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hat would it be like to not have a Sabbath School Quarterly? What if you could not purchase imported books because of hyperinflation? What if you had no hymnals or religious materials available in your language? What if your local Adventist press was too small to keep up with the demand for materials? These are some of the questions our brothers and sisters in Africa face. 

Why is publishing so important? Ellen White states in Christian Service, page 148: “Our publishing work was established by the direction of God and under his special supervision. In a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory. I am bidden to say to our publishing houses, ‘Lift up the standard; lift it up higher. Proclaim the third angel’s message, that it may be heard by all the world.’”

Publishing of Adventist materials is so important in Africa because there is little internet access. Imported books are almost always in English and French creating language barriers in some countries. Most African people love to read and they are very hungry for the gospel, yet they lack materials.

These burdens were placed on the heart of an Adventist man, L. Russell Thomas. Russell’s first call overseas was to the Tanzania Union as the Adventist Book Center Coordinator supplying 300 literature evangelists. After five years of growth, their supply of books was cut off. With 618 literature evangelists by then, the little press at the Voice of Prophecy had to be quickly expanded to keep them supplied with materials. When Russell and his wife Beatrice left Tanzania 12 years later, there were 900 literature evangelists. Russell later spent 24 years as the Production Manager at Christian Record Services.

When Christian Record Services downsized and Russell retired, he raised funds to purchase some of the equipment and have it sent to Tanzania. He traveled there for the installation and while in Tanzania, he decided to go to Kenya to see the Africa Herald Publishing House which was started in 1913. He found that they had developed a great plan to modernize their plant, but the plan had collapsed because one section of the funding failed to materialize. Russell volunteered to attempt to raise the funds to restart the project. The Lord swiftly provided more than enough funds.

With the publishing burdens in Africa still heavy on his heart, Russell became an active missionary with HeReturns ministry. HeReturns was the catalyst needed to help with the huge task of transporting equipment and sending funds to various nations.

Implementing publishing projects in every country is different. One of the first challenges is funding. Other issues involve identifying the right equipment or parts, and learning the local political, legal, and economic climate and regulations. In some countries, corrupt officials can lose or confiscate entire containers of equipment or charge exorbitant costs to get them out of customs. But importing printed books, as they are doing now, is just as complicated, and must be done repeatedly.

In response to requests from several countries, in 2018 and 2019, Russell made trips to Uganda, the Congo, South Africa, Malawi, Cameroon, and Zambia. The Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division’s President and Director of Publishing requested help with their three publishing houses (Malawi, Zambia, & Madagascar) and three other countries (Zimbabwe, Angola, and Mozambique) where they desperately need publishing houses but have none. He has also teamed up with Mike Wells with “Print Bibles 4 Cuba” and made trips to Cuba to evaluate and assist with their publishing needs. 

Russell believes that we must put tools in the hands of our Adventist brothers and sisters for evangelism. Our commission is from the Lord. What would these countries do without presses?

Think of the great need calling for literature and the small steps HeReturns has taken so far:

• Tanzania has 800,000 church members and 2,500 literature evangelists
• The Ufunuo Publishing House has been supplied with better equipment
• Kenya has over 1 million members & 1,500 literature evangelists
• Africa Herald Publishing House is now mostly re-equipped
• Ethiopia has 200,000 members and a population of 103 million
• Ethiopia Adventist Press has been mostly re-equipped
• The Press needs a bigger building immediately
• Zambia has over 1,200,000 members
• The main printing press is broken down 
• Most printing is being outsourced
• Zimbabwe has three Adventist Unions. The government is restricting all imports of religious books. The economy has collapsed causing hyperinflation. The local currency is nearly worthless.
• No Adventist press exists in the entire country
• Literature evangelists are starving because they have no books to sell 
• Sabbath School lessons are smuggled across the border or photocopied at great expense
• Malawi has 588,000 members and 350 literature evangelists
• Old, worn-out equipment forces them to print all they can afford in Hong Kong (but that doesn't include children's Sabbath School lessons)
• No books are available in the local Chichewa language

With the networking available at the ASI National Convention, HeReturns partnered with Train Them 2 Fish and Light Bearers Ministry to supply and ship a container of over a million pieces of French Adventist literature to the people in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018. In 2019, a container of French Bibles was shipped. ASI Mid-America granted a funding request to HeReturns to pay for the costs of getting the container out of customs and transporting it to ministry partners on the ground. (Please go to HeReturns.org to view a complete list of all our past and current projects.)

As you can see, it takes a lot of work to help Africa with its publishing needs. There is a great need for workers experienced in fundraising, publishing, and machine repair. Do you have one of these skills? Are you willing to help? Jesus is calling for workers to be His hands and feet in Africa. Let’s evaluate our hearts and see what we can do.