Fulani Militants Killed Their Husbands, But Not Their Joy in the Lord

One day not long ago, on the eastern edge of Nigeria, Amara, her four children, her pastor, and a handful of others gathered inside a newly revamped, cinderblock structure and dedicated the space to the Lord.

And with that, amid smiles and “thank yous,” Operation Poultry began.

After years of recovering from deep pain and trauma, and struggling to survive and support her family, Amara has joy and hope – and dreams for the future.

ICC helped bring that hope with the delivery of 150 chickens. With ICC’s aid, Amara renovated and launched a poultry farm. ICC equipped her with an ongoing way to provide her family with nutrition and steadily generate income.

The need for this helping hand came after a tragic attack by radical Fulani militants in February 2019. Four pastors were headed to show support and offer their condolences to the people of another village recently attacked by the Muslim militants. But on their way, the militia gunmen ambushed and brutally murdered the pastors, one of whom was Amara’s husband.

To the militants, it was just a few more lives in a decades-long slaughter. Depending on who you ask, it’s estimated the Fulani militants have killed between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians in the past 20 years and displaced more than 3 million.

But to Amara and her children, and their community, it was heart-wrenching devastation and loss. The tragedy forced Amara in an instant, with no forewarning, into the role of being the sole parent and provider for her children. The economic conditions in the area were difficult, and it was a struggle just to survive.

They migrated west to a different state, and with some financial backing from ICC, Amara had the opportunity to re-launch a poultry farm business that had run down due to a lack of finances.

The day the chickens were brought in and the business was dedicated to the Lord, Amara expressed her delight and thanks: “I am happy because it is something that I least expected,” she said, “I am so much happy about it, I am full of joy.

“My future plan and my prayer are that this farm will grow and be a big farm so that anyone who wants to see an example, it will be an example for many,” she said.

Amara and her children – three sons and a daughter ranging from pre-teen to young adult – recorded a quick video of themselves clasping their hands together and saying, “Thank you, ICC.” The smiles and laughter are evident.

Joy and hope look like squealing, wiggly piglets for Orisa and her children – also victims of the Fulani militants.

Orisa lost her husband and her five children lost their father in the same attack in which Amara’s husband was killed. Like Amara, Orisa also struggled to support her family after the death of her pastor husband. ICC knew setting Orisa up with a piggery would provide her with the means to support her family.

A location was found, building supplies were bought, and masons started constructing a cinderblock pen. Once they were done, carpenters put a blue corrugated tin roof in place. Everything was ready! Ten piglets were ordered and delivered, and Orisa’s pastor was invited to pray and dedicate the new business to the Lord.

“We did not expect this, but we thank you. May God bless you,” said Emmauella, Orisa’s daughter who bears the name of her slain father, Emmanuel.

Their names mean “God with us,” and God is surely with them. Despite the heartbreak and subsequent hardship, these families have endured. God, who never forsakes, offers Himself to them to bind up their hearts and souls, and He provides practical healing and hope through ministries like ICC that come alongside the suffering persecuted.

Monifa, another woman made a widow and left with five children that fateful day in February, was also deeply moved by the way she saw the Lord ministering to her family through ICC.

“All my life I’ve never seen the kind of Christian heart as exhibited by ICC,” she said, “because since the death of my husband, no one has shown up to render the kind of help I and my children have received from ICC. It’s such a great assistance.”

Monifa was given what she needed to set up a poultry farm business: 100 chicks and the construction of a solid cinderblock structure for her to house the chickens in.

“It’s such a great assistance,” she said. “I know that generally, life is difficult, but this help would enable me and my children to get other things that we would not have been able to.”

Monifa points out that her chickens are doing well, and she said she is thankful to the Lord and ICC.

“I say Thank You multiple times, I am so grateful,” she said.

Source: Fulani Militants Killed Their Husbands, But Not Their Joy in the Lord – International Christian Concern (persecution.org)