Feb 06, 2017
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Beruit, Lebanon
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[photo credit: Middle East and North Africa Union]
Ahmet was visiting his sick father, who lived in a massive Middle Eastern city where Seventh-day Adventists are not legally allowed to witness in public or distribute literature door-to-door.
Although he had never heard of Adventists or visited their church, Ahmet felt a strange impression to go find an Adventist church.
“The impression came again and again,” said Ahmet, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity four years ago.
Following the impression, he set off without any information to find the church in a huge city with a population of over 10 million, with only 30 known Adventist members.
Finally, he found the church, stepped into the entrance area and knocked on the inner door but he was met with silence.
“Nobody was there except Ellen White books,” said Ahmet
Local church members had placed a book rack inside the church’s entrance, an area no longer considered a public space. Noticing the rack filled with free literature, Ahmet felt convicted to pick up “The Victory of Love” by Ellen White.
Returning to his father’s home, Ahmet kept thinking of the book he picked up in the church’s entrance and pondered why the Spirit of the Lord took him to the Adventist church. He had no previous contact with anyone who was an Adventist and knew nothing of their beliefs.
When Ahmet finished reading “The Victory of Love” three days later, he felt that Ellen White’s words were moving and harmonized well with the Bible.
Ahmet found a stamp with contact information on the last page of the book and decided to contact the Adventist Church leaders in the country. He immediately received “Patriarchs and Prophets” and began to read with intense enthusiasm.
“I said to myself, ‘I am going to read all her books for all of my life,’” Ahmet recalled with contagious excitement. “And I am going to improve my life with her books!”
He read many other Ellen White books— “The Great Controversy,” “Acts of the Apostle,” “Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing” before discovering the one he loves most. “’The Desire of Ages’ is my favorite of all her books till now,” said Ahmet.
After reading the books, he decided to be an Adventist, and now Ahmet wants everyone to know about the wonderful books by Ellen White.
“As an Adventist, I will tell everyone; Ellen White was a prophet of God,” he said with forceful conviction.
As excited as Ahmet is about telling people of the inspired writings of Ellen White, the most important thing that he wants to share is what her books taught him more clearly than ever – the love of God.
He plans to reach out to people from his own country who have never heard the gospel and talk with Adventist Church leaders about ways of accomplishing his goal.
Ahmet’s story encouraged Church leaders in the region to keep up their efforts to share Ellen White’s writings.
“We need to do all we can to share the treasure we have so that more can read personally and draw closer to Jesus,” said Rick McEdward, president of the Middle East and North Africa Union.
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