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Bern, April 3, 2012 [ANN-Spain]. The president of Adventist World Radio (AWR), pastor Dowell Chow, visited Spain from February 22 to March 2. During his visit in Spain he was accompanied by Amir Ghali, director of the Al-Waad Media Center (Adventist TV ne

News from North Africa

P. Torres ANN-Spain. Pictures ANN Spain


Bern, April 3, 2012 [ANN-Spain]. The president of Adventist World Radio (AWR), pastor Dowell Chow, visited Spain from February 22 to March 2. During his visit in Spain he was accompanied by Amir Ghali, director of the Al-Waad Media Center (Adventist TV network for the arabian region and producer of Adventist Radio programs in Arabic and other arabic dialects), and Pedro Torres, director of Adventist Radio Spain and of the Media Productions Center.
Together they visited the Center for Media Productions, the television studios of Hope Channel Spain, and the main studios of AWR EspaƱa. The reason for this visit was to establish joint productions between Adventist Radio (AWR-Spain) and Al Waad, in order to broadcast programs in arabic, berber, french and to explore possibilities of producing also in other dialects of the Maghreb.
The tour included spanish territories, cities and strategic locations such as Melilla, Ceuta and the Canary Islands, among other cities and territories of North Africa. On march 2, Dowell Chow moved to Senegal.
On Sabbath, March 3, Dowell Chow delivered a powerful sermon at the central church in the Mission of Senegal. He emphasized that the message must be preached in all languages and to all tribes. Many people responded to this message that was translated by the president of the Mission of Senegal.
While being there, a young man reached Senegal to be baptized. This young convert, Chow was told, was

reached by the AWR Arabic and/or Berber radio programs, either on SW and/or from the FM station in Lanzarote, Canary Island. Dowell Chow traveled the Moroccan coast and verified himself the excellent reception signal coming from the FM station in Lanzarote, hundreds of kilometers away. This is simply a miracle for 3KW transmitter!
"Things are happening in these lands... God is at work in a mighty way!", Chow said."The conversion and baptism of this young man in Dakar speaks volume to the value of sending the message into places where missionaries simply cannot go. We wonder how many more are out there who are unable to make contact with the church or who are simply too fearful to do so. In Morocco, it is a crime to become and profess to be a Christian."
AWR President Chow met also another prominent former Muslim, who was also baptized just a few weeks ago. Let us pray for this new convert and for so many more who are being reached with the message of hope through the ministry of Adventist World Radio.

Last minute news from Morocco.

The oldest woman, Adventist church member in Morocco, died recently at 82.

D. E., 82, was the oldest church member from and in Morocco. She was born in Maghreb, lived in Casablanca till her death. She knew the Adventist message at the end of the 1960's in the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Casablanca. She was baptized by pastor Pellicer.
Her baptism and her decision of following the Lord was a hard and strong one. Her husband repudiated her publicly after her baptism, so did her family too. Nobody in her family took care of her anymore, since then till her passing away recently.
In those days when Dada met the Lord for the first time, the Seventh Day Adventist Church had two prosperous communities and churches, one in Medina of Casablanca, where D. E. met the Adventist Church, and another one in Tangier. It was at the beginning of the 1970's when the new monarchy expelled most of the Seventh Day Adventist Church members out of Morocco, and expropriated the most of its properties.

During these years of family loneliness, siege and prosecution from the society and the authorities, D. was often arrested accused of apostasy. Pastor John Kenf was one of the very few Adventists who could visit D. in the 1990's.

Most of the expelled church members in Morocco went to France, looking for liberty and religious freedom. Doubtlessly this venerable old woman has been an example of faith and steadiness to those few who knew her in life.

This story intends to leave an endurable testimony for the next generations, and to enlist D. as an heroine of faith.

Today, the Seventh Day Adventist Church is still with no official and recognized presence by the authorities in Morocco, but this is not an obstacle to the church members that are living their faith in secret there.