February 21-2014
A former Idaho resident and Christian activist has led a successful fund-raising drive to buy a home for the family of Saeed Abedini in Boise, Idaho.
Naghmeh Abedini said her husband, Saeed, wept when she called him in prison in Iran and told him the news.
The fund-raising effort that started in September exceeded its goal to raise $150,000, collecting $175,000 from churches and individuals worldwide. That is enough to but a substantial home in Boise, where Saeed was pastor at a Christian church before his arrest.
The fundraising drive was led by Merrily Hagerman, who used to live in Idaho but now resides in Yucca Valley, California.
“I called her up and said, ‘Naghmeh, the Lord put it in my heart to buy you a home,’” Hagerman told the Twin Falls Times News last week. “I really know it was the voice of the Lord. Why would I want to raise this? When you feel that prompt, it’s from God.”
Hagerman took up the cause after Naghmeh spoke at the California church where her husband, Jerel, is pastor, Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel.
“For him [Saeed], as the head of the family, it’s a dream he’s had,” Naghmeh told the newspaper. “It’s what he wanted to provide for the family, that’s why it’s so emotional. The burden that has been on him for so long has been taken by other people.”
Naghmeh said the family had a home briefly before Saeed’s imprisonment but then moved in with her parents.
“It was hard,” she said. “We had our kids back to back. Finances were hard. We just couldn’t afford to live in our own house. Saeed, like many husbands and fathers, just wants to provide for the family.”
Saeed is 17 months into an eight-year sentence for allegedly proselytizing on a visit to Iran. He says he wasn’t proselytizing but just trying to set up an orphanage in Rasht.
President Obama called for Saeed’s release February 6 during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.
Naghmeh, who has been very critical of Obama for not doing more to win her husband’s release, praised his latest comments. “It just meant a lot to me when President Obama said something about Saeed. I am thankful. Every single voice helps. I’m thankful for all the voices during this ordeal.”
Naghmeh said she will wait until late March to even think about looking for a home with the money raised. Her dream is to go house-hunting with her husband.
“I never asked for money. And at the beginning, when she [Hagerman] told me, I said no. It was hard for me to receive it. It was amazing for them to think of that. It’s been probably the biggest thing that has really moved Saeed in prison, is that he will be able to move into his own house.”