{"id":19695,"date":"2024-10-22T15:44:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T14:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opendoorsuk.org\/?post_type=news&p=19695"},"modified":"2024-10-23T14:08:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T13:08:18","slug":"fedalia-nigeria-support","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/connect.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/fedalia-nigeria-support\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe never received such gifts\u201d \u2013 Fedalia profoundly impacted by your generosity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Fedalia says your support has ‘made us so happy’<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Until May last year, Fedalia and her family lived peacefully in their village of Kantoma, in Nigeria\u2019s Plateau State. \u201cOur way of living was exciting,\u201d she remembers. \u201cAny visitor was welcomed. Everyone loved Kantoma. We were happy, we paid all our bills, we sent our children to school and we attended church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday 26 May, Fedalia began noticing unusual activity. \u201cI went out and opened my shop at 7am. I was in the shop when we saw a Muslim woman with her belongings and kid behind her back and she was the first person to leave Kantoma. We thought she was just going on a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As further movements and rumours ensued, Fedalia and her family knew they had to escape. Just as they did, people in Kantoma started being killed by Fulani militants. \u201cWe heard gunshots all round,\u201d she shares. \u201cHouses were being burned and seized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other violence in sub-Saharan Africa, the attack disproportionately affected Christians. \u201cOnly three Muslims were affected, but all our churches have been destroyed,\u201d says Fedalia. \u201cTheir [Muslims\u2019] houses weren\u2019t burned, their things were intact, their mosque was also untouched. But all the churches in Kantoma were burned down. The only church they were unable to burn is the Baptist church, but all the things inside the church were burnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy prayer is that God will open the eyes of those responsible for these attacks,\u201d she continues. \u201cThey should ask for forgiveness. But if they refuse, we still won\u2019t judge them but rather our Father in heaven will on the last day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are really happy\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having fled, Fedalia, her husband and their four children now count amongst the estimated 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa displaced by violence and conflict \u2013 an alarming figure largely unnoticed by the world, hence the importance of the Open Doors Arise Africa<\/em> campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n
\r\n
Every \u00a335<\/div>\r\n\r\n
could help sustain a displaced believer with food, clothing, hygiene products and medical care.<\/div>\r\n My gift<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t find it easy, but we thank God because we are okay and we have good health,\u201d says Fedalia, who now lives with her family in a camp for internally displaced people. Like so many camps in sub-Saharan Africa, it\u2019s ill-equipped to care for people, but your support of local partners through the ongoing Arise Africa<\/em> campaign is helping some of the urgent needs \u2013 and Fedalia is immensely grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou took us as your children and worked together with us peacefully,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of people, more than 2,000 of us, you treated us well and didn\u2019t want anything bad to happen to us. You followed us patiently and, since we were staying here, we never received such type of gifts. We are really happy and our mind is now at rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are happy for the rice, beans, maize, palm oil, salt, blanket, mosquito net, Bible, bathing bucket, soap, pots, bath to wash my children\u2019s cloth and even pads for women,\u201d continues Fedalia. \u201cAll these things have made us so happy and we promise to make good use of them starting from now.\u201d         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Precious Bibles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Fedalia and many others, among the most precious gifts is a new Bible. \u201cThis Bible, if we are troubled and we read it, especially me, it calms me down. And this Bible will be with me from now till the day I die. It is one of the biggest gifts that has really encouraged us, because whenever you are troubled you can just open the Bible and you will feel as if your heart will be at rest.\u201d         <\/p>\n\n\n

\n

“This Bible will be with me from now till the day I die”<\/p> Fedalia<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fedalia lost her brother, uncle and another relative in the attacks on Kantoma. \u201cThey were the pillars of our family,\u201d she says. \u201cThey were our strength, but we thank God because each time we take our Bible to read it, our mind becomes at rest.             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven with what happened to me, my faith wasn\u2019t shaken. My mind has been set on Christ, because I know He will do even more for me, as it is said whatever happens is for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen how God has protected us and blessed us. Gifts keep coming from places we don\u2019t know about \u2013 that is why our heart is at rest. The things that were given to us yesterday, when I entered the gate and saw the things on the floor, I said we too shall eat well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prayer for more open doors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are grateful for what you have done for us,\u201d adds Fedalia. \u201cOur prayer is that God will continue to open doors for you where there seems to be no way. We weren\u2019t the only ones who were helped, but others too, so our prayer is that may God open more doors, so you can help those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The profound impact your prayers and support are having on Fedalia is reflected in the lives of so many others in sub-Saharan Africa. Thank you! Please continue to stand with our persecuted family in the region \u2013 be that through your gifts, prayers or signing the Arise Africa <\/em>petition, or by letting others know the invaluable role they can play in helping to stop the violence and start the healing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head to our Arise Africa<\/em><\/a> page for more information about the campaign. It features a downloadable month of prayer, stories, videos, plus much more to equip you in your support for our African family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fedalia says her family\u2019s \u2018heart is at rest\u2019 after being among more than 2,000 displaced believers in Nigeria who received support from Open Doors local partners. 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