Bahrideen Bayan or Elias Dean Bayan was born in Harar, Ethi opia and was the eldest man of his family. Although his name is Elias, his loved ones referred to him as Dean. He was raised as a Muslim and was working and helping at his family business. When the civil war began in Ethio pia, Dean went as a refugee at 16 to Somalia. At 17 he went to Djibouti and traveled to Saudi Arabia and got a full scholarship to attend an Islamic University. When he was 21 he came to America to start his new life. When he was 23, Dean accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and his life has never been the same since. When Dean turned 31, he married Saba Marcos and he became the father of four children: Alpha, Elroil, Jacobed and Paulos. Dean and Saba shared the same vision for the Lord and have been married for 31 years.

Dean was a part of many ministries and works that made him respected and loved by many people. Many considered him to be not only a spiritual father, but an actual father figure that showed the love of Christ. He graduated from Bible college at 38 because he knew he wanted to give his whole life to the Lord; which he did. With his wife Saba they opened the first children’s library and founded 3 schools in different parts of Ethio pia. Dean has written over 40 books that all talk about Jesus and the goodness of God. He also built with his wife Agape Mobility Ethio pia; which is a non-for profit organization that gives free wheelchairs to people all around Ethio pia. In recent years, Dean started a prison ministry in rural areas in Ethio pia so people can hear the gospel; particularly Muslim people. All of these works were done in the name of Jesus and to spread the gospel to the world. For the first time in 12 years, he was able to go back to Ethio pia from February 2023-April 2023 to see the fruit of his works, serve the Lord and see loved ones.

Dean was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (stage four) on July 1, 2022 and went to be with the Lord on June 4th, 2023. He lived much longer than expected and enjoyed his final months serving the Lord and spending time with his family. Despite his diagnosis, his spirit was never weak and he daily spoke about the goodness of Jesus. He prayed daily and blessed every person that came to see him. He never once blamed God and gave glory to his name until his final breath.

We are so grateful that we were able to meet Dean in this lifetime. He will be incredibly missed. However, we rejoice because he finally received his biggest wish; to be in paradise with Jesus Christ forever. As his family, we will continue to navigate life in his absence in the name of Jesus and serve Him; just as Dean did. As many people have requested, we would like to create a place to gather together and contribute for the expenses for Dean’s family. Any and every contribution would be greatly appreciated. If you also feel led to contribute for towards his prison ministry and his ministry of equipping churches; please do so. In recent news, 19 Muslims in his hometown, Harar, were saved. This was a big wish for Dean and hearing this news gave him joy. As we want to honor and continue on the legacy; contribution for this is accepted and appreciated. We will continue to serve Jesus and give glory to His name until we join Dean one day.

Thank you all for your love and prayers!