Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has recognized three Adventists
for their contributions and services to Papua New Guinea.
Gibuna Gibbs Salika, deputy chief justice of the country’s Supreme
Court, was honored as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for
“services to law and to the judiciary,” according to an announcement published
June 14.
Environment Minister John Pundari, a former deputy prime
minister and parliamentary speaker, was recognized as a Companion of the Order
of St. Michael for his “services to the community as a Member of the National
Parliament.”
Earlier, the queen decorated outgoing Adventist Aviation Services CEO Pastor Roger Millist with the Order of Australia Medal for “service to international relations through a range of aviation and church roles in Papua New Guinea.
Long-time Sydney Adventist Hospital volunteer Yvonne McMaster
also has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for “service to community
health.”
Andrews University has purchased its first new plane in 30
years, giving it a fleet of seven aircraft as it bolsters an aviation program
used to train mission pilots.
University aviation department chair Duane Habenicht flew
the single-engine Piper Archer TX plane from the Piper factory in Vero Beach,
Florida, to the Berrien Springs, Michigan-based university last week, the
university said June 16.
The purchase of the four-seat plane comes as the university replaces its
Cessna fleet, which dates back to the 1970s, with a Piper fleet. Andrews
already owns a Piper Arrow and a twin-engine Piper Seminole, and another Piper
Archer will arrive next month.
“It’s on the assembly line now,” said Jim Doran, the university’s
chief flight instructor. “This is the first time we’ve had a new airplane since
1984. It’s a big deal. It means the university is invested in the program, and
they’re strongly supporting it.”
The prime minister of the Solomon Islands has praised the
Seventh-day Adventist Church for contributing to the improvement of the Oceania
country over the past 100 years.
Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, speaking Tuesday at the
start of Adventist centenary celebrations in Viru, said the church had
contributed remarkably to the country’s development, the Solomon Islands
Broadcasting Corporation reported.
He noted that the church operates more than 20 clinics and
about 40 educational and training institutions on the islands.
Lilo’s remarks opened a week of celebrations that were
expected to be attended by about 5,000 people from the country and abroad, Fred
Panda, pastor of the Viru SDA Church, was quoted as saying.
Schoolchildren at Anchorage Junior Academy don’t just sit in
the pews on Sabbath.
One Sabbath per month, the children organize and lead church
services at one of the seven local Adventist churches, GleanerNow, the magazine
for the North Pacific Union Conference, reported this week.
The worship services include a sermon, puppet ministry
children’s story, and instrumental and choir songs. The most recent
program, titled “Bless His Holy Name,” was based on 1 Peter 1:15: “Be holy in
all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy.”
“Seeing all those children singing their hearts out, all
dressed in their uniforms, was quite encouraging,” an unidentified church
member told GleanerNow after the worship service.
The project, which includes children from preschool through the eighth grade, is the brainchild of Kim Purvis, a first- and
second-grade teacher at the school. She has shepherded it from church to
church for the past three years.
Read more and Watch video
Walla Walla University has awarded Effie Pampaian, 104, with
an honorary bachelor of arts degree in history in recognition of her continued
studies as its oldest student.
Pampaian, who started taking university classes in 1999, has
completed 16 classes in history, nine in religion and one in speech.
University President John McVay presented Pampaian with a
diploma and congratulated her in front of an audience of more than 400 fellow
graduates at an outdoor ceremony on June 14.
"The students love her, and she is a real inspiration
to them and to me," history professor Greg Dodds said in a statement on
the university’s website. "Her love of learning is contagious. She is
always very engaged in the courses and routinely asks me for extra books to
read."
In addition to being the university's oldest student, Pampaian is also its
first female theology graduate, receiving the diploma in 1939.
Asked why she continued to take classes, Pampaian told the local affiliate of NBC television: "It helps me with helping other people and showing them how to do it so
they'll be wonderful leaders someday even above anything that I could
ever accomplish."
Read more and Watch NBC report
Contact Adventist Review news editor Andrew McChesney at [email protected].
Twitter: @ARMcChesney
