Trust in the Lord - Please pray for Jos

Over the years we have experienced many occasions where we had to look to the Lord alone when making decisions about whether to take our family into Nigeria during dangerous times. On each occasion we heard from God and He was faithful and the work of missions and church planting expanded greatly.

Once again we have peace and trust in the Lord concerning what is ahead. There is only one way to reach these people with the good news and that is to live amongst them while the Lord turns their hearts to Jesus by faith. Once again we believe, we know, we are persuaded that the power of God is greater than that of the enemy.

During this last attack our staff team stood together as one. By what the Lord did through the staff team our compound and all those in it was delivered from all harm. Not one of our church members was lost, nor any of our church buildings. All of our pastors, students (as far as we know) and staff have come through without any harm or loss. Yet throughout last week they were in the very worst of what took place in Jos. All that happened is slowly coming to light as the dust settles. Everyone in our district knows the miracle that occurred last week at CFI. 

Even the man we rent our internet connect from! His shop was in the midst of all those burnt down, unharmed. His house was one of the few on his street not razed to the ground by fire. Emmanuel drove around through the devastation, but won’t take photos at this point because anger is still high. He drove out to the land that we have partly paid for and it was safe. This land is much better situated and the sooner we move there the better. Please pray about this, that what is needed to complete the purchase will come soon. We must continue to reach out to these millions with the gospel. We believe that in the years ahead there shall be a wonderful testimony.

Below we share some testimonies from eye witnesses. First, I have copied some statements from a missionary friend in Jos. She tells what she saw in Bukuru, which is the suburb CFI is in. All that is described below took place very near by:

Story after story tells of Muslims attacking Christian churches and homes. But there has also been retaliation for these attacks. Muslim neighbours who had lived beside one of our friends for 30 years came to burn their house... Eventually it became obvious that they had to make their escape. The Muslim youths had been supplied with guns so were able to intimidate and kill easily. The Christians had no guns or weapons.

We went to the street where she and her husband lived. It was one of the saddest sights I have ever seen. Almost every house was destroyed. Her house was completely burned. Trays of eggs still sat like monuments. They had been roasted with the flames. Nothing remained in the house and the walls had been pulled down. We could see the shell of their cooker and cooking pans. We could see the charred bath. But little else was recognizable.

It is hard to describe the centre of Bukuru. The market areas looked more like something out of a movie about a nuclear holocaust, charred and deserted. We never saw a stall with food. Along the main street of Bukuru most shops were burned-out shells. We saw hundreds of houses that were burned out. Small groups of men stood on street corners as if waiting and wondering what to do next. It is hard to imagine Bukuru getting back on its feet any time soon. (This our local market, run by Christians.)

According to Red Cross officials there are about 25,000 displaced people now in 15 camps within Jos North and Jos South. The casualty figures are reported to be between 300 – 500 people killed and over a thousand injured.

We also have a few short testimonies from our staff:

... It began in the northern part of Jos, in Nasarawa Jos and its surroundings.  Muslims instigated the crisis and laid siege on worshippers in a Sunday church service and killed them. This led to retaliation from some in the Christian community who in turn burnt down their Mosques and properties. The Bukuru market was burnt down by Muslims zealots, over a hundred houses were razed down, women and children were pushed into pits and burnt alive, others were shot and some were tortured and slaughtered.  The numbers of dead by 25th January total about three hundred men and six hundred women.  (We know there is discrepancy in numbers of dead – no one is certain yet.)

... Some youth and natives of Bukuru (non Muslims) came with the intension to burn down the whole CFI College and estate we are living in, saying that since it belongs to a Muslim and Muslims have killed Christians and burnt churches that they must be stopped from attacking people again. (It is hard to understand this wrong behaviour, but please don’t judge it since we haven’t lived repeatedly through these things.) 

We pleaded with them. They insisted that we should take out our properties so that they can burn the buildings. These raging youths were unrelenting, insisting they must burn down the property. We evacuated our families and engaged the services of policemen to guard the college and the staff properties. We started a day and night vigil to watch out for their coming so that we could dissuade them from burning down the property, until Sunday night the 24th when things subsided and we were able to sleep throughout the night. Other people packed out of the estate, or from Jos entirely.

... I was preaching at the Redeemed Christian Church of God Bauchi Road when the crisis started, but before this time, we had already visited four other Redeemed branches that Sunday morning. Immediately after the sermon one of the pastors was called and told that churches are burning and that we should escape for our lives. We ran from the church area, but it wasn’t easy because the Muslim youths had already taken over the streets, but God helped us. I found out that the market of my brothers and friends, their shops and business centres have been destroyed by fire – totally. It was a terrible experience.

All our staff are in good spirits. We have delayed the start of college for this year by two weeks. I return there on February 4th as planned. The answer to this situation is the word of God. We shall keep preaching and teaching the word in season and out of season and reaching out in every way we can to help those in need.

Please stand with us in prayer and financial support. Jos is not ichabod. We are expecting a great revival among those who will be saved this year. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up a standard against him. God is merciful and on His goodness we depend. It was in exactly these types of situations that the early church grew at its fastest. Please pray for mighty signs and wonders as God’s word is proclaimed, that the Lord will supernaturally reveal His salvation and open the eyes of many, that He will guide us continually in His perfect plan and that all our financial needs will be met at this difficult time.

An Australian missionary friend emailed us today: “In 1998 our church complex in Jakarta was under attack. 21 churches were burned down and  about 16 Christians were killed. In the next 6 months our church doubled in size. The enemy attacks to destroy but in his ignorance he actually promotes growth. We will be praying for you and the Christians in Nigeria.”

Thank you.

Every blessing, Kent & Ruth