{"id":47154,"date":"2023-06-20T14:20:46","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T05:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=47154"},"modified":"2023-06-21T09:13:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T00:13:28","slug":"vomk-report-259","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/06\/20\/vomk-report-259\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFEARLESS\u201d MARTYRED SOMALI EVANGELIST HONORED FOR INTERNATIONAL MARTYRS\u2019 DAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47138″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Calling his martyrdom \u201cone of the most dramatic and powerful witnesses for Christ in the 20th century\u201d, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley unveiled a commemorative plaque on the ministry\u2019s Martyr\u2019s Timeline for martyred Somali evangelist Abdiwelli Ahmed. Voice of the Martyrs Korea also released a free dramatized short video of his life and martyrdom for Christians to use in connection with International Martyrs\u2019 Day. The events took place at a press conference at the ministry\u2019s office in Seoul on Tuesday. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to church tradition, June 29 marks the martyrdom of the Apostle Paul, so Christians around the world take time that week to honor the legacy of those who have sacrificed their lives for the advancement of the gospel,\u201d sa<\/span>id<\/span> Representative Foley. <\/span>T<\/span>his year her organization is honoring <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span>, who was martyred in Kenya on February 27, 2013.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Abdiwelli\u2019s<\/span> name and story is famous among Somali Christians, yet he is <\/span>virtually unknown<\/span> to Christians in the rest of the world. We want to change that on this International Martyrs<\/span>\u2019<\/span> Day,\u201d sa<\/span>id<\/span> Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47146″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Abdiwelli<\/span> descended from <\/span>a long line<\/span> of devout Muslims from Somalia. \u201cSomalis tell us that to be Somali means to be Muslim,\u201d according to Representative Foley. But in 1993, while in college, <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> began questioning Islam and comparing the Quran to the Bible.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> read the Bible, the more he treasured what he read,\u201d sa<\/span>id<\/span> Representative Foley. \u201cAfter discussions with a Christian friend, he put his trust in Jesus Christ.\u201d According to Representative Foley, when other students and faculty learned that he had left Islam, they considered <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> dangerous to their faith.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cI was beaten up,\u201d <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs before his martyrdom. \u201cAll sorts of <\/span>bad things<\/span> were done to me. My life was in danger.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47149″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea commemorated the life of martyred Somali evangelist Abdiwelli Ahmed at a press conference held at the ministry\u2019s office in Seoul on Tuesday. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Eventually, he sought guidance from a relative, Pastor Ibrahim, who had years of experience sharing the gospel with Somali Muslims. Ibrahim took <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> to a campus ministry center, where he met and eventually married a woman from Nigeria named Helen.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Helen told Voice of the Martyrs, \u201cWhen I first met <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span>, he told me, \u2018I love the Lord and I\u2019m ready to die for Christ.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Eventually, the two married and served the Somali people through an agriculture-development ministry and boldly shared the gospel with them.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we received death threats, we\u2019d pray together and that would give us peace, because God said he would be with us,\u201d Helen told Voice of the Martyrs. Pastor Ibrahim, <\/span>Abdiwelli\u2019s<\/span> mentor, told Voice of the <\/span>Martrys<\/span> that <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span>\u00a0 was<\/span> \u201ca fearless evangelist<\/span>\u201d.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47142″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Abdiwelli and his family ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]At noon on Feb. 7, 2013, 20 years after <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> placed his faith in Christ, three assassins sent from Somali shot him to death as he talked with a pastor in the center of the town in Kenya where he and Helen were living and ministering with their three sons.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Despite her loss, Helen said she knew God would use her husband\u2019s martyrdom to advance his kingdom. \u201cWe have a triumphant God,\u201d Helen told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cWe know God is going to triumph in this situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Today, Helen and her three sons continue to reach out to Somali Muslims. \u201cWe should never stop reaching out to the lost and dying world until Christ comes,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs Korea. \u201cA friend of mine who is afraid to go to the northeast told me to be careful. I told her, \u2018If I try saving my life, I will lose it.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, International Martyrs\u2019 Day is a good opportunity for churches around the world to learn to pray and speak more <\/span>knowledgeably<\/span> about the situation of today\u2019s Christian martyrs.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47152″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor and Dr. Foley place a new plaque on the VOMK Martyrs Timeline commemorating martyred Somali evangelist Abdiwelli Ahmed.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u201cMost Christians around the world have a general awareness that Christians in the Middle East and parts of Africa are facing severe persecution today, but they really don\u2019t know what that looks like or how it happens,\u201d sa<\/span>id<\/span> Representative Foley. She sa<\/span>id<\/span> that is why her organization h<\/span>eld<\/span> the press conference and why it created the dramatized video about <\/span>Abdiwelli\u2019s<\/span> ministry and martyrdom. \u201c<\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> a short video which is having a life-changing impact on those who watch it. The video encourages them in their own faith while also equipping them to pray more knowledgeably, passionately, and <\/span>frequently<\/span> for today\u2019s persecuted Christians. I hope all churches will show the video in commemoration of International Martyrs<\/span>\u2019<\/span> Day.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019<\/span>s<\/span> video on <\/span>Abdiwelli<\/span> for International Martyrs<\/span>\u2019<\/span> Day is available for free at <\/span><\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/dotcm<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s previous honorees on International Martyrs<\/span>\u2019<\/span> Day include Colombian lay evangelist Rocio Pino, who was martyred on March 6, 2011 by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; North Korean underground Christian Cha <\/span>Deok<\/span> Sun, who was martyred between 2005-2010; and the so-called \u201cUnknown Martyrs of Communism\u201d: Christians who died under communist rule from 1921 to the present, which Voice of the Martyrs Korea and other analysts estimate to be between 25 to <\/span>30 million people<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47138″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Calling his martyrdom \u201cone of the most dramatic and powerful witnesses for Christ in the 20th century\u201d, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":47139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47154"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47158,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47154\/revisions\/47158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}