Last evening our small group enjoyed the benefits of modern technology. We interacted with our missionaries to Nigeria (currently stateside) along with a few other members of our group that were quarantined due to Covid.
As our missionaries told us about God’s continuing work in Nigeria, we were reminded that the gospel of Jesus Christ does not advance without cost. Some of their own colleagues and friends have suffered greatly due to persecution. They have had family members beaten, raped and killed, their possessions stolen and their houses burned. While we go to sleep in relative peace, they go to bed wondering if they will be attacked in the dead of night. In one case, armed assailants raided Gora Gan village after dark, killing a dozen people and forcing hundreds to flee. This took place a day after assailants gunned down 18 wedding guests in a nearby village.
Our missionaries told us about another case – the tragic kidnapping of Leah Sharibu, which occurred almost three years ago (Feb. 19, 2018), when Leah was just 14 years old. At that time, Boko Haram kidnapped 110 girls during a raid on a school in the the town of Dapchi, in Yobe state. A month later, in a deal with the government, Boko Haram released 104 girls, with the last five thought to have died in captivity. Leah, however, has remained a captive, because she refused to renounce her faith.
When her friends were released, Leah sent a message to her mother, saying:
My mother, you should not be disturbed. I know it is not easy missing me, but I want to assure you that I am fine where I am…. I am confident that one day I shall see your face again. If not here, then there at the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to the organization International Christian Concern,
[Leah] has likely been forced to learn Islamic rules and Arabic as the groups tries to force her to change to their beliefs. They have also likely used physical torment and mental attacks to try and break her faith in Christ. These kinds of tactics, to include beatings, brainwashing, drugging and sexual abuse have been commonly reported from women who have escaped Boko Haram captivity.
As our small group listened to how our Christian brothers & sisters in Nigeria have suffered for their faith, we were humbled as we heard their two main prayer requests:
That they would be bold in their witness for Christ, not flinching in the face of persecution.
That they would do right and not seek revenge on their enemies, but love them for Jesus’ sake.
This report and these requests came at the end of the day on which our President was impeached, and a week after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, waving Jesus and Trump flags. These missionaries and their Nigerian friends are praying for us that we also would be bold and do right.
May we, like our Nigerian brothers and sisters, pray like the early church did, so that we too might experience a similar outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…. And when they had prayed, … they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness … and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:29, 31, 33)