Chesapeake Conference

Story by Tompaul Wheeler

For half a century, nowhere has embodied the phrase “so near, and yet so far” for Americans more than Cuba.

Cuba is only 93 miles from Key West, Fla., but for the average American, for decades it may as well have been on Mars. Home to 11 million people, the Caribbean island nation is the size of Virginia. Due to the travel and trade embargo imposed by the United States since the early 1960s, Cuba’s colorful and dynamic culture, and its turbulent political scene have been shut out from much of the world.

Story by Heidi Wetmore

When Jacob Harris was 8 years old, his family moved from Liberia to Maryland so his father could serve as a Lutheran minister. Harris was bullied in school because he was not from the United States. He decided that he didn’t want to be different and started hanging out with gang members. That decision led him to an unhealthy lifestyle including drugs, fighting and crime.

Story by Samantha Young

A group of 18 pastors and lay members recently conducted evangelistic meetings in Cuba. They held meetings in 11 churches in Pinar del Río, an area with extreme poverty, food scarcity and a typical monthly salary equivalent to about $25.

“Our pastors are enthusiastic about their meetings and the congregations were very receptive,” says Rick Remmers, conference president.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard / Photos courtesy Mark Bowen/Scripps National Spelling Bee

JJ Chen, a 10-year-old boy who attends Chesapeake Conference’s Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md., recently advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Oxon Hill, Md. He tied for 22nd place at the event.

Chen was the only student from the Washington, D.C., area to make it to the finals, and received a lot of local media attention for his accomplishment. He says he had fun and was “exited about talking with media. They are nice.”

Story by Andrew McChesney / Adventist Review

A 12-year-old adopted boy from Russia has expressed joy that hundreds of people are giving their hearts to Jesus as he leads his first evangelistic series in a city park in Rwanda.