Afghanistan

Seventh-day Adventist interest in Afghanistan dates back to the early 20th century, when the country was identified as an “unoccupied” mission field and administratively included within the Persian Mission territory, despite the absence of any organized Adventist church or institution there at the time. As of 2025, there is still no officially established Seventh-day Adventist presence in Afghanistan.

Overview of Country¹

Geographical Setting

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south-central Asia, bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. The modern boundaries of Afghanistan were established in the late 19th century amid rivalry between imperial Britain and tsarist Russia. The capital of Afghanistan is its largest city, Kabul.

Historical and Political Background

The modern Afghan state began in 1747 under Ahmad Shah Durrani, who united tribes and established an independent kingdom. During the nineteenth century, Afghanistan became a focus of rivalry between the British and Russian empires. After several conflicts with Britain, which left it subordinated in some respects to the imperial power, Afghanistan gained full control of its foreign affairs in 1919. In the twentieth century, Afghan rulers attempted different programs of centralization, modernization, and constitutional reform, often facing resistance from tribal and religious leaders. Later, the country experienced political instability, Soviet intervention and rule, Mujahideen resistance, and civil war. By the 1990s, the Taliban appeared as a major force, imposing a strict form of Islamic rule.²

Following the collapse of the first Taliban regime in 2001 in the face of U.S. intervention, Afghanistan experienced years defined by foreign involvement, political change, and efforts to rebuild its constitution. In 2004, a new constitution came into effect, and for almost twenty years, the country operated as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with backing from the United States and other international allies. However, the new government continued to face insecurity, corruption, weak institutions, and an ongoing Taliban insurgency. In August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, the Taliban rapidly regained control of the country and entered Kabul, ending the Islamic Republic. Since then, Afghanistan has been governed by the Taliban, often referred to in United Nations documents as the “de facto authorities.”³ As of 2026, the Taliban maintained effective control over Afghanistan’s national territory, although their rule remained internationally controversial because of restrictions on political participation, women’s rights, education, and civil liberties.⁴

Ethnic Groups

Afghanistan is home to several ethnic groups. The Pashtuns are the largest group, making up about two-fifths of the population. The two main Pashtun tribal groups are the Durrānī and Ghilzay. The Tajiks are the second-largest group, representing about one-fourth of the population. Other major ethnic groups include the Ḥazāra and Uzbeks, each making up nearly one-tenth of the population. Smaller groups include the Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, and others.

Languages

Afghanistan has two main languages: Pashto and Dari. Pashto is the language of the Pashtuns, while Dari is spoken by groups like the Tajiks, Hazaras, and Chahar Aimaks. Many Afghans are bilingual, and sometimes their language differs from their ethnic group. There are also smaller groups who use Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Nuristani, Pamiri, and other languages.

Religion

The dominant religion in Afghanistan is Islam. Almost all Afghans are Muslims, with the majority being Sunni Muslims of the Ḥanafī branch. A smaller number, especially among the Ḥazāra and Kizilbash, follow Shiʿi Islam, including Twelver and Ismāʿīlī traditions. Sufism has also influenced Afghanistan’s religious life, although fewer people belong to Sufi orders today. There are also very small Hindu and Sikh communities.

Urban and Rural Settlement

Most people in Afghanistan live in rural areas, and only about a quarter live in cities. The principal cities are Kabul, Kandahār, Herāt, Jalālābād, and Mazār-e Sharīf. Kabul, as the capital, serves as Afghanistan’s administrative, economic, and cultural hub. In the countryside, many communities are found in villages near rivers and fertile valleys, where agriculture and raising livestock are common. Afghanistan has also had significant nomadic and semi-nomadic groups, especially among Pashtuns, but years of conflict and displacement have sharply diminished these traditional ways of life.

Population and Economic Status

In 2025, Afghanistan’s population was estimated at about 43.8 million.⁵ The United Nations lists Afghanistan among the world’s Least Developed Countries,⁶ while the World Bank classifies it as a low-income nation.⁷

Arrival of Seventh-day Adventists and the Growth of the Church in the Country

Seventh-day Adventist interest in Afghanistan began before the denomination had any organized work in the country. As early as 1900, Adventist mission literature referred to Afghanistan as an “unoccupied” or unreached field, indicating missional interest.⁸ In 1909, General Conference secretary William A. Spicer included Afghanistan among Asian countries that had “never [had] a worker.”⁹ Afghanistan first appeared in Adventist administrative planning through its connection with the Persian Mission. Adventist work in Persia began in 1911 when Frank F. Oster and Henry H. Dirksen entered the country and settled in Urmia.¹⁰ Since the Persian Mission territory was described as including “Persia and Afghanistan,” Afghanistan was administratively included in the Adventist mission territory, even though no organized Adventist church or institution was established there at the time.¹¹

Pioneers

The earliest Adventist pioneers connected with Afghanistan were not workers stationed inside the country, but missionaries and administrators whose work brought Afghanistan into Adventist mission planning. Frank F. Oster was central to the beginning of Adventist work in Persia, the mission field that originally included Afghanistan.¹² W. A. Spicer, as General Conference secretary, repeatedly identified Afghanistan as one of the unreached mission fields that still needed Adventist attention.¹³

Medical workers also played an important role in early Adventist contact with Afghanistan. In 1920, Adventist medical work in Mussoorie, India, created indirect contact with Afghan officials. General Ghulam Mohammed Khan, Afghanistan’s minister of trade and commerce, received treatment at Adventist facilities and urged Adventists to establish similar health facilities in Kabul.¹⁴ William W. Fletcher later reported that Afghan government officials treated at Adventist medical institutions had encouraged the opening of medical work in Afghanistan, although the conditions at the time prevented the church from accepting the proposal.¹⁵

Another important figure in Adventist-related work in Afghanistan was Gordon G. Hadley, M.D., a physician connected with Loma Linda University and former dean of its School of Medicine. In 1959, the General Conference Committee requested that the College of Medical Evangelists release Hadley for service with the Southern Asia Division, with the possibility of a two-year leave of absence for medical service in Afghanistan. He became involved in the development of medical education in the country. Working through connections with Loma Linda University, he assisted in strengthening medical training, particularly in pathology, and helped develop laboratory services and medical education programs connected with the medical school in Kabul and later Jalalabad. Decades later, after years of war, Hadley was again called to Afghanistan by the Taliban regime to help rebuild the medical school in Kabul to which he agreed on several conditions.¹⁶ His work illustrates how Adventist engagement with Afghanistan developed mainly through medical education and service rather than through organized church structures.

Spread and Development of the Message

For much of the twentieth century, Adventist work in Afghanistan developed indirectly. Afghanistan was repeatedly described in Adventist sources as an unentered or closed field, and Christian mission work was considered very difficult.¹⁷ Because of these restrictions, Adventist outreach was mainly through medical contact, literature, and administrative planning rather than public evangelism or organized congregations.

By the late 1930s, the General Conference had voted funds for publishing literature in what the official record calls “the language of Afghanistan.”¹⁸ In 1946, Adventist leaders looked to Rawalpindi and Peshawar as possible centers for reaching Afghanistan indirectly. Ole O. Mattison reported that Rawalpindi could become a base from which work might extend “into Afghanistan itself,” and that two young men had distributed 3,000 Pushtu booklets for “the people of Afghanistan” through caravans traveling from Peshawar.¹⁹ In 1950, the Voice of Prophecy Bible Correspondence School reportedly had four enrollees in Afghanistan, indicating limited, though direct, interest within the country.²⁰

A clearer sign of direct Adventist activity in Afghanistan appeared in 1969–1970 through the work of Wail G. Haddadin, a Jordanian student at Spicer Memorial College in India. Middle East Division minutes state that Haddadin had done colporteur work in Afghanistan during the summer of 1969. The same record notes that the Pakistan Union and the Southern Asia Division requested his continued service in Afghanistan, which was described as a “new field.” In June 1970, the General Conference Committee passed on to the Afro-Mideast Division a call from the Southern Asia Division for “a worker for Afghanistan,” suggesting Haddadin for the position.²¹

In 1971, the General Conference Committee passed on a request for two Filipino nurses to serve in Afghanistan. Later that year, Zenaida Querol and Rachel Gayoba left for Jalalabad to connect with a medical education project sponsored by Loma Linda University and Indiana University. The Far Eastern Division Outlook noted that they were the first Filipino Seventh-day Adventist missionaries sent to Afghanistan.²² Later Adventist historical accounts identified 1971 as the year Adventist work began in Afghanistan.²³ However, this entry appears to have been primarily connected with medical and educational services rather than with the organization of a local church.

Institutions

There has never been a lasting, formal Seventh-day Adventist institutional presence in Afghanistan. Still, Adventists have participated in medical, educational, and humanitarian activities within the country.

Medical work was the earliest and most hopeful avenue for Adventist engagement with Afghanistan. In the 1920s, Afghan officials who had received treatment at Adventist medical facilities in India invited Adventists to consider opening similar facilities in Kabul.²⁴ Although no permanent Adventist medical institution was established at that time, the idea of providing health services in Afghanistan persisted in later decades. By the 1950s, Adventist leaders still viewed medical work as a possible opening, and, as noted above, in 1959 Dr. Gordon G. Hadley was considered for medical service in Afghanistan.²⁵ This medical-education connection continued into the early 1970s through Adventist personnel associated with a medical education project in Jalalabad.²⁶ In 2001, Loma Linda University opened a medical teaching center at Kabul University Medical School, where Dieter and Christa Hang were expected to assist.²⁷ The following year, Gordon G. Hadley, M.D., returned to Afghanistan to help rebuild medical education in Kabul after years of conflict.²⁸

Humanitarian work also became an important form of Adventist presence. In 2002, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency established an office in Kabul to coordinate relief and development work.²⁹ Through ADRA, Adventist involvement expanded into humanitarian aid, healthcare, education, hygiene, and disaster response.

Church Administrative Units

Afghanistan has appeared under different Adventist administrative units over time. In the early twentieth century, it was connected with the Persian Mission.³⁰ By the 1920s and 1930s, Afghanistan was associated with the Southern Asia Division and with the Northwest India Union Mission.³¹ After the partition of India, Afghanistan appeared under the Pakistan Union Mission.³²

Later, Afghanistan was listed under different administrative structures, including the Pakistan Union Section, the Trans-European Division, and the Euro-Africa Division.³³ In the 1990s, Afghanistan was still classified as an unentered territory in Adventist administrative records.³⁴ In 2011, Afghanistan was added to the Southern Union Mission's territory in the Euro-Asia Division.³⁵ Since the 2012 Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, the Yearbook has placed Afghanistan in the Southern Union Mission, along with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.³⁶

According to the 2025 Annual Statistical Report, Afghanistan is still a country where Seventh-day Adventist work is “not currently established.” The report lists no organized churches, companies, ordained ministers, or church membership in the country.³⁷

Effect of Political Developments on SDA Work

Political conditions have deeply affected the possibility of Seventh-day Adventist work in Afghanistan. Throughout the twentieth century, Adventist sources often described Afghanistan as closed or difficult for Christian mission activity.³⁸ Early reports noted restrictions on Bible circulation and gospel preaching, which limited the possibility of direct evangelistic work.³⁹

Afghanistan’s ongoing political turmoil, frequent wars, and shifts in government have significantly affected Adventist involvement in the country. Events like the Soviet invasion, years of civil war, the rise and return of the Taliban, and foreign intervention made it nearly impossible to establish a lasting denominational presence. As a result, Adventist activity in Afghanistan was typically short-term, indirect, or focused mainly on healthcare, education, literature, and humanitarian aid. Even when Adventists could contribute through medical or relief work,⁴⁰ these efforts did not lead to the formation of an organized church, as the political and religious climate continued to restrict open mission activity and the creation of local congregations.⁴¹

Adventism’s Place in the Country

Adventism’s place in Afghanistan has been limited but significant in several ways. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has not established a regular church organization in the country, and official Adventist statistics do not report organized churches, companies, ministers, or members in Afghanistan.⁴² However, Afghanistan has remained a concern of the Adventist mission for more than a century.

The Adventist presence has been mainly through mission awareness, administrative responsibility, medical contact, literature work, education, and humanitarian service.⁴³ Medical work appears to have been the most important doorway for Adventist engagement, beginning with early contacts with Afghan officials in India and continuing through Loma Linda University’s medical education involvement in Kabul.⁴⁴ Literature ministry also had a part, including the distribution of Pushtu literature and, later, the publication of Ellen G. White books in Farsi for Afghanistan.⁴⁵ ADRA’s work added a humanitarian dimension to Adventist service in the country.⁴⁶ Therefore, Adventism in Afghanistan has existed more as a mission concern and service presence than as a formally organized church community.

Challenges to Mission and What Remains to Be Done

Seventh-day Adventist involvement in Afghanistan goes back many years, marked by a genuine desire to reach the country, but also by major challenges that have made lasting church work difficult. Since the early 1900s, Afghanistan has been mentioned in Adventist mission records, administrative reports, and discussions of unreached regions. ⁴⁷ Adventist efforts have included approaches like medical outreach, literature distribution, Bible correspondence, education, and humanitarian projects. Over the years, both individuals and organizations linked to the church have served, or tried to serve, the Afghan people in different ways.⁴⁸

Ongoing political instability, restrictions on religion, conflict, displacement, and safety issues have made Afghanistan one of the hardest places in the world for mission work. With a population of more than 40 million people, the great majority of them being Muslim, and a country closed to Christianity with religious laws in place, Afghanistan remains one of the great mission fields still to be reached. As already noted, as of 2025, there is still no officially established Seventh-day Adventist presence in Afghanistan.⁴⁹

Going forward, it is necessary to find practical, respectful, and lawful ways to serve the people of Afghanistan. Over time, Adventist involvement has shown that medical care, education, humanitarian work, literature, and real relationships have been the most effective means of making a difference. Besides those, social media also has brought new opportunities to access this unentered territory through means that were not present in the past. Any future mission will need to be patient, carefully planned, attentive to the local context, and focused on serving others as a reflection of Christ’s compassion and character.

Sources

Adventist News Network. “Adventist Humanitarian Agency Establishes Office in Afghanistan.” March 25, 2002. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://adventist.news/news/adventist-humanitarian-agency-establishes-office-in-afghanistan.

Adventist News Network. “Adventist University Opens Teaching Center in Kabul.” July 9, 2001. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://adventist.news/news/adventist-university-opens-teaching-center-in-kabul.

Annual Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventists, 1919, Takoma Park, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1920.

“Closed to Bible Distributor.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, November 23, 1948.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Afghanistan.” Accessed May 27, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan.

“Facts About the Circulation of the Bible.” ARH, extra no. 1, January 11, 1915.

Flaiz, T. R. “New Work in Our Mission Front Lines.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 29, 1955.

“First Filipino Missionaries Leave for Afghanistan.” Far Eastern Division Outlook. October 1971.

Fletcher, W. W. “Report of the Southern Asia Division by the Vice-President.” General Conference Bulletin, May 15, 1922.

Fulton, J. E. “Come Over Into Afghanistan, Ye Medical Missionary Workers, and Help Us.” The Medical Evangelist, September 1920.

General Conference Executive Committee Minutes, see here.

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 2025 Annual Statistical Report: New Series, Volume 7. Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: 2024 Statistics. Silver Spring, MD: Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, 2025.

Ham, A. L. “The Southern Asia Division.” General Conference Bulletin, July 20, 1950.

“High Lights of Adventist History—1939 to 1975.” ARH, November 13, 1975.

Jensen, Sven Hagen. “West Asia Field.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. February 14, 2023. Accessed May 11, 2026. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?highlight=John%7Cb&id=6DZ3.

Lechleitner, Elizabeth. “Middle East Unit Now an Attached Field of World Headquarters.” Adventist World, December 2011.

Library of Congress, Law Library. Afghanistan: Country Study. Accessed May 27, 2026. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2019669455/2019669455.pdf.

Mattison, O. O. Remarks in “An Evening with the Southern Asia Division.” General Conference Bulletin, June 9, 1946.

McChesney, Andrew. “First Ellen White Books Published in Farsi for Afghanistan.” Adventist Mission, November 2, 2017. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://www.adventistmission.org/%E2%80%8Bfirst-ellen-white-books-published-in-farsi-for-afghanistan.

Middle East Division Committee. “Wail G. Haddadin—Call to Afghanistan.” January 29, 1970. Middle East Division Committee Minutes, 1756.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Shaw, John L. “Evidences of the Rapid Progress of the Message.” Missionary Leader, August 1922.

Simpson, A. B. “The Unoccupied Fields of Eastern Asia.” The Missionary Magazine, February 1900.

Spicer, W. A. “Review of the World-Wide Field.” General Conference Bulletin, May 14, 1909.

Spicer, W. A. “The Outlook in the Fields Abroad: The Secretary’s Report.” ARH, May 15, 1913.

Tempest, Rone. “American Doctor’s Mission Keeps Calling Him Back to Kabul.” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2002. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-34548-story.html.

Trim, D. J. B. “Oster, Frank Frederick (1881–1960).” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. June 3, 2024. Accessed May 14, 2026. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=GAYX.

“The United Bible Societies.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 16, 1949.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. “Reports of the Secretary-General.” Accessed May 27, 2026. https://unama.unmissions.org/en/reports-of-the-un-secretary-general.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. “UN List of Least Developed Countries.” Accessed May 27, 2026. https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list.

United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security: Report of the Secretary-General. A/80/658–S/2026/99. February 27, 2026. https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/SG%20Report%20Afghanistan%20S-2026-99.pdf.

United Nations Population Fund. “Afghanistan.” World Population Dashboard. Accessed May 27, 2026. https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/AF.

World Bank. “World Bank Country and Lending Groups.” Accessed May 27, 2026. https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups.

Yunak, Dmitry O., and Daniel D. Pavelko. “Southern Union Mission.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. February 19, 2021. Accessed May 11, 2026. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AD7R.

Notes

1. Unless otherwise noted, the general background information in this country overview is adapted from Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Afghanistan,” accessed May 27, 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan.↩

2. Library of Congress, Law Library, Afghanistan: Country Study, accessed May 27, 2026, https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2019669455/2019669455.pdf.↩

3. United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, “Reports of the Secretary-General,” accessed May 27, 2026, https://unama.unmissions.org/en/reports-of-the-un-secretary-general.↩

4. United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, The Situation in Afghanistan and Its Implications for International Peace and Security: Report of the Secretary-General, A/80/658-S/2026/99, February 27, 2026, https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/SG%20Report%20Afghanistan%20S-2026-99.pdf.↩

5. United Nations Population Fund, “Afghanistan,” World Population Dashboard, accessed May 27, 2026, https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/AF.↩

6. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, “UN List of Least Developed Countries,” accessed May 27, 2026, https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list.↩

7. World Bank, “World Bank Country and Lending Groups,” accessed May 27, 2026, https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups.↩

8. A. B. Simpson, “The Unoccupied Fields of Eastern Asia,” Missionary Magazine, February 1900, 74.↩

9. W. A. Spicer, “Review of the World-Wide Field,” General Conference Bulletin, May 14, 1909, 12.↩

10. Sven Hagen Jensen, “West Asia Field,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, February 14, 2023, accessed May 11, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=6DZ3; D. J. B. Trim, “Oster, Frank Frederick (1881–1960),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, June 3, 2024, accessed June 1, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=GAYX.↩

11. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1913), 124.↩

12. Trim, “Oster, Frank Frederick.”↩

13. W. A. Spicer, “The Outlook in the Fields Abroad: The Secretary’s Report,” ARH, May 15, 1913, 469.↩

14. J. E. Fulton, “Come Over Into Afghanistan, Ye Medical Missionary Workers, and Help Us,” Medical Evangelist, September 1920, 3, 21.↩

15. W. W. Fletcher, “Report of the Southern Asia Division by the Vice-President,” General Conference Bulletin, May 15, 1922, 44, 46.↩

16. General Conference Committee, “Gordon G. Hadley, M.D.-Southern Asia Division,” 1959, General Conference Committee Minutes, 284; Rone Tempest, “American Doctor’s Mission Keeps Calling Him Back to Kabul,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2002, accessed May 18, 2026, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-34548-story.html.↩

17. “Facts About the Circulation of the Bible,” ARH, January 11, 1915, 4; John L. Shaw, “Evidences of the Rapid Progress of the Message,” Missionary Leader, August 1922, 1.↩

18. General Conference Committee, “Fund for Afghanistan,” March 16, 1939, General Conference Committee Minutes, 1095.↩

19. O. O. Mattison, remarks in “An Evening With the Southern Asia Division,” General Conference Bulletin, June 9, 1946, 59.↩

20. A. L. Ham, “The Southern Asia Division,” General Conference Bulletin, July 20, 1950, 182.↩

21. Middle East Division Committee, “Wail G. Haddadin-Call to Afghanistan,” January 29, 1970, Middle East Division Committee Minutes, 1756; General Conference Committee, “Worker for Afghanistan,” June 1970, General Conference Committee Minutes, 70-16.↩

22. General Conference Committee, “Southern Asia Division-Calls for Nurses,” April 8, 1971, General Conference Committee Minutes, 71-457; “First Filipino Missionaries Leave for Afghanistan,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, October 1971, 9.↩

23. “High Lights of Adventist History-1939 to 1975,” ARH, November 13, 1975, 45.↩

24. J. E. Fulton, “Come Over Into Afghanistan, Ye Medical Missionary Workers, and Help Us,” Medical Evangelist, September 1920, 3, 21; W. W. Fletcher, “Report of the Southern Asia Division by the Vice-President,” General Conference Bulletin, May 15, 1922, 44, 46.↩

25. T. R. Flaiz, “New Work in Our Mission Front Lines,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 29, 1955, 1; General Conference Committee, “Gordon G. Hadley, M.D.-Southern Asia Division,” 1959, General Conference Committee Minutes, 284.↩

26. “First Filipino Missionaries Leave for Afghanistan,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, October 1971, 10.↩

27. “Adventist University Opens Teaching Center in Kabul,” Adventist News Network, July 9, 2001, accessed May 18, 2026, https://adventist.news/news/adventist-university-opens-teaching-center-in-kabul; General Conference Executive Committee, “President’s Address,” September 25, 2001, General Conference Committee Minutes, 01-67.↩

28. Rone Tempest, “American Doctor’s Mission Keeps Calling Him Back to Kabul,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2002, accessed May 18, 2026, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-34548-story.html.↩

29. “Adventist Humanitarian Agency Establishes Office in Afghanistan,” Adventist News Network, March 25, 2002, accessed May 18, 2026, https://adventist.news/news/adventist-humanitarian-agency-establishes-office-in-afghanistan.↩

30. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1913), 124; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1920), 5, 149.↩

31. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1928), 207; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1938), 206, 211.↩

32. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1928), 206.↩

33. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1995), 319, 329; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1996), 123, 145.↩

34. General Conference Committee, “Pakistan Union Section-Territorial Adjustment,” October 7, 1994, General Conference Committee Minutes, 94-315.↩

35. Dmitry O. Yunak and Daniel D. Pavelko, “Southern Union Mission,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, February 19, 2021, accessed May 11, 2026, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AD7R; Elizabeth Lechleitner, “Middle East Unit Now an Attached Field of World Headquarters,” Adventist World, December 2011, 4.↩

36. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (1912), 93, 99.↩

37. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2025 Annual Statistical Report, New Series, Volume 7 (2025), 105-107.↩

38. “Facts About the Circulation of the Bible,” 4; Shaw, “Evidences of the Rapid Progress of the Message,” 1.↩

39. “Closed to Bible Distributor,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, November 23, 1948, 2; “The United Bible Societies,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 16, 1949, 6.↩

40. “Adventist Humanitarian Agency Establishes Office in Afghanistan”; 2025 Annual Statistical Report, 105-107.↩

41. 2025 Annual Statistical Report, 105-107.↩

42. Ibid., 106-107.↩

43. Simpson, “The Unoccupied Fields of Eastern Asia,” 74; Spicer, “Review of the World-Wide Field,” 12; General Conference Committee, “Fund for Afghanistan,” 1095.↩

44. Fulton, “Come Over Into Afghanistan,” 3, 21; “Adventist University Opens Teaching Center in Kabul.”↩

45. O. O. Mattison, remarks in “An Evening With the Southern Asia Division,” 59; Andrew McChesney, “First Ellen White Books Published in Farsi for Afghanistan,” Adventist Mission, November 2, 2017, accessed May 18, 2026, https://www.adventistmission.org/%E2%80%8Bfirst-ellen-white-books-published-in-farsi-for-afghanistan.↩

46. “Adventist Humanitarian Agency Establishes Office in Afghanistan.”↩

47. Simpson, “The Unoccupied Fields of Eastern Asia,” 74; Spicer, “Review of the World-Wide Field,” 12; Annual Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventists, 1919, 22.↩

48. Fulton, “Come Over Into Afghanistan,” 3, 21; General Conference Committee, “Fund for Afghanistan,” 1095; Ham, “The Southern Asia Division,” 182; “Adventist Humanitarian Agency Establishes Office in Afghanistan.”↩

49. 2025 Annual Statistical Report, 105-107.↩