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Spencerville Student Helps Others Find Their Voice

Story by Heidi Whetmore

As Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) sophomore Autumn Uhrig watched a YouTube video one morning, something piqued her interest. Millions of people who can’t speak rely on text-to-speech devices to communicate. Most devices have the same vocal sound for all users, regardless of age or gender. Uhrig learned of VocaliD, which, according to their website, is “the human voicebank of the world.”

VocaliD records human voices, mixes them with sounds a non-speaking person can make and blends them to make a unique humanized voice in which the machine talks for them. Uhrig wanted to do her part in helping someone find their voice. She visited the website, recorded a couple of sentences and waited to see if there was anyone her age who needed assistance. Months later she received an email that a young girl, Tesa, was a good match for her voice. Uhrig now needed to record 3,488 sentences to get the job done.

Adventist HealthCare Washington Adventist Hospital Begins Pouring Foundation for New Hospital

Adventist HealthCare

Story by WAH Staff

Hospital and community leaders, caregivers and partners of Adventist HealthCare gathered on Dec. 2 for a blessing ceremony just ahead of the pouring of the foundation for the new Adventist HealthCare Washington Adventist Hospital in the White Oak area of Maryland, set to open in 2019.

The ceremony, opened by Erik Wangsness, president of Adventist HealthCare Washington Adventist Hospital, celebrated not only the physical foundation pouring, but also recognized Adventist HealthCare’s foundation built upon the longstanding legacy of Adventists bringing holistic, whole-person healing to their communities.

Washington Adventist University Enactus Chapter Launches New Women Empowerment Project in Langley Park

Story by WAU Communication staff

The Washington Adventist University (WAU) Chapter of Enactus launched a new project, “First Step, a Women Empowerment Project,” on Wednesday, December 7 at a 9 a.m. meeting, held at the Bedford Station Apartments, 1400 University Blvd., E., Hyattsville, Maryland.

The project will seek sustainable work and career opportunities for women and families in the Langley Park area. The goal of the project is to empower women by providing them with the skills and support needed to find a job and enter the workforce.

Book Release—Journey to Freedom: Leaving the Past Behind and Moving to a New Life

Leaving the past behind and moving to a new life

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Diego Boquer, pastor of Chesapeake Conference’s Living Word church in Glen Burnie, Md., recently wrote “Journey to Freedom: Leaving the past behind and moving to a new life,” a 40-day devotional on the book of Exodus. He’s encouraging his church family to start 2017 by studying the Bible in companion with his book in preparation for a year of evangelism.

Accepting Trump Appointment, Ben Carson On Track as First Adventist U.S. Cabinet Secretary

Story originally published on adventistreview.org by Mark Kellner/ Photo by Gage Skidmore

Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., a prominent pediatric neurosurgeon and Seventh-day Adventist who was the first member of the denomination to seek the U.S. presidential nomination has accepted an offer extended by President-elect Donald J. Trump to become Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, commonly known as HUD, a federal agency which spends $48 billion a year.

Hope Channel Deaf Added to Global Network

Story by Fylvia Fowler Kline

Hope Channel Deaf (hopechanneldeaf.org) joins Hope Channel’s global network this week as an Internet-based media ministry with four categories of programs—Nature Family, Bible, and Health.

Programs on Hope Channel Deaf are signed or captioned in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and German. Larry Evans, Manager, Hope Channel Deaf, notes that this is “a historical mark in the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s ministry.” He says, “It is clearly the providence of God that has opened so many doors to reach out to this marginalized and unreached people group.”

Keeper of the Story: Joseph L. Wheeler

Joe Wheeler. Photo courtesy Pacific Press

Story by Celeste Ryan Blyden

Joseph Leininger Wheeler, fondly known as “America’s Keeper of the Story,” has a doctorate in English, and has edited and compiled 94 books of stories that have sold more than 1.5 million copies. He is best known for the Great Stories Remembered, Heart to Heart, The Good Lord Made Them All and Christmas in My Heart series, whose 25th book was just released by Pacific Press Publishing Association and is available at Adventist Book Centers and other booksellers.