MOZAMBIQUE — Since 2017, the Islamist insurgency in Mozambique is thought to have claimed at least 2,500 lives. *Lorena’s* husband was one of its many victims; Lorena has also been displaced by the violence. Thanks to help from Christian charity Open Doors, Lorena has received emergency food aid and spiritual support to help her stand strong in her faith.

*Name changed for security reasons.

Lorena:

“I don’t feel well when I remember the past. Because, to be honest, what happened in my life is bad. Because of what happened I can’t rejoice because it is bad. So whenever I remember what happened, I cry. And tears come because I lost many things.”

Lorena is from a fishing village in Cabo Delgado, the northern most province of Mozambique.

Since 2017, the Islamist insurgency there is thought to have claimed at least 2,500 lives. Lorena’s husband was one of its many victims.

Lorena:

“We heard that they were coming. So we left our village and fled to our fields. But our husbands were still fishing out at sea so they captured them when they came to shore. We were hiding in the field, but they found us and surrounded us. We were there in the middle of them.

Lorena:

“They said ‘Kill these. Leave these!’

“They pointed guns at us, but they did not shoot us. Then they began to decapitate our husbands. They used knives, not machetes to do it.”

After the attack, Lorena fled with her family, taking on a little money she had saved. She is just one of around 800,000 who have been displaced by the insurgency.

Lorena:

“They made us poor. Now we have nothing because they drove us into poverty. You may not believe me, but I am speaking in front of Jesus Christ that I left there and went 22 days without food.”

In 2021 Open Doors delivered emergency aid to 4,000 displaced people in Mozambique. Lorena and her family received food, kitchen utensils, bedding, Bibles and more.

Lorena:

“I thank you so much. It is helping me because I am able have food to give to my children. If you can continue like this we say, thank you very much. We are thankful to God.”

Despite all that she has gone through, Lorena’s faith in God remains.

Lorena:

“I read the Bible. I always walk with it. When Sunday comes I go to church. I continue to pray to God to help me to give me strength and life, so that I, my children and my sisters can keep moving forward. In no one else I trust. Only in God and Jesus Christ.”

About Open Doors UK

For over 60 years, Open Doors has worked in the world’s most oppressive countries, empowering Christians who are persecuted for their beliefs. Open Doors equips persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries through programs like Bible & Gospel Development, Women & Children Advancement, and Christian Community Restoration.

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