Chesapeake Conference | Seventh-day Adventist Church

ACS Chesapeake Welcomes Afghan Families with Essential Items

Story by Evan Knott/ Chesapeake Conference

When families from Afghanistan arrived in the United States following their rapid evacuation from the war-torn country, Adventist Community Services (ACS) stood ready to serve.

Chesapeake Conference’s ACS team first responded to the crisis by meeting evacuees at the airport to offer emotional and spiritual support. Three months later, ACS Chesapeake has shifted its focus to providing 340 Afghan families resettling in Chesapeake territory with food and essential supplies as these families attempt to rebuild their lives in the United States.

November 24, 2021: Where You Go, I’ll Go

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” (Exod. 13:21, NIV).

I was wrestling with a difficult decision. I knew what I wanted to do, but I had no peace. As I was lying in bed weeping over my decision, a friend called me up and said, “Janesta, I was having my devotions, and God told me I should call you.”

November 27, 2021: A Willing Offering

“Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You” (1 Chron. 29:13–14, NKJV).

Near the end of his reign, King David assembled the people of Israel for what was one of his last public appearances. It was a praise service in which he recounted God’s providence and all the preparations made for the great work of building the temple of God. More than once, the Bible records that David and Israel’s leaders “offered willingly” to the Lord.

Thankful in All Circumstances?

Editorial from Jerry Lutz

Let’s admit it, shall we? Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful, especially when we find ourselves amid difficult, faith-stretching circumstances, particularly ones that threaten life and limb. When in dire, physical danger, we naturally, instinctively go into survival mode. It’s the fight-or-flight response, also known as acute stress response—a condition that refers to a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically.

Highland View Academy Alumni Report From the COVID-19 Front Lines

Story by Andrew S. Lay

Following the Chesapeake Conference Highland View Academy’s mission to excel in all Christ asks, three alumni share their perspective on working as COVID-19 frontliners:

I began travel nursing during the first wave of COVID-19. I worked a crisis job in New Jersey, where the skin on my nose and ears began breaking down after wearing an N95 mask for 14 hours at a time.

During one shift, the non-breathable fabric of my full-body isolation suit stuck to my arms as I assisted in five separate emergency codes. Despite all interventions, some people didn’t make it.