Slain Day 15 Abdiwelli Ahmed
May 2, 2025
Revelation 12:10-12
Matthew 16:24-27
John 16:5-16
John 3:16-21
Psalm 49:5-9
“I love Jesus more than anything. I have suffered persecution because I believe in Him, I obey Him, and I serve Him. I will not live forever in this world and I want to leave behind a heritage for those who live after me.” (YWAM Associates)
These powerful words depict a life completely surrendered to the One who gave His life for us. Abdiwelli Ahmed spoke these words one year before he was martyred in the streets of Kenya on February 7, 2013. Based on his words, if given the chance to escape death that day, he probably wouldn’t. Why? Because Jesus was everything to him and the fruit from his death was great.
Abdiwelli Ahmed was from Somalia and raised Muslim. “He was taught that Islam was in his blood. But in 1993, while he was in college, he began to question Islam and compare the Quran with the Bible” (MissionsBox); “He found more than 500 errors and contradictions in the Quran.” (The Voice of the Martyrs) So he left college and enrolled in a Biblical university. He converted to Christianity and started to preach the Gospel.
Abdiwelli said in an interview, “I was persecuted. I was chased away, then I was beaten up. I was chased away from home. All sorts of bad things were done to me. My whole life was in danger.” (MissionsBox) Notably, he “was the first Somalian to have openly declared his faith after conversion to Christianity” (YWAM Associates); soon after, “A crowd of 40 people came to his mother’s house to kill him.” (MissionsBox) In committing to Christ, he lost his home, his family, and any semblance of safety. But he was undeterred.
He married Helen, herself a Christian. They lived in Nigeria for three years ministering among the Tuareg tribe. Then, his love for his people led him to settle among the Somali population in Garissa, Kenya.
Even there, he and Helen faced danger. “The threats began again almost immediately. A group of Muslims arrived at the house of Abdiwelli and Helen with gas cans and intentions to burn her.” (MissionsBox) But Helen shared Abdiwelli’s commitment to God. “‘When we were threatened with death,’ Helen said, ‘we prayed together. That gives us peace, because God said He would be with us.’” (MissionsBox; Matthew 28:19-20)
Abdiwelli Ahmed spent twenty years preaching the gospel and sharing Jesus with others; then, his death planted a seed no murderer could keep from growing. “His story is told among Somali Christians in South Africa, certainly in northern Kenya, in East Africa, even in Minnesota here in the United States, in the Somali community there.” (Baptist Press)
Today, Helen continues the ministry. “We should never stop reaching out to the lost and dying world until Christ comes,” she said. “A friend of mine who is afraid to go to the northeast told me to be careful. I told her, ‘If I try saving my life, I will lose it.’”(The Voice of the Martyrs; Matthew 16:24-27)
Abdiwelli and Helen both realized the true meaning of John 3:16.
“For God loved the world in this way:
He gave his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life.”
With their eyes on eternity,
Abdiwelli and Helen emulated Jesus’ sacrificial love.
Revelation 12:11 says, “They conquered [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.”
Both Abdiwelli and Helen embody this verse.
We see this echoed in Christ’s own words, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:24-26)
We may not be called to martyrdom, but we are called to take up our crosses and follow Jesus. For me personally, answering this call has been challenging. Choices I made as a young mom were not popular with my daughters (and sometimes other mothers), but often gave me an opportunity to speak about Jesus. I was mocked for my faith at work, but I stood strong. Eventually I had the honor of praying for several of those same mocking coworkers at their request.
Recently, I desperately wanted to attend an event but felt the Holy Spirit leading me to refrain. A friend, who is not a believer, was surprised I willingly “gave it up.” I replied I was being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, of which Jesus spoke when He said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13)
My sacrifices seem small, compared to Abdiwelli’s. But they reveal obedience and trust in the Lord. Even these small moments open the door to sharing the Gospel. Jesus is worth both our small and large acts of obedience and love. After all, He gave His life to atone for our sins and rescue us from the power of sin and death!
As we devote our lives to following Jesus and spreading the Gospel, let us all live by these words:
“[L]et us lay aside every hindrance and the sin
that so easily ensnares us.
Let us run with endurance the race
that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
(Hebrews 12:1-2)
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