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Last updated: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Persecution by Islamist militants is not relegated to only the Middle East. The Democratic Republic of Congo, often referred to as just “The Congo,” has experienced an uptick in attacks against Christians. The following report, brought to us by “The Voice of the Martyrs,” details the plight of a Christian family devastated by the attacks of a hostile Islamic group seeking to purge The Congo of all aspects of Christianity.
Persecution by Islamist militants is not relegated to only the Middle East. The Democratic Republic of Congo, often referred to as just “The Congo,” has experienced an uptick in attacks against Christians. The following report, brought to us by “The Voice of the Martyrs” details the plight of a Christian family devastated by the attacks of a hostile Islamic group seeking to purge The Congo of all aspects of Christianity.
“Luce Ibara and her husband fled their village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August 2022, when it was attacked by Islamist militants. Numerous people in their village were killed. The couple ran for their lives, leaving everything they owned behind. Later they learned that their two daughters, ages 12 and 18, had been abducted by militants with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The couple still has no idea where their daughters are, or even if they are still alive.
The ADF has stated their aim to eliminate Christianity in eastern DRC. They have slaughtered thousands of Congolese Christians in recent years and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Luce and her husband, a church leader, lost everything they owned in the attack. They currently live in a camp for internally displaced people. They cannot return to their home, or to farming their land, because it is simply too dangerous. Luce is grateful for a replacement Bible she received during her first visit to an aid distribution sponsored by VOM and a local church.
‘My faith in Christ is very strong, and that is what carried me through the bitterness, pain and wounds,’ she said. “I have just given that pain and bitterness to Christ, and he is the one who has sustained me.’” Source: V.O.M
Will you join us in remembering Luce and her husband as they navigate this extremely difficult situation. Pray that the Lord rescues their daughters. Ask God to bring comfort to this family when there seems to be no means of comfort. God is still a miracle working God and still moves on His people’s behalf when we pour our hearts out to Him in Jesus’ powerful name.
Did you know that Bible Discovery tithes? Working For Orphans and Widows is a ministry touching a world and people that God loves. Friend to Bible Discovery, Pastor Jim Cantelon, leads the charge in helping to rescue those at critical risk.
The words of the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, haunt us: “Not called!’ did you say?
‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.”
― William Booth
Wow answers that call.
WOW specializes exclusively on the primary calling to dying orphans and widows. This ministry to the dying is called “Home Based Care” (HBC). We make thousands of HBC visits every year. These are made by our “army” of local church volunteers (mainly widows themselves) who lovingly care for the dying with
“With her baby in her arms, Samiya (all names have been changed for security) welcomed people into her home for that day’s Bible study. Finally, when the last arrived, they sat together to study the Word of God. ‘These new believers are very happy to learn and understand the depth and richness of the Bible….
Nehemiah 8:10 NIV …for the joy of the Lord is your strength. That verse rings true in the following article by Christian Aid. Missionaries to Uzbekistan would see the result of their seeds of prayer planted years earlier, spring up in the hearts of people in a remote village. This village found the joy of the Lord …contagious!
“With her baby in her arms, Samiya (all names have been changed for security) welcomed people into her home for that day’s Bible study. Finally, when the last arrived, they sat together to study the Word of God. ‘These new believers are very happy to learn and understand the depth and richness of the Bible,’ a local ministry leader said. ‘God continues to make Himself visible and move around this nation in this area.’
Just one year prior, this village, located in one of the most remote, unreached parts of Uzbekistan, was as spiritually dry as its desert landscape. It wasn’t until a group of local missionaries began to pray for the people there that things started to change.
It All Started With Prayer
Several years ago, a group of local missionaries began to pray specifically for the remote part of Uzbekistan that Samiya calls home. In a country in which nearly 90 percent of the population is Muslim, their hope that the gospel would change lives might have seemed like an impossible dream. But these faithful Christ-followers knew that prayer moves mountains, and, together, they asked the Lord to come down.
They were not disappointed.
The Pebble That Caused the Landslide
The time came for the missionaries to visit the region where Samiya lived and begin to build relationships with the people there. One of those missionaries, Umar, befriended a local man named Imron. “He [Imron] was often dull and unfriendly,” the ministry leader said. “However, when God touched his heart, this man was visibly transformed.”
Together, the two men began to share the gospel. One of those people who listened to their evangelism was none other than Imron’s wife, Samiya. The same Samiya who, just one year later, would be instrumental in ongoing evangelism in their community.
When Samiya first heard of Jesus through her husband, she wasn’t interested in learning more. “She was reluctant to listen, thinking this was some kind of joke,’ the ministry leader said. ‘However, day after day, she observed her husband becoming more open and full of joy. Through this transformation of her husband, Samiya opened her heart to Jesus.’
Once Samiya gave her life to the Lord, she couldn’t help but share His story. “Just like the woman at the well, she was enlightened and transformed deep inside after her encounter with Jesus,’ the ministry leader said. ‘She started to share her heart so eagerly and so actively with everyone in her village and household, that soon they were gathering about nine people in their home.’
Word of Samiya’s Faith Spread
A group of women from a church near Uzbekistan’s capital heard of Samiya, and they decided to journey to her village to encourage her and the small group of believers that had begun to meet in her home. But when they arrived, they quickly realized that it was Samiya who would encourage them, not the other way around.
As the women visited with Samiya, her own joy spilled onto them, and they found that they were buoyed by her obvious love for Jesus. ‘Often, we think that new believers need to have a lot of support from ‘experienced’ Christians,’ the ministry leader said. ‘This is of course true to some extent; however, in the areas like this, where there are not many Christians, God is present in abundance and He Himself is nurturing faith in people’s hearts.’
Today, there are at least 30 believers in Samiya’s village and even more people curious about the gospel. The ministry leader reports that they expect to baptize a large group within the next few months”. Source: Christian Aid
Although the results of prayer might not be experienced immediately, we can see, in the example of this small village, that a crop is well on its way. Those seeds of prayer were watered by joy. Joy is contagious. Especially the Joy of the Lord. One missionary’s joyful sharing of the gospel was nurtured by the fertile soil cultivated by the prayers of their predecessors.
