THE BULLETIN - July 15, 2022

 

Breaking News

Washburn Fire Update: Camp Wawona
Washburn Fire Update: Camp Wawona

According to local news sources, the Washburn Fire burning inside Yosemite National Park, which began July 7, has already consumed over 3,000 acres. Crews trying to control the fire are working to keep the flames away from some of the area’s most well-known landmarks.

As of 6:35 Tuesday morning, the wildfire had burned 3,221 acres and was 22% contained. We also know, according to the park superintendent, that it was a human-start fire.

All fires are heartbreaking, but when they threaten any part of our union, it hits closer to home.

We’ve been staying up to date with any possible threats to Camp Wawona. Everyone has been evacuated and is safe. We received an update from the Central California Conference that the Yosemite Aviation & Fire lit tactical fire from the property boundary and toward the fire. It is now only burning toward the east, up the canyon along the river toward Medicine Pools and the national forest. God is good! The fire stopped right at the Camp Wawona property line and didn't burn anything. Firefighters set a backburn that seemed to stop the fire from progressing onto the Wawona Property. Praise God!

Our union is praying for the nearly 650 firefighters assigned to wildfire and all those affected by this Yosemite blaze.


Arizona Conference

Ray Navarro Appointed Executive Secretary
Ray Navarro Appointed Executive Secretary

 

Elder Ray Navarro has a passion for engaging people in a multi-sensory way. His interactive themes for the Junior department at camp meeting each year draw crowds. One year’s beach theme featured several inches of sand spread across the floor, while another year showcased a large entrance to a Reformation castle. A desire to engage with others fits with his overall philosophy of “serving others with whatever abilities you have.”

 


Central California Conference

Puerto Rico Mission Trip Teaches Monterey Bay Academy Students to Give Back to Their Community
Puerto Rico Mission Trip Teaches Monterey Bay Academy Students to Give Back to Their Community

 

Monterey Bay Academy sent 21 students and five faculty and volunteers on a mission trip to Puerto Rico in February to share God and, as a result, learn more about God. The students and staff spent over a week cleaning up beaches, leading out in worship, and spending time with the people they had just met.

 

“The time that we visited Puerto Rico was just after their hurricane season. There was plenty of organic matter like seaweed, twigs, and leaves that washed up on the shores of the beaches. So, we did trash cleanup as well as organic matter cleanup,” explained Elizabeth Mendoza, Spanish and physical education teacher at Monterey Bay Academy, who organized the mission trip.


Hawaii Conference

Puna Church Celebrates 30 Years
Puna Church Celebrates 30 Years

 

On Sabbath, February 26, the Puna church on the Big Island of Hawai’i celebrated 30 years of service to the Lord during an anniversary Sabbath. The church was formally organized and became a part of the Hawai’i Conference on February 22, 1992.

 

The church held a special prayer meeting on Tuesday night, February 22, 2022, to commemorate the day on which it joined the Hawai’i Conference family. That prayer meeting was filled with shared memories from across the years, and inspiring passages from the writings of Ellen White were read.

 


Nevada-Utah Conference

Evangelistic Exchange in Bucaramanga, Colombia
Evangelistic Exchange in Bucaramanga, Colombia

This past May, 94 precious souls gave their lives to Jesus during an evangelistic pastoral exchange between the Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC) Hispanic pastors and the Asociacion del Oriente Colombiano (Eastern Colombian Conference). A group of seven pastors and a doctor arrived in Colombia on May 17 to visit natural and historic landmarks as they made their way to the city of Bucaramanga.

The group from NUC were hosted by local pastors and conference officials. Eight weeklong evangelistic meetings began on May 21. During this time, the church members and friends who attended the meetings were fed the spiritual manna that led to the baptisms; several more are planning to be baptized soon.


Northern California Conference

Building a Better Team
Building a Better Team

 

On our journey to organizational health, the NCC employees recently participated in two events that built teamwork and connections.

A team-building day at the NCC headquarters included games and exercises that encouraged problem solving, communication, and even good old competition for points.

According to Albert Miller, superintendent of schools and director of the day’s events, “I think we all got to know each other a bit more and made strides to better serve each other and the territory.”

 


Southern California Conference

Ebenezer Spanish Church Celebrates Mortgage Payment and Church Status
Ebenezer Spanish Church Celebrates Mortgage Payment and Church Status

 

The history of the Ebenezer Spanish church began 21 years ago when a group of members left the Hollywood Spanish church with the purpose of starting a new church. The first item for the new congregation was to find a meeting place. After first meeting in parks, they were allowed to meet in the chapel of the Ethiopian Christian Fellowship church in Los Angeles while they committed to raise funds for their own building.