We asked Seventh-day Adventists about their passion, and what they do—or would love to do—about it. The range of answers may surprise you.

Passion:
Voting. More people need to get out and vote. You can’t change anything else unless you vote.
Action:
Everyone should register to vote, and vote. That’s two things. But vote!
Elisia Mathias, accountant

Passion:
I’ve been working with the community house here at my church. A lot of people in this community don’t have food. It’s important for people to have food.
Action:
There are tons of things people can do! They can volunteer at the soup kitchens. They can look for Adventist Community Service centers. I’m a Pathfinder deputy director, and when I counsel kids I tell them, “If you want to have a life that’s rich and fulfilling, where you feel that you have joy all the time, and you really need nothing, go and volunteer.”
Nesco Lettsome, Jr., engineering consultant

Passion:
I’m passionate about helping people in different countries, poorer countries. I like to help them with things they might not have access to, such as clean water, better education, things of that nature.
Action:
One of my dreams is to start an aircraft design company. I know God’s going to bless it. With those resources I’m confident I can help solve some of humanity’s big problems.
Anthony Martinez, pilot

Passion:
I’m passionate about bringing help to people’s lives.
Action:
I work in a hospital, and I like to joke with patients, to smile. I give them little cards about God, and hope that it shows them that God cares for them; that God loves them very much.
Lourdes Acuna, nurse

Passion:
Telling people about God, so more people can know.
Action:
I can sing Bible songs.
Zhesus Norwood, home-schooled kid

Passion:
I’m passionate about bringing youth into the church.
Action:
Outreach is one of the biggest things: going out and actually meeting people, becoming their friend, then eventually drawing them closer to the church.
Seth Joyner, carpenter

Passion:
Abuse prevention is the cause I’m most passionate about. It started back in 1992 when I was president of the Association of Adventist Women. We sent out a fund-raising letter and addressed issues of abuse in that letter. We got back the biggest response we had ever received up to that time. People wrote their stories, little stories on scraps of paper, on postcards, and sent them in. That was the beginning of my chronicles of abuse, which now cover every kind of abuse—physical, sexual, mental, spiritual. So many wounded people in our churches have coped with terrible abuse.
Action:
Be sensitive to others who may be suffering. When you see abuse, whether it’s bullying or just talking crossly, wrongly, to somebody, speak up! Don’t keep silent. The silence keeps it going. Sweeping it under the rug keeps it going.
Peggy Harris, retired insurance agent

Passion:
I’m most passionate about helping people in poverty.
Action:
Assisting with things such as helping people get their driver’s license, or look for jobs, job assistance. Things like that are good for the community.
Joshua Gantt, carpenter’s helper

Passion:
I recently started working in the Baltimore City public school system, teaching English language arts to sixth graders. One of the causes I’m most passionate about is education. West Baltimore neighborhoods are a bit rough. The poverty level is high, so kids deal with a lot of issues outside school that affect them when they come into the classroom. I’ve had kids come in, and either an uncle or someone related to them has gotten shot at or shot the night before. Or one of their parents might be on drugs, or a parent is in jail. On their way to school they might pass abandoned buildings or drug dealers.
Action:
I start by being more understanding. It’s easy to look and judge, but it’s harder to ask why. Maybe something inside causes students to act the way they do.
Rohan Hughes, teacher

Passion:
I’m passionate about bringing medicine to developing countries, for people who are in poverty and can’t afford the medical care we have here.
Action:
I’m part of a group that makes a medical mission trip to Guatemala every year. We put together a team that has nurses and doctors to help people around the villages.
Ashley Jahee,student

Passion:
When I see someone who might be treated unkindly, it makes me immediately aware. Perhaps as I’ve grown older I’m even more aware of that sensitivity. When AIDS first manifested itself in the health-care setting, some coworkers didn’t want to treat those people. But once I protected myself and followed the recommendations about how to prevent my coming down with that disease, I felt more comfortable about approaching them if they had AIDS.
Action:
Now, based on my age, and because I’m not working, I volunteer. When people of low economic status come in and need help financially or whatever, I have to remind myself to be sensitive about how it must feel to reach that point in life when they have to beg for help.
Ann Anonymous