LHF

FOUNDATION

Vol. 31, No. 1: January/February 2024

The WORD at WORK

LHF translator forced to flee

Those who have been supporters of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation for some time likely are familiar with the extreme situations faced by Rev. Mohamed Gurhan (LHF’s Somali translator, pictured above) over the past few decades.

PAGE 2: Polish woman receives ultimate peace in her Small Catechism

PAGES 3-4:

Latvian pro-life movement gets boost with new LHF publication

Rev. Gurhan has experienced incredible persecution for attempting to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Somalia, one of the most militantly Muslim countries on Earth. After receiving formal death threats from the Somali government, Rev. Gurhan’s wife left him and took their young children with her. Their older children were kidnapped by Muslim family members (and later escaped), and Rev. Gurhan and those children had to relocate out of the country. A few years later, Rev. Gurhan’s Christian sister and her husband were executed on the street in front of their home, and Rev. Gurhan returned to live near the Somali border in order to retrieve his nieces and nephews.

For the past several years, Rev. Gurhan has been living in Ethiopia near Somalia, where he has continued to share the Good News with Somali people in person and online. Although he has remarried and has been able to rebuild his life, he has continued facing tense situations (including physical attacks), which have yet again required his family’s quick relocation. Rev. Gurhan writes:

Even though we have had security problems since we moved to Jigjiga (the Somali region of Ethiopia) in 2019, things got worse than ever after May 2022, when some Islamist mullahs found out that we were preaching Christianity and distributing Christian literature and started to threaten our lives. Though I promised them few times that I will not be involved in any evangelistic activities, they continued to harass and threaten us almost every week, regularly observing our activities, movements and those visiting us.

embassy in Addis Ababa. We kept ourselves underground taking all possible safety measures for ourselves and our residence.

LHF by the NUMBERS:

■ At work in 160+ languages worldwide

■ Luther’s Small Catechism in 129 languages

■ Book of Concord in 13 languages

■ A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories in 49 languages

Soon we put on hold our prayer and Bible study fellowship meetings but continued distributing Christian literature covertly and very carefully. We also started planning and preparing ourselves to flee from the country to somewhere else anytime we sense an imminent danger. My wife applied for her Ethiopian passport, and I applied for our children’s passports from the

In the second week of September 2023 when our children started to attend school, they faced constant persecution from the Muslim students as well as some of their parents. They encountered verbal abuses, beatings, stripping off of their clothing, and destruction or damage of their school materials. When my wife complained to the school administration, she was treated very harshly and even called kafir (apostate). Since then, our children stayed at home without school.

Between Sept. 17-25 while I was in Europe for a short family visit, several mullahs related to my wife visited my family three times to persuade her to renounce our marriage, take the

Gurhan

continued on p. 4

You can help point the way to the Savior:

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

Sharing the Good News with someone who isn’t Lutheranand who maybe doesn’t speak English as a first language - can be intimidating. How can you confidently and accurately answer questions they may have about the Bible and who Jesus is?

The Small Catechism can be the perfect solution. Read how a new supporter found LHF resources, and how one woman’s life has been changed by the Holy Spirit working through this little book:

“My son is dating a lapsed Polish Catholic woman from Chicago. The young adults in her community rarely go to church and know nothing about the Bible. Her elderly parents speak very little English. She has been introduced to Bible study through my son.

“When she met us over Thanksgiving, we talked extensively about the Bible. I told her Luther’s Small Catechism was a great aid to her study because it answered her questions and showed her where to find it in the Bible.

“When I read out loud to her about forgiveness, she burst into tears. She was burdened thinking her salvation was based on her good works. She knew she didn’t measure up. That led to a much lengthier conversation.

“When she asked where she could buy ‘my book,’ I gave her mine. During her visit, she read the catechism and asked many great questions.

“She wanted one in Polish to give to her parents. That’s when I went on the hunt [which led to LHF]. She has the potential to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring light into a tightly knit community that is guilt-ridden and fearful.

“Thank you for the great work your foundation does. God willing, I can help donate to this for several years. I’m adding you to our Donor Advised Fund for next year.”

What is a donor advised fund? (DAF)

If you’d like to learn more about using a DAF to support LHF’s work, contact your investments advisor. With a DAF, you can make gifts to the charities of your choice during your lifetime. And when you enter into eternal life with Jesus, your heirs can carry on your legacy of sharing the Good News through LHF’s work!

LHF partners to spread

“How am I supposed to go through with this pregnancy? I can barely pay my rent. My student loans are due, and all my credit cards are maxed out. The father doesn’t want anything to do with the baby, I have no family who will help… How can I bring a baby into this? I can’t give it a good life!”

“The doctors said I’m never going to get out of this bed. I can’t eat good food anymore; the medication barely touches the amount of pain I’m experiencing… I’m all alone, and the doctor said I’ll die in a few months anyway. Why can’t I just make this end and go be with my wife in Heaven?”

What is a pastor to say when his members face these situations? Watching someone going through such an emotional or painful moment in their life can make even the most prepared Christian feel lost for words, and tragically, these moments are happening more and more frequently in our culture. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, many in the United States rejoiced, thinking that the war on life issues was nearly won and these conversations would soon be a thing of the past. But in fact, counts done by the Society of Family Planning show that the number of abortions done in the U.S. actually increased in the year following the Dobbs decision.

Other life issues are also at stake in North America and around the world. Assisted suicide is becoming increasingly le gal. Embryos - God’s smallest children - are frozen indefinitely and often destroyed after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Life issues are a global problem, and that problem is only growing.

To help give international Lutheran churches and pastors the resources they need to deal with these issues, LHF has partnered with Lutherans for Life, an other Recognized Service Organization of the LCMS.

Lutherans for Life (LutheransForLife.org) offers a wide vari ety of printed resources related to life issues, all from a strong, Scriptural viewpoint. One of their publications, Grounded in God’s Word, is a comprehensive collection of essays covering where life begins, contraceptive methods, IVF, abortion (in cases of rape/incest, for those regretting getting an abortion, men who feel they have no control over their partners getting abortions, etc.), stem cell research, miscarriage, stillbirths, disability, population control and more.

“Sanctity of life, especially in an American context, usually

partners with Lutherans for Life spread the Good News in Latvia

gets associated with surprise pregnancy and abortion,” explained Rev. Michael Salemink, executive director of Lutherans for Life. “But there are so many other windows and doorways to get at the meaning of a human being. The central question is, ‘What makes a human life worth it?’ It is a huge question for humankind.

“They’re moral issues,” he added, “but even more than that, they’re huge practical issues of the heart for people. So they open up opportunities for us to talk about the God who has answers not only to these questions, but to the biggest questions of life, and the community that He forms around the needs that human beings have for one another.

Atheism’s impact in Latvia

This approach to such a wide array of life issues made Grounded in God’s Word the perfect answer for a new LHF publication when Juris Ulgis, LHF’s coordinator for Latvian translations, sought a book to help support the pro-life movement in Latvia. As a Baltic nation that was formerly part of the atheist Soviet Union (1940-1991), abortion became commonplace in the Soviet era.

“Under the Soviets, a person was considered more as a production unit, and human life was not particularly valued,” explained Ulgis. “Contraceptive methods that are now available were not accessible during that era, which led to abortion being used as a means of birth control. Statistics show that during the years of Soviet occupation, only one quarter of all [pregnancies resulted in childbirth].”

books: God’s message of LIFE!

As Juris and other members of his church considered how to take on these large-scale issues, Grounded in God’s Word (translated into Latvian) emerged as an answer. “I think this book will be useful to Christians who want to gain a deeper understanding of these life issues,” Ulgis said.

On the surface, it would appear that abortions have drastically decreased in Latvia - down to just 1 percent of pregnancies ending in an abortion. However, abortive methods have changed since the Soviet Era, and pregnancy-ending measures (including over-the-counter “morning after” pills) are commonly used. Now, “abortions happen very early, unnoticed, and no one knows about them,” Ulgis said.

Other life issues have also reared their head in Latvia. Increasingly, conversations regarding physician-assisted suicide are being had (as they are throughout the EU). Stem cell research is conducted, abortions are performed when the baby is likely to have a disability, and IVF is readily available.

It’s a message that people around the world need to hear, as LHF and Lutherans for Life continue to collaborate. “We absolutely look forward to bearing more fruit just like this around the world in the future!” Rev. Salemink concluded. January: Sanctity of Human Life

by Anna Irwin, staff writer

“Personally, after my Christian conversion, it was clear to me that abortion is not acceptable, but there were many uncertainties about everything related to it,” he reflected. “Unfortunately, at that time, there were not many materials available, and I had to search for everything myself, often trying to glean informa-

tion from materials of other denominations. These questions are important not only to women. After all, (at least for now) a man is also needed to conceive a child. Today, this book will be useful for teachers and workers in diaconal ministries to better understand all the nuances that accompany the decision for or against abortion.”

“What’s at the heart of it is...what we believe about human life and its value,” agreed Rev. Salemink. “Human life is precious. It is infinitely precious to God, and represents the highest achievement and purpose of creation.”

A Christmas distribution of LHF books in Latvia

children and go with them to Degahbur (a town about 170 km east of Jigjiga.) When she refused, they left threatening that they will forcefully abduct her and the children soon.

My family and I were in an uncertain security situation as some of my wife’s extended-family members were threatening to separate us forcefully. For a long time, they were trying to convince her to renounce our marriage and desert me, but when she rejected their demand, they now opted to use force.

In the afternoon of Oct. 20, two mullahs and three Somali police officers from the powerful presidential guard unit came to our house looking for me. When my wife opened the door and greeted them, one of the officers said, “Lady, call your husband. We need to talk to him.”

When we sat together in front of my house, one of the officers inquired, “Mohamed, are you Christian?”

I nodded silently, and one of the mullahs said, “We know that he renounced Islam many years ago, but we never expected that he would preach and teach Christianity and distribute Christian books. His presence is disgrace to our family dignity and honor as well as this city, and we will not tolerate that any more.”

“Gurhan, if you rejected our beautiful religion, we are Muslims and our faith prohibits infidels to have marriage relationships with our Muslim daughters. Therefore, we demand you to pronounce the dalqa (divorce) right now, here! If you don’t comply with our demand peacefully, then you will be punished and forced to abide by the sharia,” said the other mullah.

When two of the Somali Liyu Police officers grasped me by the shoulders to handcuff me, my wife and some of my kids cried loudly. My wife tried to prevent the officers from handcuffing me, but one of the mullahs slapped her on the face a few times and pushed her back away from me.

They shoved me into their vehicle which was parked on the street in front of my house and headed toward the city’s main police station.

Rev. Gurhan, following a 2018 stoning for propagating the Christian faith among the Somali people.

“No. That is impossible. I love my wife, and we have four children. How could you ask me to divorce her?” I asked them nervously.

When the discussion turned into a heated quarrel, one of the mullahs rose from the chair saying, “Why are you quarreling with the infidel? You must obey the order of your commander. Handcuff him and put him in jail. He does not deserve respect.”

“The

At the police detention center, one of the officers who brought me informed the guards, “Shaleka Ahmed instructed this man to be arrested. Keep him in custody until further notice.” He turned towards me and added, “Kafir! You will remain in prison until you either return to Islam or officially divorce our daughter.”

Once Rev. Gurhan was in the detention center, two high-ranking police officers revealed that they had arrested Rev. Gurhan for his own protection, though they would not be able to protect him for much longer. Several sheikhs and clan elders had long been complaining about Rev. Gurhan’s Christian activities on behalf of LHF, and the officers recommended that the Gurhan family flee Ethiopia as soon as possible.

“If you accept this condition that you will abandon this country instantly, then we will let you go. Take your family with you and leave. Are you ready to leave this country for good?” asked one of the officers.

“We will abandon Ethiopia,” I assured them, and they told me to go home.

Thanks to the generous support of a multitude of LHF donors, Rev. Gurhan and his family have been moved to a safe location, from where he continues his translation and introduction work for LHF. While Rev. Gurhan’s situation is extreme, he is but one example of the dangers LHF workers and believers face in non-Christian countries around the world - and why LHF books are so vital.