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Trading Recipes, Building Connections

Photo by Joel Springer

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Nellie Dakanay had been a Seventh-day Adventist before attending Allegheny East Conference’s Breath of Life church in Fort Washington, Md., but she was new to American life.

“I would not have known how to eat kale or collard greens, pastas or salads,” says Dakanay, if she hadn’t started attending Breath of Life. Originally from the Philippines, Dakanay and her family moved to the U.S. in the early 1980s. Prior to arriving to the U.S., they served as missionaries in Nigeria.

It was at the Breath of Life potlucks, in the predominantly African-American congregation, that the Dakanays learned how to cook American and vegetarian meals.

Allegheny East Conference to Host Regional Robotics Tournaments

Mid Atlantic Regional Robotics Tournament

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

Allegheny East Conference’s (AEC) Department of Education will be hosting two robotics events this spring at the Jessie R. Wagner Adventist School (JRW) and Pine Forge Academy (PFA). The goal of the tournaments is to expand robotics throughout the North American Division schools and to expose students to STEM-related careers. The FIRST LEGO League Junior Showcase and Expo, held at JRW, is for kindergarten through fourth grade. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Robotics Tournament, held at PFA, is for students fourth through eighth grade. All Adventist schools are invited to participate.

No One Goes Hungry

Photo by Joel Springer

Story by Sylvia N. Urrutia

A group of young visitors were near Ohio Conference’s Cleveland First church one Sabbath and decided to visit. After the service, there was no potluck, so they left hungry, without making any real contacts.

After hearing about their experience, member Aracely Balleza determined to make sure that every visitor who walked through the church doors would have a lunch and a friend available for them after divine service. She has now led the ministry for the last seven years, ensuring there is a potluck every week and for every visitor.

All God's Children

Washington Adventist University

Editorial by Weymouth Spence

Blessings abound here at Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma Park, Md., where we strive to engage minds and transform lives for all of God’s children.

On our campus, just minutes from our nation’s capital city, this includes nearly 160 international students from more than 50 countries, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Food From the Heart

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

People come in on Sabbath morning, and the tables are set up, and the classrooms are ready. They don’t know how it happens. It’s like a little Sabbath fairy comes in and sets it all up,” says Roxann Gambin, organizer of Chesapeake Conference’s Triadelphia church potluck for 12 years.

Gambin likes to operate behind the scenes. She and her husband, Len, volunteer at the church, located in Clarksville, Md., each Friday to set up the fellowship hall and prepare the kitchen. She schedules teams to run the weekly potlucks. The Sabbaths her team isn’t serving, she still often helps by dropping by the kitchen before Sabbath School and in between church to heat up and prepare dishes. The Gambins often stay until 3 p.m. to clean.