On October 2nd, Adelante hosted a Friday night vespers at PMC, one of many installments in their planned events for National Hispanic Heritage Month (NHHM) which takes place from September 15th to October 15th. The month acts as a great opportunity for America, as well as our campus, to celebrate the Hispanic and Latino contributions and voices that influence and have influenced our society today.
The theme that Adelante chose to represent their focus for NHHM is “Unidos,” which was also highlighted in their vespers. Amanda Pechero (junior, architecture), the president of Adelante, commented that they chose “Unidos” due to our world’s current situation. “COVID is specifically a huge factor in the theme. There are so many things in the world that directly affect Hispanics and we believe in...always [staying strong] together not only with our families, but with each other,” she explained.
The praise songs, led by a team of Adelante members, were sung in both English and Spanish. “Tu espíritu está aquí,” the words reverberated throughout the church, which translates in English, “For the Spirit of the Lord is here.” Kristin Ferrer (senior, biology, public health) remarked that she “particularly enjoyed the praise and how they incorporated Spanish into the songs.” The songs set the ambience of the worship and directed the focus onto the Hispanic culture and language.
Pastor Jose Rojas, the preacher for the night, gave his message through video, and began by introducing the history of his family as well as a general history about the Hispanic presence in the U.S.; all of the short stories culminated to his primary point, about how he identifies not only as Hispanic, but also as a citizen of the U.S. and as a Seventh-day Adventist. “We are all different, but we need to come together.” Pastor Rojas requested all listeners to remember to be united, despite their differences, circling back to the “Unidos” theme of NHHM.
He spoke about God’s miracle-working power in his own life, about how people who were “different” from him, came together and guided him to succeed. “I am the product of Adventist insistence that we can come together,” Pastor Rojas declared. He concluded his message with a powerful metaphor, using the playground game of tag, “Tag, you’re it.” Pastor Rojas prompted by asking his audience to accomplish what his generation could not: “Fulfill your destiny, take the gospel to every nation, finish this thing and, then, we can go home.” Jel Tamayo (senior, nursing), who participated in the worship online, felt impacted by Pastor Rojas’ message. He says, “Sometimes as Seventh-day Adventists living in this world, we forget before we’re people of this world [that] we’re children of God.”
Pechero notes that they have more events planned for NHHM and that the events are “not only informative and fun, but to simply highlight hispanic and latinos on campus.” Keep an eye out for future events on their Instagram page, @auadelante.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.