On January 31, we began construction of our Center for Faith Dialogue and Research. We would prefer to call it our Adventist Muslim Relations Center, but the prejudices of local Muslims and even Christians would be aroused. The primary purpose of the center is to take interested Muslims on a faith journey from the known into the unknown. Also, we cannot ignore the many sincere seekers we have attracted over the past four years from other Christian denominations and some African traditional religions.

Besides us, there are no other Adventists among the hundreds of thousands of people in our region. The nearest Adventist presence is nearly 100 miles south of Kandi, and the nearest Adventist church is more than 130 miles south. We want our work to become the epicenter of Gospel influence for thousands of square miles.

With this goal in mind, we organized an introduction meeting on Sabbath, February 5, for some of our Christian interests. We wanted to inform them about the construction underway for the Center for Faith Dialogue and Research and give them an idea of what we will be doing there. About 16 of us from four different denominations met in the conference room of a small motel in Kandi. Our agenda was to discuss how to promote understanding between different religions in order to increase acceptance and tolerance, how to reduce ignorance and prejudice, and how to create and sustain a culture of peace and harmony.

Attendees raised good questions, and we had a constructive discussion. As we finished, many present wanted to schedule another meeting as soon as possible. I told them we would certainly meet together again, but first we would have our first official meeting with Muslim interests.

Our goal is to hold these meetings in the center when it is completed. We also will move our weekly meetings and Sabbath worships there.

By the grace of God, we are moving forward and preparing for our first baptism in June 2011. Thanks for your prayers and support as team members to reach the Dendi people.

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