South Pacific Division
Farewell to Joy Butler (SPD)
Joy Butler
SPD Women's Ministries director
It’s always hard to say goodbye to those we love but the time has come for us to say farewell to Joy Butler, South Pacific Division (SPD) Women’s Ministries director. Joy has served as WM director for SPD while also serving as WM director for Australia Union and prayer coordinator for SPD. I have had the opportunity of travelling with Joy in SPD a number of times and my memories of those trips will remain with me for many years.
Joy is a woman of courage and determination, a woman of vision and great energy, but most of all she is a woman of God. I have learned much from Joy these past years and I joyfully thank God for her, her ministry, and her availability for God to work in and through her to bless our sisters in SPD. Joy and her husband will be moving to Kenya to fulfill a dream she has held for many years, to return to Africa for mission service. Blessings, Joy; we love you and will miss you on our team.
—Heather-Dawn Small, GCWM director
“Touch a Heart, Tell the World” Unites Women in South America (SAD)
Heather-Dawn Small with leaders
from Central Brazil Conference
The Women’s Ministries (WM) director from the General Conference, Heather-Dawn Small, was in Goiânia, Góias, on May 19, speaking to approximately 550 people in the Goiania Central Adventist Church. She encouraged women to participate actively in the work of evangelism through the use of gifts given by God. The WM leader for South America, Wiliane Marroni; the West Central Region of Brazil, Débora Silva; and the Central Brazil Conference, Euridéia Sabino, were also all there.
Telling the history of the work of women’s evangelism in distant countries like Cambodia, China, India and Uganda, Small encouraged Brazilian women to help needy people by opening doors to tell of the love of God. “Jesus had a special way to reach people, and Ellen White states that this is what we should do. The people who need Jesus are not in the Church but on the streets and in their houses. We need to reach them,” stated Small.
There are 11 million Seventh-day Adventist women throughout the world, and Small stated that she believes that each one has a special role in the development of the Church’s missionary work. “God wants Samaritans who stop, reach out and help,” she said.
At the end of the event, Sabino encouraged all the women to participate in the second module of the Women’s Leadership Course which will we held June 8 via satellite. “A total of one hundred twenty women participated in the first module, and it was repeated in the local churches reaching more than 800 leaders. For Level 2, we have an even greater objective,” she encouraged.
[ASN Staff – Francisleine Matos; Translation – Beth Chagas]
Convention Attracts 552 Young Women—“Finding Your Balance” (SID)
Young women hold up candles to show
their commitment to purity.
“Finding Your Balance” was the theme at the Young Adventist Women’s Convention which took place from June 27 to 29 in Bloemfontein, Southern Africa Union of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division.
The convention was organized by Zodwa Kunene, Women’s Ministries director of the Southern Africa Union. The guest speaker was Nokhanya Moyake, a young woman who took her peers to higher heights in her thrilling sermons.
Various topics were presented to help the young women find balance: Exploring the Word, Salvation and Service, Integrity in the Work Place, 21st Century Lifestyle Diseases, Purity, Modesty, Relationships, Self Image, Health and Fitness, Making Space, and Challenges Facing Young Adventist Women.
A prayer breakfast at which the young women made a commitment to purity crowned the event. The convention attracted 552 young women from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.
— SID Women's Ministries
