Inter-America: Students across Adventist schools take a day to pray and testify

Primary students pray at the Moriah Adventist School in Jalapa, Guatemala during a day filled with pray and testifying activities held on Mar. 7, 2014. The special day was was part of the annual day of prayer celebrated across more than 1,000 Adventist schools and universities in Inter-America . Image by Gustavo Menendez/IAD

March 23, 2014 – Miami, Florida, United States…Libna Stevens/IAD

Dr. Gamaliel Florez, education director for the church in Inter-America, said the special day of prayer in educational institutions has gained strength this fourth year the spiritual initiative has taken place throughout the territory. IAD file photo.

For the fourth consecutive year, teachers and students throughout Seventh-day Adventist schools and universities across the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory put away their academic activities in their classrooms on Mar. 7, to reflect on God’s blessings, pray, study the Bible and share hope in their communities.

The special day was filled with spiritual revival messages and was highlighted by music, prayer sessions, and family fellowship, as well as outreach activities in the community, organizers said.

“We wanted to remind our teachers and students that prayer is a wonderful resource given to us by our Lord so that we can cultivate a close relationship with Him that will lead us to a special communion every day,” said Dr. Gamaliel Florez, education director for the church in Inter-America.

Students pray together during prayer sessions at the Bible Auditorium Adventist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Mar. 7, 2014. Image courtesy Haitian Union/IAD.

That close relationship with God means praying and sharing the love of God among the educational community and beyond campuses and into the homes of family members and people in their communities, said Dr. Florez.

In Haiti, hundreds of students on campus and from Adventist schools nearby gathered at Haitian Adventist University in Diquini, Port-au-Prince, the hub of the territory-wide event, to listen to spiritual messages and participate in activities.

Church leaders, community leaders, and parents also joined the day’s program which featured music and testimonies from students. The program was broadcast through the churches radio station across the country. Students in downtown Port-au-Prince area met at the Bible Auditorium Adventist Church to pray and worship during the special day.

Students from the Adventist school in Cali, in South Colombia, pose for a picture after visiting a patient at a nearby hospital. Dozens of students brought songs, prayers and cheers during the special day of prayer across church schools in the IAD. Image courtesy of South Colombia Union.

Elsewhere in Haiti, some 56 educational institutions participated in the day of prayer on their campuses.

In Puerto Rico, teachers and their pupils took to some main streets and nearby communities to offer prayer to anyone who needed it. Drivers stopped to be prayed for throughout the island, educators said.

“We wanted to motivate our students and teachers to pray constantly in the good times and in the bad times, in adversity and in prosperity,” said Dr. Miriam Hernandez, education director for the church in Puerto Rico. “The message was clear that God listens to us, cares for us and wants us to draw closer to Him,” she added.

Students across Adventist schools in Honduras, kneel to pray together near their classrooms. Image courtesy Honduras Union.

Throughout Mexico, dozens of government leaders were invited to the special prayer activities held on campuses while parents enjoyed musical performances, prayer sessions, and dramas.

In Mexico’s Olmeca region, students from preschool to secondary school were invited to tour a bus themed “Traveling to Heaven.” Children were able to sing, pray, and recite memory verses as they traveled on the bus. Other activities included special prayer sessions for parents with health needs and more.

In Colombia, students visited patients in hospitals to offer songs, prayers and good cheer.

Across schools in Honduras, children wrote down their prayer petitions and released balloons into the sky.

Children at the Redencion Adventist School, in Quetzaltepeque, Chiquimula, Guatemala, pause for a picture while touring a heaven-themed campus dressed in white robes during the spiritual activities held during the special day of prayer across the IAD, on Mar. 7, 2014. Image courtesy of Guatemala Union.

Students throughout schools in Guatemala marched through the streets wearing white robes and rode on car floats while spreading the news of the soon coming of Jesus. Students and teachers prayed for families and municipal, government and police authorities.

In Mandeville, Jamaica, students at Northern Caribbean University took the day to worship, share testimonies and pray hand-in-hand across its large field on March 17.

“We know that our students across Inter-America have it clear in their minds that prayer is essential for their life today and in the future,” said Dr. Florez. “Our church leaders and educators work together on the special day of prayer from our unions to conferences and missions which oversee all our educational institutions and we praise God for that.”

Hundreds of students and teachers hold hands together as they pray during spiritual activities held on the campus of Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Jamaica on Mar. 17, 2014. Image courtesy Northern Caribbean University.

Plans are underway for next year’s fifth annual day of prayer throughout Inter-America’s schools and universities. Church leaders and educators in the IAD will continue to promote a daily prayer life, the study of the Bible and the sharing of the love of Jesus to its more than 173,000 students across its 1,002 schools including 14 universities.