Nigeria

Sept. 11, 2014, began as a happy day for Mary Patrick. She and her older sister were walking to a wedding in a nearby village with the bride-to-be and the bride’s younger sister. But their lives, like those of many other young women in Nigeria, changed forever with the terrifying sound of yelling and gunfire. Mary, who was 24 years old, quickly hid in a nearby house with the others when the Boko Haram attack began in Adamawa state, in northeastern Nigeria. They hid in the house for four days before being captured while trying to escape. “The only thing I was thinking when they took me is that I will die,” Mary said. “I know they will kill me. I’m just praying to God everything that I do that is wrong, that the good Lord will forgive me.” The horror that Mary faced during four months of captivity with Boko Haram became clear to a front-line worker when he tried to buy her a meal. “I wanted to buy food for her and bought some meat,” the worker said. “She told me she couldn’t eat the meat. She said, ‘In the camp they used to eat human flesh, so

Despite being threatened with death and disowned by family members, Dawo was determined to share the gospel with the Fulani people. And his determination hasn’t wavered since losing his brother. The day after Dawo’s cousin burned Dawo’s Bible and kicked him out of the house, 20 young men surrounded the new believer, wrestled him to the ground and tied his hands and feet together with rope. When he had placed his faith in Christ three days earlier, he couldn’t have imagined that what he was about to endure would change so much for so many. As a member of the Fulani people group, it was assumed that Dawo was and would remain Muslim. He had moved in with his cousin in a large city in Bauchi state, Nigeria, intending to enroll in an Islamic school. However, his path was radically altered by a series of vivid dreams in which he saw heaven and encountered Jesus. Prompted by the dreams, he used the little money he had to purchase a Bible and learn more about Christianity. What he learned led him to abandon his traditional Fulani religion to follow Christ. Moved by the realization that he had received salvation, he declared

Many of the attack victims being cared for at a Christian-run rehabilitation hospital in Gboko, Benue state, Nigeria, cannot hide their wounds. Casts and crutches clearly identify which limbs have been hacked at — or cut off — by a Muslim extremist’s machete. But the wounds that 25-year-old Solomon Samaila received in a December 2013 attack on his village in Taraba state, Nigeria, are less apparent. He has to show you. After quietly and patiently sharing his story of the attack, he takes off his T-shirt and turns toward the wall. The scars and blistering on his back show that he has suffered severe burns. The burns are the price Solomon paid for refusing to deny Jesus as Lord. It’s a price he humbly accepts. “Christ, Himself, suffered,” he said. “The salvation that I have in Christ was not free, but paid with a price to save me. So I equally feel I am prepared to suffer in persecution for the salvation I have in Christ. I won’t turn back.” Attacked by Neighbors The attack on Solomon’s village wasn’t carried out by Boko Haram insurgents from the north or by Muslim Fulani herdsmen, who also attack Christian villages. It was

Habila Adamu and his family were awakened by the sound of someone pounding on the front door of their simple home in northern Nigeria. It was 11 p.m., well past the hour for a neighborly visit, so the only reason for someone to be at the door was an emergency or, worse, an attack on their village. The pounding on the door was followed by the sound of men yelling for Habila to come out with his family. Habila rushed to get dressed. When he entered the front room with his wife, Vivian, and their young son close behind, he faced intruders wearing robes and masks. One was armed with an AK-47. Habila said a short prayer to the Lord. After announcing that they were there to do the work of Allah, the men began to question Habila. They asked him his name, his profession, whether he was a policeman or in the military, and whether he was a Christian or Muslim. “I am a Christian,” he replied. Vivian was terrified, knowing the men were members of Boko Haram. The intruders told Habila that they were giving him the opportunity to live — and live a better life — if

As Micah and Dorcas Magaji walked through their Nigerian village the morning of Dec. 18, 2014, they were confronted with a choice. A group of Muslim men surrounded them, demanding that they deny Christ. Micah and Dorcas could deny Christ and live, or remain faithful and face possible death. “We were born into a Christian family,” Micah told them. “We are still Christians today. There is no way we are going to turn around from our past.” The men then threatened to cut off Micah’s arm and kill him if he didn’t renounce his faith. “Only God can take life,” he responded. “It is from God, so you cannot take my life.” The Muslims then tried to intimidate Dorcas, but she also remained faithful. “I’m married to a Christian,” she said. “There’s no way I would go back. Wherever my husband goes, that is where I’ll go. I’m not changing from this faith to any other.” Dorcas’s response infuriated the men. They shot her to death and then hacked at both of Micah’s forearms with a machete before leaving him for dead. “The story of the attack got to Christian elders, so they sent people to rescue me,” 35-year-old Micah