In September 2019, a Category 5 hurricane slammed into the Bahamas. With winds exceeding 185 miles per hour and storm surges reaching up to 23 feet, Hurricane Dorian was one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall in the Atlantic and the worst natural disaster in the history of the island nation. As a career marine in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Jamie Rahming was part of his government’s humanitarian response in the wake of the storm. Working alongside teams from the U.S., U.K. and other nations, he felt a calling: a new way he could serve his country. “Hurricane Dorian devastated our two northernmost islands,” Rahming said. “We did pretty well with what we had, but we needed so much help from other countries. After that, I started looking at how I could enhance our ability to respond to disasters.” He had seen firsthand that the Bahamas needed professional search-and-rescue teams on the same level as those coming from other countries. He and his wife began searching for a program that would train him to lead such a team, and they found Union Adventist University’s International Rescue and Relief Program listed on the FEMA website. “It just so happens that at the time Union had the only hands-on program dealing with disaster management,” he said. “I thought, This is going to work for me because I prefer hands-on learning instead of just book work. So that’s how I ended up choosing Union out of all the schools on the list.” He wrote a proposal to develop a search-and-rescue team. It was sent up the chain of command, and in 2022, Rahming was granted study leave from the military. The full support of the RBDF gave him the financial freedom to bring his family to the U.S. while he earned his bachelor’s degree at Union. “My proposal is to start an urban search-and-rescue team with an emphasis on rope rescue, floodwater rescue, confined spaces, wildland firefighting, missing persons … all the things that we need back home,” Rahming said. “We would have that base of skills within that department, and from there we can build teams that not only assist in the Bahamas but also help other Caribbean countries when disasters strike.” Fortitude and support yields multiple certifications and opportunities When Rahming arrived in Nebraska, it was the farthest he had ever been from home—and the farthest north. “To come all the way to Nebraska, I thought, This is going to take some mental fortitude,” he said. “Even though I didn’t know anyone here, I knew I could do it. And then the winter came. The weather changes 20 degrees one day, and then the next day there’s another 20-degree difference. This is like nothing at home.” Despite the cold weather, he found a warm welcome at Union Adventist University. “I love this place,” he said. “It’s a close-knit community, so the professors are more involved in helping you succeed. It’s been very beneficial in helping me work toward my goals.” When asked what advice he would give a new student considering Union’s IRR Program, Rahming said, “Come prepared. Prepared for what? The weather. Long nights of studying. Time management. It’s not going to be easy, but because of the way Union is set up, you always have a community that will help you. Come prepared to ask for help.” In addition to earning his baccalaureate degree at Union, his four years in the IRR Program mean he is now certified in emergency medicine, search and rescue, swiftwater rescue and flood management, technical rope rescue, wilderness medicine … and more. In fact, he has not only earned the certifications but has also worked as a teaching assistant training others. As part of the university’s disaster response team, he deployed to Arkansas, Florida and North Carolina following natural disasters, putting his training into practice in situations very similar to the hurricane response that started him on this journey. Rahming reached out to Nebraska Task Force One for guidance on how to set up a similar response unit back in the Bahamas, and he has been grateful for the opportunity to learn from one of the top urban search-and-rescue teams in the United States right here in Lincoln. Having graduated from Union in May, Rahming is now heading home. He says his next step is either officer training or a master’s degree in disaster management. “If one doesn’t work out, I’ll do the other. Hopefully they both work out, and hopefully there’s no hurricane soon. Let me get the team together first.”

Read more...

Materials: Borax powder Boiling water Glass jar Pipe cleaner String Pencil Food coloring (optional) Instructions: Form your pipe cleaner into the shape of your choice. You can also use a natural object such as a pinecone or bird feather. Tie one end of the string to your shape and the other end to the middle of the pencil. The pencil will rest across the top of the jar, suspending your shape in the solution. Place the pencil across the top of the jar so your shape hangs freely inside the empty jar. Make sure it does not touch the sides or bottom. Adjust the string length if needed. With adult assistance, measure how much water is needed to fill your jar, then bring that water to a boil. Carefully pour the hot water into the jar. Add borax powder, one tablespoon at a time, stirring until it dissolves. You will add about 3 tablespoons of borax per 1 cup of water. Continue adding borax until a small amount remains undissolved at the bottom. This means you have created a saturated solution. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir well. Slowly lower your pipe cleaner shape into the solution and rest the pencil across the top of the jar. Make sure the shape remains fully suspended and does not touch the jar. Set the jar in a safe location, clean up your space, and then read Acts 9:1-22. As the solution cools, crystals will begin to form. For best results, wait at least 24 hours before removing your creation. What’s Happening? In this experiment, we are exploring solubility – how much of a substance (the solute, borax) can dissolve in a liquid (the solvent, water). When the water molecules are heated, they begin to dance with energy, moving faster and spreading farther apart. This allows more borax to dissolve than would be possible in cooler water. As you stir in borax, it breaks apart into tiny particles that mix evenly throughout the hot water. Eventually, you reach a point where no more borax will dissolve. This is called a saturated solution. As the water cools, the molecules slow down and move closer together. Cooler water cannot hold as much dissolved borax, so the extra borax begins to come out of the solution. These particles attach to rough surfaces, like our pipe cleaner, and arrange themselves into beautiful patterns. This process is called crystallization. Because the solution held more borax at a higher temperature than it can at a lower temperature, it becomes supersaturated as it cools down. This is what allows the crystals to grow. What does Acts 9:1-22 have to do with this experiment? In this passage, Saul has a powerful encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. His life is completely transformed! The Bible is full of stories of ordinary people who meet God and are changed forever. When we spend time with Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit works to supersaturate us with the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Just like the crystals formed and became visible on the pipe cleaner, the work of the Spirit becomes visible in our lives and others begin to notice something different about us. One might even say that we shine like beautiful crystals full of God’s love! Kelly Wasemiller is a former Adventist educator who now stays at home with her twins Thomas and Hazel. She and her husband, Stephen, live in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Read more...

Over spring break in March, a group of students and adults from Kansas churches traveled with the Kansas-Nebraska Youth Department on a mission trip to El Salvador, partnering with a team from the Washington Conference to serve alongside local leaders and churches in the Eastern El Salvador Conference. The trip started in the dark. The group left in the early morning hours, driving through snow and freezing temperatures, and landed a few hours later in the warmth and humidity of Central America. The contrast was hard to miss, and it only grew from there. One of the stories that stayed with me came from a simple tin shed where a congregation meets faithfully. That church exists because of a man named Alfredo. When he heard that a group of Adventists had lost their meeting space, he offered them a shed on his small farm. Week after week they gathered there, and Alfredo started showing up too. He became part of the church family. By the time our group arrived, he was not just worshiping in that shed. He was at the worksite with us, helping build a permanent church for that same community. His story alone was worth the trip. The week was physical work. The team dug trenches through rocky ground in the heat, carried cinder blocks, and learned from local leaders how to build well. But the other work happened in between—playing with kids at Vacation Bible School, singing together, sharing meals that neighbors brought to the worksite. We saw Jesus in a hundred small moments: a child checking on someone who felt sick, a community giving generously from what little they had. Those moments carry weight. We may have more resources at home, but we were reminded that spiritually, there is still much to learn from people who depend on God every day. James 2:5 says God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith. We saw that. The clearest lesson was also the simplest. Mission is not a destination. The same willingness to go is needed right here, in our churches and schools and neighborhoods, where people feel unseen every week. This was never just a project. It was partnership…God bringing His people together to carry His mission forward. That mission continues today, through all of us. We invite you to pray for the young people who went, for the communities in El Salvador, and that God would help all of us live as missionaries where He has placed us. If you feel called to support this work, your generosity makes opportunities like this possible. Nick Snell is youth & young adult director for the Kansas-Nebraska Conference.

Read more...

Sometimes you can walk into a church and just sense that good things are happening. The air vibrates with joy. Members are working instead of watching. Hmong Minnesota Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of those action-packed places where every person seems to know they belong and that they have a task to do. Founded around two decades ago in St. Paul, the Hmong group recently moved into a new building (the former Oromo Church on Central Avenue in Minneapolis) and celebrated their promotion to full church status. The festive ceremony featured traditional music, colorful costumes, Hmong foods, a candlelight dedication, and a visit from former pastoral couple Ko and Terri Saelee, who are now planting a new Hmong congregation in North Carolina. Hmong Americans started arriving from refugee camps in Southeast Asia in the late 1970s and 1980s, and about 100,000 now make their home in Minnesota. Traditionally their religion includes elements of animism, shamanism and Buddhism, though many in Minnesota are open to Christianity. In a 2025 interview with Adventist Review, the Saelees explained that two factors helped guide their early Adventist outreach to the Hmong in Minnesota: first, the importance of building a support system for new members who may feel like outcasts after becoming Christians, and second, the need to gain the respect and friendship of Hmong leaders before introducing Christianity to other group members. This cultural understanding helped to establish the Hmong congregation as a sustainable model for making disciples. In January 2024, Pastor Rachan Ritti-traiphop and his wife, Pranee Sereepat, arrived in Minnesota to serve the Hmong believers. A crucial part of Pastor Rachan’s ministry is purposely getting out to meet more people. The larger Hmong community is tightly interwoven, so he attends weddings, funerals, parties, family gatherings, sports events—any place where people come together. He also asks church members to introduce him to their relatives and friends. Later he invites these new acquaintances to his home for a meal, where he introduces them to other Hmong church members so everyone can get to know each other and form a circle of support and care. Before believing, many people need to experience belonging. Lonely people who are adjusting to a new culture are often reluctant to leave the house, so Pastor Rachan regularly visits Hmong families in their homes. He asks questions about their lives and listens more than speaking. The first visit ends with prayer, and future visits include Bible study for those who are interested and preparation for baptism when they are ready. “In developed countries and urban societies, one thing people need most is relationships,” he says. “Loneliness is like a disease that eats away at human happiness.” Like the Saelee family and others who served before him, Pastor Rachan understands that respect for community leaders is essential when approaching the group-oriented Hmong. He advises “handling the snake by its head,” or engaging with leaders first, showing honor, and seeking their advice before launching community service projects. Hmong Adventists are now known for singing and offering encouragement at funerals, attending family clan meetings in the Twin Cities, opening their church building for community events, and providing teams of church members to carry out volunteer work. Pastor Rachan says one of his ministry heroes is Moses, who loved the Israelite people and was even willing to give his own life because of their sins (Exodus 32). Just as Moses did, Pastor Rachan depends completely on God’s power as he mentors new leaders and models biblical steps for growing a healthy church family. Becky Scoggins is a freelance writer for Minnesota Conference.

Read more...