NIGERIA – In Nigeria persecution is on the increase and so the trauma believers suffer is increasing. However through Open Doors partners working in trauma care, Christians are receiving hope and healing. Anuhu* (name changed for security reasons) who leads the trauma care programme shares the story of how a Nigerian widow, one of the women they helped, was able to experience the power of forgiveness despite witnessing the murder of her husband and son.

Anuhu (name changed for security reasons) – Trauma Care Programme Leader:

God is doing an amazing work at the Shalom Centre and with the trauma care programmes that we’re doing here in a way that we’re amazed and we know this is not us. It is not about our knowledge about our skills, but about God.

As I talk to you a testimony of this lady that came – her husband was killed, her son was killed right in front of her. Because of the traumatic incidents that happened to her, she used to be a chorister, a singer.

She sings in the church, she sings in the choir. She was the choir mistress. But, you know, she lost her singing voice and she lost her dancing step. Now if you ever worshiped in an African church worship is never complete unless we sing a lot and dance a lot. This woman wouldn’t sing and dance anymore.

And we heard of her. We sent for her. She came to Shalom. And by the fifth day we talked about forgiveness. It was very very hard for her to come to terms and say ‘Yes I’m willing to forgive these people that killed my husband and my son.

But with loving encouragement and prayers she was able to come to that state of forgiveness, of release of letting go. It was quite painful for her even to let go. She was weeping, we are weeping. And of course, we shed a lot of tears there.

But you know this is the beautiful side of this story. When she did that around mid-afternoon – by late evening she discovered she was singing for the first time in like three or four years which was just so amazing.

And she turned to the other fellow survivors and said: ‘Look I can’t believe I’m singing. And she was just singing and everybody was just joining her to sing and dance. And we sang and we danced deep in the night. What an amazing miracle. And she went back home a different person. We keep getting phone calls from her people, ‘What did you do to this woman?’

All we can tell them is God and the loving care of people in a centre called the Shalom Care Centre. And we have many of those kind of stories that we can just keeping sharing and sharing.

About Open Doors UK

Open Doors is a non-denominational mission that supports persecuted Christians in over 70 countries where Christianity is socially or legally discouraged or oppressed. In their work, they provide vital support, training, and resources to those facing persecution or discrimination.

Resources that they provide include distributing Bibles and literature, running leadership training, assisting with socio-economic development and intercessory prayer. They also help victims of violence and disaster, including widows and orphans, with practical support such as relief aid, livelihood support, and community development projects.

Their vision is of a world in which every Christian who is persecuted is remembered and supported by other Christians. They pray for a world where there is no persecution.

Read more news on Widows, Christian Persecution and Disaster Relief.