Thanks for a great 2010! Next up: 2011!

Hi, everyone!

Just wanted to post a quick note to let you guys know that we're super thankful for you! Thank you for stopping by and reading the articles we've been posting here on A Sabbath Blog during 2010. Thank you to everyone that submitted news leads and tips. It's been a fun year with lots of cool stories going on.

Here's what happened...

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Watch GYC 2010 online

"Good evening, GYC!"

If you keep hearing this greeting many times in one night, then there's a pretty good chance you're at the annual Generation of Youth for Christ conference.

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What if Mary and Joseph had Facebook?

Merry Christmas, everybody! Hope it's a relaxing one spent with family and friends, and filled with lots happiness and love. Don't forget about Jesus this holiday season! :D

Speaking of Christmas, what if Mary and Joseph had Facebook? See for yourself:


("The Digital Story of the Nativity")

Committed wins 'The Sing-Off'

NEW: A Sabbath Blog's interview with Committed

Committed is the new champion of "The Sing-Off," winning the grandprize: $100,000 and a Sony Music recording contract. They were announced the winners during the show's live season finale on Dec. 20.

They are the second Seventh-day Adventist a cappella group in a row to win "The Sing-Off." Nota won the first season of "The Sing-Off" in December 2009.

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Cosmic Conflict 2: The Battle for Truth coming soon

Image credit: Amazing Facts

Amazing Facts has finished the script for "Cosmic Conflict 2: The Battle for Truth," according to the movie website.

However, it seems as if they've changed their original plans for this DVD.

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Committed is in the finals

NEW: A Sabbath Blog's interview with Committed
UPDATE: Committed wins "The Sing-Off."

You get to decide whether Committed, an Adventist a cappella group, will win the grand prize: $100,000 and a Sony Music recording contract.

Right now, people are voting for who they want to win "The Sing-Off." Four groups are left in the finals, including Committed, and they all want your vote.

You can vote three different ways:

1. Online (to vote any one of the four groups)
2. Text 1 to 97979 (to vote for Committed)
3. Call 1-877-674-6401 (to vote for Committed)

You can vote up to 10 times. Voting deadline is Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. The winners will be announced live on Monday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. EST.

Watch every performance by Committed on "The Sing-Off"

NEW: A Sabbath Blog's interview with Committed
UPDATE: Committed wins "The Sing-Off."

Committed, an Adventist a cappella group, recently competed on NBC's "The Sing-Off" competition. We've put together all of their performances in one place for you to enjoy. If you want to see the judges reactions and some behind the scenes with Committed, click the link below each video to watch it on Hulu. Enjoy!

• Finale: "We Are The Champions"
• Finale: "Hold My Hand"
• Finale: "Motownphilly"
• Night 4: "Let's Stay Together"
• Night 4: Usher medley
• Night 3: "I Want It That Way"
• Night 3: "Every Breath You Take"
• Night 2: "Apologize"
• Night 1: "This Love"

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Former Adventist Church president Neal Wilson died

Former Adventist world church president Neal C. Wilson died Dec. 14, according to Adventist News Network. He was 90 years old.

Wilson was the president of the Adventist world church from 1979 to 1990. His son, Ted N.C. Wilson, is the current Adventist world church president.

Adventist News Network first broke the news on Twitter today at 2:52 p.m.

Meet the new speaker/director of It Is Written

Image credit: Adventist CHIP
OnlinePastor John Bradshaw has just accepted to be the new speaker/director of It Is Written, according to two Adventist conferences' social media pages.

Bradshaw is the senior pastor of the College Place Adventist Church (also known as the Village Church) in College Place, Wash.

He is replacing Shawn Boonstra, who said he is leaving It Is Written due to health problems.

The Florida and Washington Conferences posted the news on Twitter and Facebook, respectively. This confirms a report by A Sabbath Blog saying that Bradshaw was being considered for the job.

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Adventist a cappella group competes on NBC's The Sing-Off

Image source: Committed Facebook page

NEW: A Sabbath Blog's interview with Committed
UPDATE: Committed wins "The Sing-Off."

Watch every Committed song.

An Adventist a cappella group will be competing on NBC's "The Sing-Off," starting Dec. 6. Committed is one of 10 a cappella groups competing for a Sony Music recording contract and $100,000.

About Committed
Committed was formed in 2003 at Forest Lake Academy in Orlando, Fla. Since then, the group's membership has changed lots of times. The current group is made up of five graduates and one undergraduate student from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala.

They are Dennis "DJ" Baptiste, Jr., Alain "Tommy" Gervais, Geston Pierre, Robert "Robbie" Pressley Jr., Maurice Staple and Theron "Therry" Thomas.

Sabbath issues
According to Andrews University, Committed is the only Christian group in the competition. At first, this caused problems for the group.

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Shawn Boonstra resigns from It Is Written

UPDATE: Shawn Boonstra returns to TV.
UPDATE: Here's the new speaker/director.

Shawn Boonstra is stepping down from his role as speaker and director of It Is Written due to personal health issues.

Boonstra posted both a letter and a video message about some apparent rumors that have been spreading by email forwards.

“I'm not dying, I don't have cancer, and I don't have a life-threatening disease,” Boonstra said. “I am, however, dealing with a serious health challenge, and it has gotten to a point where I must take a sabbatical to give my body time to rest.”

Though Boonstra expressed appreciation over the calls and emails he’s received, he said it’s not in his nature to be open about his personal health and asked to respect his privacy at this time.

According to the It Is Written website, a search committee is considering a number of evangelists to be the new speaker/director of the ministry.

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Adventist student finishes 3rd, wins $25,000

Southern Adventist University student, Hans von Walter, finished 3rd and won $25,000 in the Jeopardy College Championship. The junior biochemistry major is the first student to represent Southern on the TV quiz show.

Watch every Jeopardy episode in which von Walter appears.

Watch all the episodes: Adventist student on Jeopardy College Championship

A student from Southern Adventist University competed on the Jeopardy College Championship. Though he lost in the quarter-finals round, his score was high enough for him to return in the semifinals round. Hans won that round and is a finalist in the tournament.

Read more about the Adventist student's appearance on Jeopardy.

We've included all the episodes he's in below, so you can watch it right here on A Sabbath Blog:

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Adventist student advances to finals on Jeopardy

Click here to jump to the latest update.

A Southern Adventist University student won Tuesday's semifinal episode of the Jeopardy College Championship. Hans von Walter, a junior biochemistry major, will move on to the finals.

Von Walter is the first student to represent Southern Adventist University on the award-winning TV quiz show. He won tonight’s semifinal round against students from UCLA and Ohio State.

In this version of Jeopardy, non-finalists don’t keep the money they win in a game. Instead, money earned in an episode acts like points. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they go home empty handed.

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Did NBC copy Southern Adventist University's logo and colors?

NBC's Community used a logo and color scheme very similar to that of Southern Adventist University to represent the show's county museum.

Community is a television comedy series about a group of students attending a fictional community college called Greendale. On the other hand, Collegedale, TN is home to Southern Adventist University.

The logo is found in the show's Oct. 14 episode, "Basic Rocket Science."

Logo Comparisons and Screenshots:

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Watch Most Important Questions live online

You can watch Most Important Questions here on A Sabbath Blog on October 8-16, 2010 at 7 p.m. EST and on Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. EST.

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The name "Seventh-day Adventist" turns 150 years old

The name "Seventh-day Adventist" turned 150 years old on Oct. 1. The name was decided on during a conference of pastors from five different states in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1860.

Here's how it happened:

In the mid 1800s, a group of Christians wanted to share Jesus by printing pamphlets and newspapers about Him. The group wanted to own a publishing house, but needed to create an organization that could legally own it.

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Opinion: Remember Sept. 11 by being kind

Today is September 11. On this day, nine years ago, terrorists attacked the United States.

The attack was disgusting. Horrible. Unthinkable. Wrong.

It made us angry. It made us fight back. It made us think twice about yelling "bomb" at an airport.

It fueled religious and ethnic discrimination. It caused many to stare at someone wearing a taqiyah or hijab.

But here's the thing: Jesus loves you and me no matter how many times we've hurt Him. Nor does He think that all Adventists are the same. Can't we do the same?

So, today is September 11; today is also Sabbath. Come up with something nice to do for someone. Random acts of kindness go a long way. They are like a boomerang. Try it out and you'll see what I mean.

P.S. Burning a Quran IS NOT a random act of kindness. Don't do it.

Mount Ellis Academy unofficially wins $500,000 & posts ‘Thank you’ video message

A Seventh-day Adventist high school unofficially won $500,000 in a Facebook contest that ended this weekend.

Mount Ellis Academy, received 144,006 votes in the Kohl’s Cares grant competition, which put the boarding academy in 10th place. The 20 schools to receive the most votes would each win the money.

Although the Bozeman, Mont. high school finished in the top 20 vote-getting schools, Kohl’s says they are currently verifying the unofficial winners to make sure they meet all of the contest requirements and will then announce the winners.

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Loma Linda University wins three Emmys

Loma Linda University won three Emmys at the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards on June 26. The awards are for the university's documentary-style program called "Loma Linda 360."

The winning documentaries are:
• "Surgeons of Hope" by Maranatha Hay
• "Armed for the Challenge" by Patricia Thio
• "PossAbilities" by Patricia Thio

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GYC 2010 - "No Turning Back"

The Generation of Youth for Christ will be holding its annual conference on Dec. 29, 2010 through Jan. 2, 2011 in Baltimore, MD.

This is the ninth annual conference held by GYC, an Adventist grassroots movement led by young adults in the United States.

Speakers at the four-day event include several church leaders from General Conference. Among the speakers scheduled is the newly elected president of the Adventist world church, Ted Wilson.

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The Most Important Questions

Image credit: MIQ websiteThis October, Amazing Facts will attempt to answer teens’ questions about life, God and the Bible through a live televised event called Most Important Questions.

MIQ is a 10-part Bible seminar specifically for young people ages 13-18 and will be hosted at Great Lakes Adventist Academy in Cedar Lake, Michigan. The event will be hosted by Pastor Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts, and will be broadcast on 3ABN, Inspiration Network and AFTV.

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Let's Talk website retires

After 9 years, the Let’s Talk website, where youth and young adults could ask the Seventh-day Adventist Church president questions about the church, closes down.

Let’s Talk was a televised series of dialogues between young people and former Adventist world church president Jan Paulsen.

Update: We emailed the Adventist Church, asking why Let's Talk was cancelled. We haven't received a reply.



More articles: Final "Let's Talk" Episode | Let's Talk

10th TED Pathfinder Camporee

The 2010 Trans-European Division "Faithbook" Pathfinder Camporee is happening right now in Iso Kirja, Finland. More than 2,200 people from over 20 countries are expected to attend. Pathfinders will be able to participate in over 50 activities such as rafting competitions, team challenge courses, and bungee surfing at the week-long event.

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Adventist Church's top committee to include more young adults

Glenn Wright, a delegate representing
the world church, suggests ways to
increase the participation of young
adults in future General Conference
sessions. [photo: Gerry Chudleigh /
Adventist News Network] On many occasions over the past week, delegates at the 59th General Conference Session have taken to the microphone to voice strong opinions about the lack of youth representatives, even when the topic being publicly discussed at the moment was unrelated.

In response, church officials sitting at the desk on stage politely told the youth advocates to hold their thoughts for a more appropriate time.

Then came Friday, during the last business meeting of the 10-day Session. That's when delegates finally got a chance to discuss -- and approve -- an agenda item that encourages youth representation on the General Conference Executive Committee.

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Number of GC delegates by age & gender

According to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, only 2 percent of the delegates representing the Adventist Church at the General Conference Session are under 30 years old. Only about 16 percent of the delegates are women.

According to the GC Session website:

"The Constitution states that at least 50 percent of delegates shall be laypersons, pastors, teachers, and nonadministrative employees, of both genders and representing a range of age groups and nationalities."

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Gilbert Cangy is the new GC Youth Director

Gilbert R. Cangy was recently elected the new General Conference Youth Department director. Cangy previously served in Youth Ministries at the South Pacific Division.

The associate directors for the Youth Department are Jonatan Tejel and Paul D. Tompkins.

Source: Adventist News Network

Session delegate urges more youth representation

North America delegate David Kokiong,
28, earlier this week calls for more younger
delegates to comprise the General
Conference in Session. [photo: Gerry
Chudleigh / Adventist News Network] A delegate stepped up to the microphone and identified himself as "one of the few" under the age of 30 from the Seventh-day Adventist Church's North American region.

See how many delegates are under the age of 30

"I'd like to know when would be an appropriate time to address the issue of the lack of representation from that age category," said David Kokiong, 28, of Montreal, Canada, during the Tuesday morning business meeting at the 59th General Conference Session. "Many youth and young adults are either misinformed or uninterested, or even ignorant, about the processes and procedures that go on in the church."

Kokiong's comments drew attention to a reality among the hundreds of delegates who are attending Session: Young faces are few and far between. But the ones who are on the Georgia Dome floor, along with their older counterparts, say more should be present -- particularly as they are the church's future leaders.

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Dan Jackson is the new North American Division president

Dan Jackson was just elected the new president for the Adventist Church in North America. Jackson was previously the president for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada.

General Conference Session Coverage

You walk into the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Immediately you begin hearing different languages, spoken by the thousands of the people around you. Some of these people are in cultural dress, some are in church attire. All are here for one gigantic event: the 59th General Conference Session of Seventh-day Adventists!

A Sabbath Blog is covering the GC Session. Check out what you need to know about the event below:

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Ted Wilson is the new Seventh-day Adventist world church president

Ted N. C. Wilson, a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the son of a former church president, was today elected to serve as president of the 16.3-million member global Protestant denomination.

Wilson was appointed by the church's 246-member Nominating Committee and confirmed by the General Conference Session delegation, which is an international body of 2,410 appointed members and the highest governing body in the church.

Wilson replaces Jan Paulsen, who has served as president since 1999.
The appointment took place at the church's 59th General Conference Session, being held at the Georgia Dome and adjacent World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

You can read the full article at Adventist News Network.

Source: Adventist News Network

The Beginner's Guide to the General Conference Session

Chances are you’ve heard adults at your church talking about an event called the General Conference Session. You may have wondered what the big deal is and why they won’t stop yapping about it. If you’ve been at least a little bit confused by all the talk, then have we got the article for you! Introducing, the “Beginner’s Guide to the General Conference Session” by A Sabbath Blog.

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Pathfinders video ad: The few, the proud, the remnant.

Another clever video from the Florida Hospital Church in Orlando, Florida. This time, it's an ad for Pathfinders in the style of the U.S. Marine TV commercials.



Source: Florida Hospital Church on YouTube

Give Youth Top Leadership Positions, says Adventist President

Adventist World church president Jan Paulsen is asking you to involve youth and women in top leadership positions.

“Clearly I think we should invite young people to serve on our executive committees of the church,” said Paulsen. “I think they should be present on the executive committees over local conference, over union; I think their presence is needed. But by far, the overwhelming place where young people must be trusted with leadership roles is in the local congregation.”

Elder Paulsen says youth have not been given “meaningful functional roles” in their local churches. He’s right. Most churches give youth jobs that don’t meet our potential.

In many churches, youth aren't given jobs. And the times when youth are given jobs in their local church, it's usually something like just taking up the offering or being a junior deacon. It isn't bad to help out that way, it's just that many youth aren't given meaningful jobs until they are practically adults.

We can do so much more. Please give us that opportunity. Teach us what we would need to learn, and we’ll teach you things you haven't heard of. Don't kill this potential.

As the world church president said: We are the church.

Summer camp is coming! Are you going?

Summer has arrived for most of us in the United States, so how will you be spending your precious few months before school begins again? If your plans for the summer include spending countless hours moping around as boredom drives you crazy, then go for it.

However, if you do change your mind and decide you'd rather do something adventurous, then summer camp is just for you! At Adventist summer camps, you can go water skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, canoeing, do gymnastics, archery, go airplane flying, horseback riding, wakeboarding, surfing, go-kart racing, whitewater rafting, and soooo much more!

There are over 60 Adventist camps in the United States and Canada, and you don't have to be an Adventist to be a part of the fun. Check out the links below to see if there's a camp near you!

Summer camps in:

• United States
• Canada

Map  |  Alphabetical listing

Videos: Just Claim It 2010

Didn't get to make it to Just Claim It 2010? Want to relive the memories? Thanks to PCJovenes.com, you can! Below, you can watch the Wednesday through Saturday, morning and evening programs. The rest of the videos for the week are after the break (i.e. they will appear when you click the "Keep reading" link).

Wednesday evening:

Just Claim it 2 Wednesday Night from PCJovenes Jovenes Adventistas on Vimeo.

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Short Update on an "Adventist Youtube"

Over a year ago, we wrote about a new website called SpiritFlash. Sponsored by the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, SpiritFlash was similar to the popular video sharing site, YouTube.

Ironically, SpiritFlash.org now redirects its visitors to its channel on YouTube.com (as of writing).

LIVE: Just Claim It 2 youth event

Youth from around the North American Division (a region covering Bermuda, Canada, and United States) are meeting in Columbus, Ohio for large youth event on April 7-11, 2010. This event is actually made up of four large programs:

• Just Claim It 2 Prayer Congress (youth)
• Ignition - God Encounters (young adults)
• Youth Ministries Leadership Summit
• Children's Worship Festival

The video appears after the break (i.e. click the "Keep reading" link).

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Standout 2010 at Andrews University

Standout Promo Video from Deomitrus on Vimeo.

Standout is a spiritual retreat for public high school students. It will be held at Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, Michigan on April 16-18, 2010.

Learn more and register for the event at the Standout official website. http://connect.andrews.edu/standout

Christian meetings begin in Rome, opposition fails to stop event

Photo by "bezaleel31" on Flickr under
a Creative Commons license.

A series of Christian evangelistic meetings in Rome, began tonight, Feb. 6, just four days after “high ranking authorities” managed to shut down the use of an auditorium for the meetings.

The Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventists had signed a contract with Leo the Great Auditorium for the use of their hall, but were faxed a cancellation notice from the center on Tuesday evening, Feb. 2.

“What we feared has actually come to pass,” said Pastor Shawn Boonstra, the presenter for the event and director of It Is Written. “We have a back-up plan, and nothing is going to stop the preaching of the everlasting gospel here in the city of Rome.”

Event organizers found a large church and worked to develop overflow seating. They had people stationed at the old meeting place and had busses transport attendees to the new meeting place.

After the opening meeting ended, It Is Written filmed a video update with Pastor Boonstra at the new meeting location, describing how things went that night....

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Fox News Video: Church Members and Neighbors Working as a Team

This is really touching! A recent Fox News report highlights what an Adventist church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is doing to survive after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the country January 12. The church members and people from the church's surrounding neighborhood are doing something very different from those fighting and looting for food across the city.

They've gathered together and are camping just outside of their destroyed church. Instead of adopting an "everyone for themselves" kind of attitude, these survivors are working together as a team. They've organized themselves and are combining their money to send a few people to buy food at a local market. Then, they bring the food back to group and share it with anyone willing to chip in!

It's so heartwarming to see people act unselfishly --even when all they have is gone.

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Video: "Thank you, God, for keeping me alive"

Faradhia Moise was trapped in the rubble of a Haitian store for more than 2 days. After being rescued, she spoke with CNN about what helped her make it through the ordeal. Video below:

Source: CNN

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Update: Damages from the Earthquake in Haiti

The North Pacific Union's Gleaner is reporting that the earthquake has damaged 2 of the largest Adventist Churches in Haiti. These churches housed 5 congregations. The Haitian Adventist University was also damaged but is being used to stage relief efforts. The Adventist hospital in Port-au-Prince is still up and is being used a clinical center. However, a newsletter from the Adventist Church in North America says there are "conflicting reports" and are "sketchy because of downed power lines and poor communication in Haiti."

As you may know, ADRA is providing aid in the relief effort. However, you should know that ADRA "cannot use donations to specifically target the special needs of the Adventist Church." If you want your donation to specifically help the Adventist Church in Haiti, you need to put your donation in a tithe envelope and mark it “Haiti Disaster Relief.”

Churches can include a special insert in their church bulletins for this upcoming Saturday available from the North Pacific Union Conference.

Source: Gleaner. Image Source: North Pacific Union Conference.

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Haitian Earthquake: What's Happening So Far

The Haitian National Palace --destroyed by the earthquake. Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images. Source: CNN
In case you haven't already heard, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. It is the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in over 200 years.

Officials fear that tens of thousands of people may be dead, however no one knows for sure. According to the Associated Press, there are dead bodies all over the streets: from the very young next to their schools, to the older with stunned expressions frozen on their faces. Damaged roads and fallen buildings are making it difficult to send relief where most needed.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is responding to the earthquake. Right now the most urgent needs are "water purification supplies, food, temporary shelter materials, hygiene kits, and medical assistance." ADRA says it plans on providing access to clean water to an estimated 90,000 people a day.

You can give the people the help they desperately need by donating to ADRA's Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. ADRA is needing to raise $500,000 in the next 7 days.

The Adventist Church has several institutions in Haiti. Most of the church's large institutions, such as its hospital and university, are based in Carrefour, a city on the southern outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Although Carrefour is not close to Delmas, church leaders are waiting to hear more about potential damage to those institutions as well.

Inter-American church leaders say they are hoping to have more information tomorrow. So far, the church's headquarters in Haiti have suffered no structural damages, according to local church officials.

The earthquake also delayed a volunteer project from a church in the United States that partners with a Haitian orphanage. A group of 31 church members from the New Hope Adventist Church in Fulton, Maryland last night canceled their week-long trip to the Eden Garden Orphanage, 60 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.

Needless to say, please keep everyone in Haiti in your prayers. U.S. citizens seeking information about family members in Haiti can call the State Department Operations Center at 1-888-407-4747.

Video (below) shows the dust from destruction that hangs over Port-Au-Prince:


Sources: Adventist News Network, CNN, ADRA | Legal Info