Building Progress

This week, there are no blizzards to report. However, we have had more rain and unusually strong winds. One day we strain to reach 70°F, and the next we huddle in our coats at 30°F. That is typical for spring in Michigan, but these high winds are not. Precious time has slipped away like water through a funnel. We are happy to report that all of the foundation is in, and the framing for three walls is up. Progress is progress, even if it does take longer than expected. Next week, it appears we will have at least three days without high winds. With all the weather-related setbacks, the window is getting tight to complete the building before our Grand Opening event Aug 20-22. Your continued prayers are appreciated. We will be going forward with the event, regardless! Pr. Ron and Collene Kelly traveled throughout Australia and New Zealand for most of the month of March. They were warmly received by Adventists from Perth, Western Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand. Most of the travel in New Zealand occurred after dark, and there was very little time for sightseeing in Australia. However, upon their initial arrival in Australia, two days were allotted for recovery from jet lag, and the Kellys were taken to a zoo to see some of the unique animals from the outback. The rest of their time was spent traveling, speaking, and visiting with the wonderful people of Australia. Pr. Kelly spoke for the Hope International Campmeeting in New Zealand. Additional gatherings were held in conference centers with ticketed entry. Venues as small as classrooms were visited en route to other scheduled appointments. Pr. Kelly also spoke to 138 attendees at a men’s camp in Western Australia, where participants traveled in from distant farms and towns. At the men’s camp in Western Australia, the “blokes” who organized the event presented Pr. Kelly with an authentic rabbit-fur felt hat. Akubra hats are known for their durability and are an iconic staple of Australian attire. It was a very nice gift from some very nice people. Thank you brothers and sisters “down under” for the warm welcome! Pr. Kelly’s next trip overseas will be to Europe for the transformational tour of Luther’s Germany. People are already signing up to go along. There are places for 40 participants total. See the “Events” tab on the website for more information about this experience. Pr. Ron Kelly and Dr. Allen Hoffman will be speaking at a wellness event in Florida. Dan Hansen, AMI Donor Relations and Planned Giving/Trust Services Director, will attend the AMI booth at this event. Another opportunity to attend a wellness event exists in Florida this Spring. The “Free Indeed” and “Recovery Road” Ministries have teamed up to present a conference focused on depression and addiction recovery. Both events are geared for the general public. Reach out and invite someone to attend with you! The soy beans are still standing in the field and staying pretty dry (this wind is good for something!). AMI co-founder, John Dronen, found the perfect little combine to harvest those beans–a John Deere 6620. The combine is useful now and will also serve as a training tool for future students to practice machine maintenance and harvesting. Please keep praying that the soybean crop will bring a decent price. (image below is of the same model, not the actual machine) The Kono people number approximately 500,000 and reside in northern and eastern Sierra Leone. They are a people with a long and proud heritage, steeped in Islamic faith and animist practices over many centuries. When the Adventist message arrived in Sierra Leone, missionaries and local evangelists found the Kono tribe to be particularly resistant to the Everlasting Gospel. For many years, Sierra Leone SDA Conference leaders prayed that God would open doors for the Advent movement to reach the Kono people. In 2022, the Conference President reached out to the then-President of Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM), Dr. Conrad Vine, requesting front-line missionaries to serve among the Kono. In response, AFM asked Fred and Isatta Coker—then serving as career missionaries among the Muslim and animist Susu people of Guinea—if they would consider answering this call. After much prayer, the Cokers agreed. Some biographical history–Isatta had been raised Muslim, but as a teenager she encountered Christ and gave her life to Him. This led to severe persecution from her family and tribal network; but God strengthened her, and she remained faithful. Isatta and her husband Fred fled their homeland during the civil war in the 1990s and, while refugees, became Adventists through the ministry of an AFM missionary family in Guinea. After answering the call to ministry, the Cokers also became AFM career missionaries and helped plant multiple Seventh-day Adventist congregations among the Susu people in Guinea. Then, in the midst of the pandemic, the Cokers accepted this new call from AFM and moved back to Sierra Leone. The Cokers’ first priority back in Sierra Leone was to wait on God to open doors—and He did, providentially! Fred visited the Kono Paramount Chief to request permission to purchase six acres for a ministry center. The chief was surprised when Fred arrived carrying three books: Steps to Christ, The Great Controversy, and the Bible—the exact books he had seen in a dream the night before! Recognizing this as a sign, the chief agreed not only to the six acres, but added four more. Within two years, the Cokers had established a thriving Kono congregation, opened a Berean Bible school, started a Pathfinder club for the large population of children, and had begun construction of a ministry facility. This facility was designed to host medical outreach clinics, Pathfinder camporees, youth campouts, retreats, and training for church leaders. Tragically, Fred Coker perished in a road accident, March 2025, leaving his widow, Isatta, to continue the work alone. AFM responded by asking Pastor Niouma Leno and his family—who were preparing to launch as career missionaries—to redirect from another African location to serve alongside Isatta among the Kono. The Leno family agreed and launched in spring 2025. By the end of 2025, a daughter company had been established, and local leaders were being trained in worship, Bible study, and evangelism. In early 2026, the decision was made by AFM to close the Kono Project and hand the unfinished facility over to the Sierra Leone SDA Conference. However, conference leaders are delighted with the progress and strongly desire the work to continue—not only to reach the thirteen Kono chiefdoms, but also to serve as a springboard for evangelism into other unreached groups across the region. AMI is now entering into a formal working agreement with the Sierra Leone SDA Conference to continue the Kono Project. This includes employing the two missionary families directly and advancing God’s Kingdom among the Kono and beyond. The project will cost $9,300 per month, covering missionary support, training and employment of local evangelists, outreach expenses, materials, and transportation needs such as trail bikes. Looking ahead, AMI anticipates organizing mission trips for Adventists in North America to engage directly in this growing ministry—through health evangelism, clinical training, public outreach, leadership development, youth ministries, and practical acts of service. We are living in a time when the signs of Christ’s soon return are all around us. As inflation erodes earthly resources, we are reminded to invest in what lasts. AMI invites you to partner in this work—bringing the message of hope to the Kono and beyond. (see pictures from the Kono project below)