard the sound of the second explosion and after two more minutes I heard the third and biggest explosion with lots of smoke in the area. The damage to the church was both external and internal. Plywood sheets, which had been temporarily covering the shattered stained-glass windows from previous bomb concussions, had been blown off. Inside the church, the large window, running the full width of the parents room, had also been shattered. If there had been a service in progress at the church, it could easily have resulted in casualties for the young children and parents in that room. But we have the trust and the confidence that God is guarding His people in these difficult times, says Fargo. As news of the bombings reached Mike Porter, the president of the Adventist Church in the Middle East, he wrote a message of support to the members in Iraq. We are sorry to hear that the church has been damaged yet another time. It must be so difficult living with such uncertainty all the time. We are praying that, somehow, the country will soon move ahead. The Baghdad Church continues to struggle with the expenses of major repairs it has been forced to undertake because of damage resulting from the war in Iraq. [Alex Elmadjian/ANR] 53 BAPTISMS RESULT FROM EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS [ANR] Fifty-one persons were baptised and accepted into membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church during an impressive service on Sabbath 22 October. The baptismal service was the climax of an intensive evangelistic series which focused on the theme: JesusThe Centre of My Life. Earlier in the series two others had been baptised, making the final total of 53 baptised. Daniel Duffis, president of the Netherlands Antillean Conference and guest speaker for the series conducted the baptism, aided by Wim Altink, pastor of the Adventist church in The Hague. Most of the newly baptised members who are in their twenties were already acquainted with the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but had never made a final decision to join the church. In coming months major initiatives will be taken to nurture these new members. When Pastor Duffis made an appeal during the final moments of his campaign a further twenty persons indicated their desire to be included in the next baptismal service which will be held in a few months. [Reinder Bruinsma/ANR] CHURCH PLANTING ON THE MOVE IN ISRAEL BET SHEAN, ISRAEL [ANR] At the Bet Alfa Kibbutz, 26 people, including pastors and leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel, a medical doctor, an accountant and church members, participated in an intensive church planting seminar from 16-20 October. Ian Hamilton, one of the leaders of CRM (Church Revitalisation Movement) was guest speaker for the event. This is the final in a matrix of 6 church planting seminars, the previous 5 having been held in Britain for key leaders and church planting decision makers from other countries within the Trans-European region. Janos Kovacs-Biro, Church Planting director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-Europe region and Richard Elofer, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel also made presentations and helped with the church planting teams of Russian, Romanian, Ethiopian and English origin. Due to the diversity of spoken languages within the group, the programme was adjusted slightly to cater for time used for translations. There are some very highly motivated pastors and lay members in Israel who want to be involved in church planting said Kovacs-Biro, the approach and some of the ideas are very new to them but there is a strong dedication to the concept of church planting. Following the seminar, Janos Kovacs-Biro and Richard Elofer were able to visit the Romanian Adventist church located in an area of Tel Aviv which is ideal for reaching the community. Ion Lascu, pastor of this local community church is a highly motivated and experienced mission-focused pastor. During a visit to Nazareth, we met a former member of the Ukrainian National Handball Team who participated in the Seoul Olympics commented Kovacs-Biro. Having lived in Israel for several years, she has many Arab and Israeli friends and as a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church she is planning Sports Outreach a very creative and innovative form of evangelism. On Sabbath, six people committed their lives to Christ and were baptised in the Jordan River. Five of the six candidates were from an Ethiopian Jewish background and had been nurtured by Kassahu, a very effective volunteer. The other candidate came from a Russian Jewish background. Further baptismal services are planned before the end of the year. We are looking forward to seeing this field grow said Kovacs-Biro. [ANR Staff/ANR] ADRA RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE DISASTER ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN [ANR] On 21 October Conrad Vine flew to Islamabad, Pakistan to take over the responsibility of the relief efforts for a period of one month. Vine served as Country Director in Sri Lanka and was responsible for the tsunami relief efforts and is therefore well equipped for the task that he has accepted. ADRA International is arranging an additional airlift of medicines worth over US $1 million to be distributed by ADRAs medical teams in Pakistan. ADRA Netherlands is also working with donors to secure funds for the relief effort. [Raafat Kamal/ANR] FIRST ADVENTIST DAY CARE CENTRE OPENS PODKOWA LESNA, POLAND [ANR] In a one-story house on Parkowa Street a group of children are attending a first-ever day care centre run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland. The centre opened 2 September in Podkowa Lesna, Poland making it the second Adventist educational institution in the country. This long-planned project was realized thanks to the efforts of Dawn Grant-Skiba and Agnieszka Kosowska, who wanted to ensure their children's development in a Christian atmosphere. The centre comes under the auspices of Nadzieja.pl Limited, from which it gets its name, Nadzieja.pl Day Care Centre. Joe Smoczynski, president of Nadzieja.pl ("Nadzieja" means "hope"), a Christian online company affiliated with the Adventist Church, donated the house that is being used for the centre. The house includes a large playroom, dining room, sleeping room, kitchen and bathroom. There is a playground in the yard and local church members have donated some items for use in the centre. "We did not want this [project] to be only our work," said Kosowska, day care centre director. "We wanted to encourage the church members to participate in this endeavour and to that end, we made a list of the things that were necessary and placed it on the notice board and God has blessed us immeasurably." "This idea can be fulfilled not only in Podkowa Lesna. There are several places in Poland where there is a lack of this kind of service," Smoczynski says. "All over the world there are numerous Adventist schools, universities and pre-schools. So why not finally start the same here?" The idea is appreciated by those using the day care centre's services. One child's father said: "For me, it is important that [my] children are growing up in a truly Christian atmosphere where God and prayer are not taboo." [A. Kosowka/A. Pietka/ANN Staff/ANR] TED Prayer Guide for week 30 October 5 November 2005 ST ALBANS, ENGLAND [ANR] Purchasing a Bible, Maja Sosa felt a need for God and time to start making changes in her life. Around the same time she saw a documentary entitled The shoemaker and God where a man named Stefan shared his faith about God, His wonderful ways, Sabbath being the seventh day and only bowing before Him as the Bible taught. Planning to visit a cousin in Germany and after visiting a Job Centre in Zagreb, Maja stood in front of a statue of Jesus in a local church. Father, forgive me if I have done wrong bowing before statues. I was taught it was right. If it is wrong, please show me the right way. Heading back outside she noticed, to her surprise, Stefan the man on the documentary. Approaching him slowly, she introduced herself and after a slight hesitation began showering him with questions which he patiently answered. They exchanged phone numbers. Reaching her cousins home she told of the unusual encounter. They replied that they too shared the same beliefs. Getting in touch with Stefan, they found he belonged to the Adventist Church. Returning to Croatia, Maja feared her mothers reaction but began telling her of the wonderful truths she had come to love and believe. Within the day, the Holy Spirit had worked on her mothers heart. Maja says: some may be inclined to think that all of this is just a coincidence but arent there just a little too many coincidences in this story? Maja and her mother are now baptised and very grateful that Gods plan is that no one is left alone to find the right way to Him. Prayer Requests: 1. Maja and her mother that they will remain strong in their faith 2. The kind of enthusiasm in our witnessing as was Brother Stefans.. 3. The spreading of the good news through the media in Croatia.. [Maja Sosa/ANR] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANR Staff: Miroslav Pujic, news director, Beverly Coysten, editor ANR, 119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England E-mail: anr@ted-adventist.org Website: www.ted-adventist.org ANR (Adventist News Review) is a news and information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. You are free to re-print any portion of the bulletin without need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify ANR whenever you publish these materials.
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