Arizona Conference
The Certified Nursing Assistant course at Thunderbird Adventist Academy encompasses every aspect of the school’s mission. “The program was created to give high school seniors an opportunity to gain medical knowledge, develop critical thinking, and experience patient care in a healthcare immersion setting,” said instructor Eva Gonzalez.
Begun almost a decade ago, the program went through a hiatus during the covid pandemic and had to be recertified in 2021. The program is now thriving, with a classroom full of students who have ambitions to work in the medical field.
Central California Conference
For the past 15 years, the education department at the Central California Conference led out in a Bible Challenge, similar to the Pathfinder Bible Bowl. But the coronavirus interrupted this, forcing the conference to pause and rethink the event. The curriculum committee met and discussed the conference’s purpose in education, narrowing it to spiritual, academic, physical, and community service.
An idea was presented to the school principals: instead of a challenge, what if the event could be an experience? Brainstorming took place, and a program was created that changed the competition to a time of sharing. Instead of having a specific Bible book to study, a topic was given.
Hawaii Conference
REACH Hawaii continues to provide specialized service to students in Adventist education in Hawaii schools. Influenced by the North American Division’s REACH (Reaching to Educate All Children for Heaven) initiative, REACH Hawaii provides support and resources to students, educators, and parents; increases identification of students with disabilities; allows for intentional collaboration between specialists and classroom teachers; and provides avenues for direct services for students.
Caitlyn Ingham, the conference intervention specialist and a certificated speech-language pathologist (SLP), is in her second year as the director of REACH Hawaii, providing support and services for each of the conference’s nine (K-12) schools on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island. Over the last two years, Ingham has conducted 43 individual student assessments, identifying language disorders, speech-sound disorders, auditory processing difficulties, pragmatic disorders, evidence of dyslexia, and others.
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Nevada-Utah Conference
The dictionary defines a missionary as “a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.” Typically, the idea of a missionary causes us to imagine travels to distant lands—with thoughts of people who are thirsting for the Word of God or a mental picture of a land set in poverty with minimal education opportunities and a comparatively substandard lifestyle.
But here is the twist—a Messianic Jewish Adventist family was called by God to leave Israel and travel to North America as missionaries to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Netan family is 10 strong with siblings, children, in-laws, and parents ranging in age from 8 to 45. They are self-supporting missionaries here in the United States.
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Northern California Conference
Shasta Lake Bible Fellowship invited community members, local church congregations, and friends to a revival seminar from March 17-25.
The All About Jesus series by Gary and Marilynn Venden drew 50 people on the first night and grew to 100 on the final weekend. One attendee said, “We discovered that Jesus is enough to ensure our winning in the race of life.” The message encouraged all to be friends with Jesus and trust His love and care.
Southern California Conference
On Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, the Pathfinder clubs of Southern California Conference (SCC) held their annual Pathfinder Convocation at White Memorial church with more than 1,000 Pathfinders and staff in attendance.
The theme of the convocation was “I Will Go.” The convocation speaker was Sal Garcia, SCC youth ministries director. He challenged Pathfinders to go with Jesus by choosing to serve Him with their life.
The convocation consisted of a beautiful praise team of high school students from San Gabriel Academy and Glendale Adventist Academy. For this momentous occasion, a Pathfinder choir was formed to help sing three special songs. It was directed by Lanis Miller and her son from Tamarind church. The program began with the entrance of the color guard and a drum core. The service represented the multicultural and multi-ethnic Pathfinder groups in SCC.
