“Crying has become a part of me”– Pastor Josiah’s pain of loss

As he looks through precious family photographs, Pastor Josiah recalls some sweet memories of his wife, Rebekah, and their three sons, with tears in his eyes.

“Rowland loved singing in the church band. No matter the church he went to, he would join them and sing. Jonathan was never lazy, always up and doing things. He was very hardworking. Timothy was a quiet person. He was always calm and resourceful.”

“This is my favourite photo of my wife and I together, it was the first picture of us as a married couple.”

He gazes down at the picture. After a long pause, he continues, “My wife was an industrious woman. She was hospitable—no one came to the house without her attending to them. She was considerate, to the point that she allowed me to shine in the public eye whilst she looked after our home. Her spiritual life made me proud.

Pastor Josiah begins to weep, remembering them, being killed by an extremist attack.

“Did she die?”

Pastor Josiah recounts the terrifying events of an attack on his rural farming village in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna State in November 2022.

He recalls, “I kept hearing voices in the Fulani language saying, ‘Open the door.’ As I did so, they grabbed my hands, tied me up, took me outside and laid me on the ground. My two sons and my eldest daughter, Salama*, were already there.”

“As we were taken out of our compound, I could hear Rebekah crying, ‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die!’ But I was powerless; I couldn’t do anything at that point.”

“The kidnappers took us, and we started walking to the bush. We didn’t stop until 7am when we got to their camp. I kept thinking about Rebekah. Did she die? Was she still alive?”

“Where is Jesus now?”

Josiah and his family spent two and half months in captivity. It wasn’t just physical abuse and mistreatment that they experienced. Their kidnappers also mocked them.

“You follow Jesus. Where is He now?”

The extremists were hostile to the Christian faith. Even the semblance of prayer could mean death.

“If I just bowed my head, they would start to say, ‘He’s praying!’ and aim their weapons at me. We could only pray in our hearts.”

“Why, God?”

In January, Josiah’s sons were sent to get the ransom payment for their lives.

“The day my daughter and I were set free, I was told that our ransom had been paid. They left us at the roadside and from there, my daughter and I walked back towards the village.”

“That was the day I was told my boys, Jonathan and Timothy, were killed by the kidnappers when they were sent to collect the ransom.”

Later, they received news that his third son, Rowland, had been killed at another extremist attack.

Josiah laments, “I felt like the world was crumbling in on me, as if I was alone with this pain.”

“I kept thinking, ‘Why did this all happen to me?’ When I remember Rebekah and the good life we had together, I ask God, ‘Why?’”

Pastor Josiah and his daughter holding photographs of their family

“I have received freedom”

Thankfully, Josiah received trauma care with Philip*, an Open Doors trauma caregiver.

“When I came here, the anger reduced, my bitterness reduced, and I have received freedom. I realised that forgiveness is almost impossible without God. It has helped me to heal a lot from the bitterness and hatred, and I have forgiven them,” he explains.

“My heart is now at rest. Crying has become a part of me; crying helps you to release the pain.”

Pastor Josiah is now passing on his learnings to others who are also in pain.

Pastor Josiah and his daughter standing at a mass grave of Christians in their village killed by extremists

‘Believers’ prayers brought me out’

Thanks to God and Open Doors supporters, there is hope for our persecuted family in Nigeria and across the region in the midst of the violence.

Pastor Josiah shares his gratitude: “My brethren in Christ, I want to say thank you for the relief you have given.”

He also encourages those who pray for them: “ Don’t think your prayers are not being felt – they are. Through them, I have understood the love of believers. Believers’ prayers brought me out of the bush. So, I am pleading and praying that you keep on supporting through your prayers and help.”

*Names changed for security reasons

please pray

• Pray for protection from further attacks for Pastor Josiah, his family and his church.
• Pray they will sense God’s comfort and closeness as they continue to grieve and heal.
• Pray that many more Christians in sub-Saharan Africa can get trauma care like Pastor Josiah did.

please give

• Every HK$225 could provide trauma care to a persecuted Christian, and bring hope and healing.
• Every HK$420 could equip a leader like Pastor Michée to provide trauma care to their community.
• Every HK$510 could provide one believer with medicine and shelter, and long-term support.

*Any excess funds from this appeal will be used to strengthen other persecuted Christians where urgent help is needed.

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