“There’s a Turkish man I would like you to meet sometime,” said John Smith in an email to me. “He speaks English well and has read many Ellen White books. He is enthralled with them.”

Later that day, I had lunch with a friend who works for our world church headquarters. As we chatted, he told me he had a story to tell me. “There is a Turkish man living in (a major European city) who has read many Ellen White books in Turkish produced by our people in Turkey.”

“Oh, you mean Adnan?” I replied. My friend looked very surprised. I went on to tell him about the email I had received that very morning.

My friend continued, “Adnan has read all the Ellen White books available in the Turkish language, as well as some in English. He has become convinced about the Sabbath and the Adventist Church, among other things. I asked him what he plans to do about the things he has come to understand. ‘I really want to do what is right,’ Adnan told me. ‘I would like to keep the Sabbath, but it is difficult for me with work right now.’”

Learning more about Adnan’s story, we were thrilled as we saw God’s leading in his life. With our team in Turkey, it has always been our desire and prayer to see the books and other materials they have produced find their way into the hands of individuals whose hearts have already been prepared by the Holy Spirit.

It takes hundreds of hours of very careful work to translate, proofread and print books in the Turkish language, as well as financial means. Please join us in praying that these publications will not only continue to have an impact on the lives of Turks living in Turkey, but also among the Turkish diaspora living in many parts of Europe. We may not always get to hear back from an individual whose life has been changed by reading one of our books. But we know there will be many stories to share and much rejoicing when our work on earth is finally done and we get to stand around God’s throne with people from all language groups.

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