Story by Visitor Staff
Members from 30 Hispanic churches across the Potomac Conference recently gathered at the Southern Asian church in Silver Spring, Md., to celebrate 215 baptisms during “Pentecostes Now.” Thirty evangelists, led by Pastor Abel Pacheco, president of the Salvadoran Union, joined Potomac pastors to preach during 30 series across the conference and visit attendees in their homes.
The pastors who conducted the meetings each shared testimonies and reports from the event. The 215 baptisms are part of the 2,498 that have taken place in Columbia Union Hispanic churches in 2017. Members from around the union will gather to celebrate these evangelism efforts at Vivangelismo 2017, December 8 -10 in Ocean City, Md.
Bonnie Franckowiak, professor and coordinator of the Master of Science Nursing Program at Washington Adventist University, says recognizing substance abuse varies from age group to age group. For example, adolescents showing changes in mood or failing grades could be signs of drug use. In more advanced age groups, needle marks could be a clue that someone is using. She says the biggest determinant is recognizing a person ceasing to function as he or she once did, not to mention their finances vanishing for no visible reason.
Bonnie Franckowiak, professor and coordinator of the Master of Science Nursing Program at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md., says, “The use of opioids in this country is staggering. It’s huge, and it’s growing all the time; we don’t seem to have a handle on it at all,” she says. “In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids, which is enough to give every American adult their own pill box.”