Tilmann Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel, who were martyred in Malatya on April 18, 2007, were commemorated on the 14th anniversary of their murder on Sunday, April 18, at a meeting held over Zoom, as the churches were not able to come together. While the meeting held over Zoom was limited to 100 people, the online commemoration ceremony was broadcast live on Radio Shema, YouTube and Facebook pages. Many people from Turkey and the world watched the broadcast.
The opening speech of the commemoration meeting was made by the President of the Turkish Protestant Churches Association, Ali Kalkandelen, and talked about the progress of the meeting. After the speech of Kalkandelen, Daniel Günay and Serpil Günay took part in the meeting by singing two tunes.
In his sharing, the Pastor of Kurtuluş Churches İhsan Özbek thanked the employees, servants and attendees of the “Union of Protestant Churches” for making this meeting happen. Martyr Tilmann Ekkehart Geske spoke with gratitude about how Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel faithfully served for Turkey and for the souls in Turkey. “Believers all over Turkey will remember in their memory what they did. Today we celebrate their life. We celebrate their testimony. In the name of the living Christ, we give thanks for them. May the Lord enable us to show the power of that witness in our lives as well” and ended his sharing by blessing the participants.
Şemsa Aydın, the wife of the deceased Necati Aydın, also shared. In her sharing, she talked about how her husband stood in Christ against every negativity and every evil he experienced, and how he always loved and prayed for people. She told about her experiences in Malatya and after, “Let’s be faithful even if it means death” she said. “If I am standing today, it is the faithfulness of the Lord, this is the Lord himself” she concluded.
After Şemsa Aydın, Tilmann Ekkehart Geske’s wife Suzanna Geske also shared. She talked about Tilmann Ekkehart Geske’s stance in faith and the hymns he wrote. Suzanna Geske, who also talked about the troubles and difficulties she went through after the loss of her husband, said, “The Lord was always with me. I always felt the peace of the Lord.”
Gökhan Talas, who served in Malatya in 2007 along with Tilmann Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel, also took part in the meeting with his testimony. He told about his experiences in Malatya with his wife Özge Talas, “This lost of 14 years is a deep void in my life. It will continue to be so in the future.” He expressed that he misses Tilmann Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel very much. He encouraged everyone present at the meeting.
Other believers at the meeting also shared their testimonies about Tilmann Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel. The commemoration program ended with prayers and the last song that was sung.
