{"id":5347,"date":"2025-11-11T17:14:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=5347"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:21:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:21:01","slug":"nigerian-village-attacked-but-christians-remain-faithful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/nigerian-village-attacked-but-christians-remain-faithful\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian Village Attacked, But Christians Remain Faithful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Throughout the night and morning of March 11, 2019, Pastor Timothy Umaru and several other men stood guard at an entrance to their Nigerian village.<\/a> They were watching for any sign of the Fulani Islamic militants who had attacked a neighboring village days earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, as the sun rose shortly after 6 a.m., they began to hear screams and gunfire in the village behind them. Villagers were running in every direction as the air filled with smoke from burning homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The militants had attacked the village from another entrance, and Timothy felt helpless as he thought about his family, his church and his predominantly Christian village. \u201cIn all honesty,\u201d he said, \u201ceven though the Bible has told us that these things would happen, the first question I asked was, \u2018God, where are You?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy\u2019s wife, Rifkatu, and their 3-year-old granddaughter, Uma, had just finished praying with their lead pastor\u2019s family at the church parsonage when the attack occurred. Rifkatu heard the gunfire and screams when she stepped out with Uma to get some fresh air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After scooping Uma up in her arms and running back inside to alert everyone, Rifkatu and the others hurriedly left the pastor\u2019s home, which they knew would be a target of the radical Islamists. Running as fast as she could while carrying the toddler, Rifkatu stumbled repeatedly. And the more tired she grew, the more afraid she became. Seeing another villager get shot only added to her terror. \u201cThe fourth time I fell, I could not get up because my body was weak,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI could not carry [Uma].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a young man, also fleeing from the militants, saw Rifkatu struggling, he took Uma from her so they could both run to safety. But the young man soon grew tired from carrying the child and decided to hide her in the bush and continue running on his own. Rifkatu had run on ahead until reaching cover in the bush. \u201cI do not know how God did it,\u201d she said of her escape. \u201cI found a place and hid. I lay down there till morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rifkatu had run so far that she lost track of how to get home. When she felt it was safe, she started the long walk back, arriving at 10 a.m. the next morning. Once home, she asked if anyone had seen Uma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when she learned that Uma had been killed, her body discovered along with those of others shot by the militants. The lead pastor\u2019s wife, with whom Rifkatu had been praying, was also killed as she fled. She and Uma were among the more than 70 villagers killed in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, Timothy and Rifkatu\u2019s four children, including Uma\u2019s mother, were not in the village at the time. The family\u2019s home, located on the outskirts of the village, was also unharmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking Up the Pieces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About a week later, the family traveled to another village, where they spent three months mourning Uma\u2019s death and recovering from the trauma of the attack. Rifkatu suffered nightmares and anxiety as well as deep grief. But through prayer, reading God\u2019s Word and spending time with family, she grew stronger and her grief became more manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of June, they returned home to help their church recover. Much of the church building had burned, along with all of the musical instruments inside, and the parsonage had been completely destroyed by fire. In addition, the lead pastor had left the village, grief-stricken over his wife\u2019s death and overcome with guilt that he had survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nigerian<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Timothy took over as lead pastor, but he struggled with his mentor\u2019s absence even as many in the church struggled with their own painful losses. Several church members lost their spouses and were forced to live in poverty. <\/a>\u201cPeople are tense and very scared now,\u201d Timothy said. \u201cIf something small happens, people will start running. But we are encouraging them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, Timothy, his family and the church have found encouragement through Christ. \u201cHe helped us understand that these events are things that will pass,\u201d Timothy said. \u201cWhatever is happening today will pass tomorrow. What strengthened us is in these events will become our story. We have faith that one day Christ will avenge us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy\u2019s family still grieves for those lost in the attack, but they\u2019re also grateful for what they have gained. \u201cHonestly, before this attack our faith was broken,\u201d the pastor said. \u201cHearing about the attacks happening in other places shook our faith. But after it happened to us, our faith increased. Even if it happens to us again, we will not be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have no intention of leaving their home, despite the risk of another attack. \u201cWe stay here because this is where our faith is strengthened,\u201d Timothy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Backing Down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After the attack, another pastor from Timothy\u2019s church was killed while visiting a neighboring village. Timothy knows that working to advance God\u2019s kingdom isn\u2019t always safe, and he\u2019s OK with that. In fact, the risk assures him that he is on the right track. \u201cIf you are in a peaceful place without any challenges, you will be far from God,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if there is persecution, you will be close to God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

VOM has helped pay his children\u2019s school fees<\/a> and provided his family with additional financial support since the attack. Timothy has used some of the support to start a farm, where he grows corn and rice for his family and also to sell for additional income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is not by our doing, but it is the grace of God that this help has come to us,\u201d Timothy said. \u201cIf not for this support, we do not know what we would have done. We are incredibly grateful. All the help and support mean so much to us. We are full of joy that we are part of a family who loves us and is praying for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Timothy asks that we pray for his family\u2019s courage and strength as well as for his village as they all continue to recover from the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the night and morning of March 11, 2019, Pastor Timothy Umaru and several other men stood guard at an entrance to their Nigerian village. They were watching for any sign of the Fulani Islamic militants who had attacked a neighboring village days earlier. Then, as the sun rose shortly after 6 a.m., they began to hear screams and gunfire in the village behind them. Villagers were running in every direction as the air filled with smoke from burning homes. The militants had attacked the village from another entrance, and Timothy felt helpless as he thought about his family, his church and his predominantly Christian village. \u201cIn all honesty,\u201d he said, \u201ceven though the Bible has told us that these things would happen, the first question I asked was, \u2018God, where are You?\u2019\u201d Timothy\u2019s wife, Rifkatu, and their 3-year-old granddaughter, Uma, had just finished praying with their lead pastor\u2019s family at the church parsonage when the attack occurred. Rifkatu heard the gunfire and screams when she stepped out with Uma to get some fresh air. After scooping Uma up in her arms and running back inside to alert everyone, Rifkatu and the others hurriedly left the pastor\u2019s home, which they<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-5347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-nigeria","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nNigerian Village Attacked, But Christians Remain Faithful - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"They have no intention of leaving their home, despite the risk of another attack. \u201cWe stay here because this is where our faith is strengthened,\u201d Timothy said\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/nigerian-village-attacked-but-christians-remain-faithful\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigerian Village Attacked, But Christians Remain Faithful - 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