Source: Voice of the Martyrs Radio, January 14, 2023
“Tell me the truth! Dead or alive?”
When Susanne Geske heard the answer to that question—that her husband, Tilmann, had been murdered along with two Turkish Christians, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yüksel—she was overwhelmed with shock. The Geskes had been in Turkey (now called Türkiye) for 10 years. It’s a Muslim country, and they knew there was some risk for Christians. But she never thought their family would be affected.
The five murderers—ages 19 and 20—were arrested at the scene of the crime. Turkish media members rushed to Malatya to report on the “missionary massacre,” and they wanted to interview Susanne. She didn’t know what to say when they came to her door the day after her husband had been martyred.
Praying, she asked, “Lord what should I say?”
The Holy Spirit answered with the words of Christ on the cross: “Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Though Turkish media often paint Christians as an enemy, with the Lord’s help Susanne used this opportunity to share the gospel of forgiveness and the love of Jesus, the reason she could forgive men who killed her husband. Her living example of forgiveness was broadcast all over Turkey.
Read the full story and listen to Susanne on the VOM podcast (24 minutes).
VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton also wrote about meeting Susanne and Semse in Turkey after the murder of their husbands in his book, When Faith Is Forbidden (Moody Publishers). We also see that VOM is now offering free streaming of their two-hour movie, Sabina: Tortured for Christ.