They are teachers, preachers, healers and innovators. They are six Seventh-day Adventist women whose contributions to the church and community were recognized at a recent "Woman of the Year" awards ceremony during the annual conference of the Association of Adventist Women (AAW) in St. Louis, Missouri (USA). AAW is an independent group that considers itself an advocate for women in the Adventist church.

"The AAW are ... interested in the full participation of women in the church. They have provided a valuable service and are one of the groups that pushed for Women's Ministries departments in the church," said Ardis Stenbakken, recently retired director of the Women's Ministries department of the Adventist world church, and an award recipient.

The group's 23rd annual conference continues a tradition of spearheading change in the Adventist Church to include more women in ministry. The three-day meeting, June 26 to 29, brought together 75 women under the theme of "Love Enables Unity in Diversity: Include Me, Please."

The awards fell into six categories. Jeanette Hartley Fourie from South Africa was recognized for her work in spiritual leadership; Esther Diaz de Guerrero from Cuba for church life; Helen Hall who lives in Thailand for lifetime achievement; Alice Achieng Ouma from Kenya for her contributions to community life; Ardis Stenbakken, who was raised in China and the Philippines, for distinguished service; and Dr. Siriporn Tantipoonwinai from Thailand for professional life.

"Together [these women] have transcended barriers of culture, religion, war, disease and misunderstanding to make an astounding difference for others," said Verla Michel Kwiram, AAW president.

Ouma, a teacher at Kisumu Junior Academy in Kenya, along with her husband James, established a village for AIDS orphans and widows. The Nyalwodep-Nyalgunga Widows and Orphans Development and Education Project provides a safe home for widows and orphans as they learn independence, vocational skills and more about AIDS.

After serving as missionaries in Venezuela, Diaz and her husband returned to Cuba knowing there would be many challenges. She has served as dean of the Cuban Adventist Seminary for five years and daily faces the reality of living and working in a communist country.

Diaz ensures that her students will have not only a solid theological foundation and homiletic skills, but also computer proficiency and managerial skills.

Hall, an Australian native, took a leave of absence from her work in Southern Australia in 1980 to teach the tribal Karen people in Northwest Thailand. There she founded Eden Valley Academy and continues to live in Thailand despite threats to her personal safety. Because of guerilla raids, fire, dismantling and moving, the school has been rebuilt eight times.

Stenbakken has served on numerous committees, worked as an evangelist, and helped raise scholarship money for women around the world. "It's a great honor," she said. "There are lots of fabulous Adventist women they could have chosen from. I have been privileged to be in leadership and I feel like, in receiving the award, I am representing other Adventist women. This is not something I've done on my own."

Fourie forgave the freedom fighters who killed her daughter in South Africa and worked with the leader to start the Lyndi Fourie Foundation to address the needs of those recovering from apartheid.

Tantipoonwinai, president of Mission College in Thailand, has resisted the cultural stereotype that women follow, while men lead. Tantipoonwinai, who grew up in a Buddhist family where girls were not encouraged to attend schools, earned a doctorate in educational administration.

"I've been a member of the Association of Adventist Women since the mid-80s as a young professional woman and mother," said Rebecca Brillhart, a pastor at Sligo Adventist Church in Takoma Park, Maryland. "I brought a group of women with me from my church so they could experience the fellowship, intellectual and spiritual stimulation that occurs when these dedicated women meet together. Being in the company of this fellowship is always exhilarating for me because they dream big dreams and put them into action."

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant denomination that has 14.3 million baptized adult members in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. A total of 25 million Adventist Christians worldwide attend Adventist worship services each week. [Kit Watts, Taashi Rowe and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]