Flags Magazine Volume 9 No 1: March 2014 Issue | Page 11

News “A PHOTO CREDIT: DHANY IRAWAN IIAS should have the Health Festival Weekend twice a year” suggested one seminary student after attending the Health Festival Weekend 2013. The weekend incorporated eight health promotion activities. It commenced with the Friday vespers program, “The Drama That Will Change Your Life.” The drama team, composed of AJA students, portrayed the differences of a modern family and a health promotion family. Afterwards, Moses Kayongo gave a short message in response to the drama. The Sabbath morning program was entitled, “Our Adventist Health Advantage.” The highlight of the Sabbath School program was an inspirational documentary video of the Blanco family from Argentina about their healthy practices as a family living in AIIAS. Abraham Woncheso, Ruth Pondi, and Dr. Prema Gaikwad shared their testimonies in reflection to the documentary video through a panel discussion. For the divine worship, Dr. Cesar Galvez delivered a message entitled, “Healing for the Laodicean Syndrome” which challenged the congregation to realize where they are at in their Christian walk and to allow God to be in total control of their lives. The divine service was followed by “An Amazing Healthy Family Banquet,” that brought together 84 countries, which were grouped into 12 communities that presented and shared a healthy version of their traditional STRENGTHENING FAMILY RELATIONSHIP THROUGH HEALTHY LIFE PRACTICES Families having fun and playing together during the Family Fun Night. BY XUZHANG CHEN, FELEKECH DESTA, RENOIR CAÑA & DHANY IRAWAN food for everyone to enjoy. One student stated, “It is a privilege to experience this type of potluck where you can taste varieties of food from different countries which are healthy and are for free.” “Are you prepared to do gardening in the New Earth” was the title of the sundown worship where Dr. Reuel Almocera and Nirobindu Das shared biblical principles and environmental health science about gardening to enable families to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle. In response to the program, a seminary student shared “In my country, the people mainly rely on gardening as the means to supply food for the family. So for me gardening is very essential.” ...continued on page 16 XUZHANG CHEN, FELEKECH DESTA, RENOIR CAÑA and DHANY IRAWAN are Master of Public Health students. PHOTO CREDIT: DHANY IRAWAN PHOTO CREDIT: DHANY IRAWAN (Top) Public Health students conduct health screening. (Bottom) International cuisine served for Sabbath lunch during the "Amazing Healthy Family Banquet." www.aiias.edu | Flags 11