NIGERIA - Re-building decimated lives and churches
28/07/05 - An Open Doors team visited thousands of widows and orphans whose husbands and fathers were massacred last year
For accompanying pictures, go to: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/nigeria/html/index.htm
Stories of heartbreak mingle with those of outstanding courage, in the Central states of Nigeria, as the stories told to the Open Doors team visiting the region this year demonstrate.
“At about 6 o’clock in the morning we heard the militant Islamists shouting ‘Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar’, the signal for fighting. Unknown to us we were already surrounded.” The attackers were easily camouflaged in the 2-metre high grass that is common there, said Rebecca Kefas from Yelwa.
“When they found Christians running away, they told us to gather in the church where we would be safe. Shortly before 7 o’clock, soldiers in fake uniforms arrived. Then the Islamists climbed into the church premises and killed all the Christian men. By ten o’clock, all the church and surrounding buildings were destroyed and fifty people had been killed. I am a living witness to this.”
Rebecca returned to Yelwa just two weeks ago and is now leading a prayer group there. When asked if she felt safe going back, she replied: “Our lives are insecure. Anything can happen at any time. We just put our lives in the hands of God. We cannot just run away. We have to proclaim Christ.”
Rebecca has experienced three Islamist attacks in all. Last time, she hid in the church toilet. Through a crack in the door she saw three men from the congregation killed, right in front of her eyes.
Then the attackers pulled her out of the toilet and told her to flee: “We only kill men,” they said.
Running beyond the church compound she managed to get into a car with seven other Christians in it – all men. The driver was shot with an arrow, and the car stopped. First the Islamists dragged the driver out and gouged out his eyes. Then Rebecca – as a “worthless woman” – was told to flee, while they poured petrol over the others and burned them to death.
Last year, Nigerian Christians endured 1,500 to 2,000 massacres by militant Islamists - 269 churches being burnt to the ground and 60,000 to 65,000 people being displaced. In the states of Plateau and Bauchi alone, 1,300 to 1,500 widows and 8,000 fatherless or orphaned children have been created by the massacres.
Open Doors has been helping to supply relief aid, trauma counselling, providing Bibles and rebuilding churches, as well as, mobilising unmolested churches in Nigeria to assist their persecuted brothers and sisters.
Rebecca works boldly for the Christian congregation in Yelwa and says that the greatest need for the many widows created through last years attacks is for livelihood opportunities. The widows would like to use sewing and other skills, so they can provide for their families and not be dependent on aid programmes (important as they have been up to now).
Many of these brave women are trying to piece together what remains of their lives. In many places, churches are being rebuilt, sometimes bigger than before. In Yelwa, Mark, an Open Doors team worker, saw the remains of a Sunday School bus in which 20 children had been burnt to death when it was set alight by Islamists. Yet, in this place, where 49 people had been trapped and massacred inside the Church compound, a larger church is already being built.
Mark describes some of his reactions during the visit.
“It was very hard coming to these villages, past the burnt houses, cars and churches, seeing the widows with the ravages of their suffering evident in their eyes and meeting the destitute and orphans. Wherever we went, hundreds of Christians travelled from miles around to meet with us. We had no relief aid along, but people were desperate for encouragement and for teaching from the Bible.
“Often they had been waiting hours in a place before we arrived, praying and worshipping with all their hearts while they waited. There was so much power and joy evident in these times of worship, it was amazing and humbling. It was wonderful to see and hear the widows praising God in song and dance despite the terrible suffering in their lives.
“It was so good also to begin sharing a word from the Bible with “Praise the Lord” and hearing the reply of “Hallelujah!” almost blasting the church roof off.
“Although Open Doors has provided around 30,000 Bibles over the last year, we brought a small supply of about 100 children’s Bibles with us for the orphan children who had lost both parents. One boy told us through tears how his father was murdered and his mother had died. We asked him if he had any friends. He replied ‘no’.
In common with most of the children there, however, he had a thirst for learning and his favourite hobby was reading. He was thrilled with the children’s Bible we gave him. We told him how he could read how God is His father in the Bible but it was so hard to leave him.
“It was heartbreaking too, to have to turn away the hundreds of other children waiting patiently, also desperate for a Bible. One little crippled boy who had to walk on his knees, couldn’t get a Bible. He howled in disappointment and wasn’t comforted at all by the ball we gave him. The Bibles are really precious to them – far more valuable to them than toys or clothes.”
“We gave out about 1,500 prayer cards and letters from Western Christians to the widows. They were amazed to learn that there are Christians hundreds of miles away caring and praying for them. Even though they could not understand the writing, the cards were very special to them, and again, there was great disappointment when we ran out – although most widows did receive a card. “
It has been reported that approximately 10,000 Islamist mercenaries were recruited from the neighbouring republics of Niger and Chad to invade Christian towns and villages. Army uniforms were sold to Muslim extremists and they were issued with motorbikes whilst the mob were provided with identical knives, cutlasses and machetes.
Churches, houses and vehicles of Christians, Christian villages and Christian pastors were targeted during the raids. The targeted states are right in the centre of Nigeria, separating the predominantly Muslim North from the predominantly Christian South. Sharia (Islamic law) has been implemented in twelve northern states, and there are Islamist forces seeking to Islamicise the whole of Nigeria and institute sharia throughout the country. Religious violence has characterised the move to sharia law in many of the northern areas, leaving many thousands dead.
Mark related some of the other heartbreaking stories he heard from people he met:
“The son of pastor Bukar explained how, having received a machete-cut to his head, he had pretended to be dead when the Islamist attackers came to kill all the men. He was the only male survivor in his village of Bogoro. His father was murdered, but his dream is to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pastor also.
One widow told Mark how the Islamist crowds entered her town as she was fleeing to the local church with her children. Her Muslim neighbour offered to take care of her children and as she turned to say goodbye to them, she saw her husband being set alight as they poured petrol all over him and then set him on fire. He tried desperately to put out the flames by flinging sand from the ground onto his body, but to no avail.
“She is now living as a refugee with her children.”
Rahab described how her pastor husband had led his congregation in singing praises to God as they left their Sunday worship service, when the armed Islamist raiders set the surrounding homes ablaze and went on to kill all the Christian men. Rahab escaped with her children, but when her son returned to the village to see if things had quieted down, the Islamist attackers cut off his limbs, one by one, after discovering he was the pastor’s son.
Mark was able to encourage the believers to stand strong in their weakness through the power of God, to continue to show love to their Muslim neighbours, forgive the extremist attackers and to help the orphans to go forward. Mark told them, “Satan, the enemy of the church, wants to stop you; but Jesus wants you to go forward. And we will, together, as one body, one church of Jesus Christ.”
If you would like to stand with the Nigerian church in the Bauchi and Plateau states as they rebuild their lives, please contact Open Doors on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or go to the UK website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
Ends.
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Available pictures are as follows:
• One of the 269 churches burnt to the ground in Central Nigeria last year.
• Widows praising God, while they wait to hear from Open Doors team.
• One of the 9,000 fatherless children whose dads were massacred last year.
• 8,000 fatherless or orphaned children have been created by the massacres
• Orphans are encouraged to know through Open Doors that people care
• Bibles are a treasured possession for these orphans
• The orphans were thrilled to receive Children’s Bibles from Open Doors
• 1,500 letters/cards were distributed by the Open Doors team
• Martyred Pastor Bukar’s family, whose son who feigned death after a machete blow to the head
• Widows saw their husbands being set alight and burned alive
• The widows need livelihood opportunities to provide for their families.
• The remains of a Sunday School bus in which 20 children burnt to death
Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by
1. Training Church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the western world.
For other articles/press releases on the Persecuted Church, go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm