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| A village chief in Sierra Leone who turned his life over to the Lord. |
Two Christian-majority villages in northern Sierra Leone were burned to the ground recently. In late April, a VOM worker quickly mobilized a team to assist the residents of Kabo village after he learned that their homes had been set ablaze. After making the arduous trip of several hundred miles through rough bush to arrive at Kabo, the team received an urgent message that the nearby village of Kasietitie had also been attacked and burned.
Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks on these two villages, VOM workers say they were most likely committed in retaliation for the recent conversions of numerous villagers. The residents of Kabo village have been following Christ since a VOM-sponsored former Muslim visited the village two years ago and shared the Gospel with them. Before then, Kabo's population was either Muslim or animist. After the attack, one of the converted believers shared the community's resolve to continue following Jesus: "We have seen the light, and we will never go back to darkness, no matter what we face." The villagers of Kasietitie have been following Jesus for just six months.
Christians in Sierra Leone, especially front-line workers who travel from village to village to share the Gospel message, face opposition from both militant Muslims and those who practise local animist religions. In some areas, pastors and evangelists have been forced to flee for their lives. Sierra Leone is currently on our ministry's "Watched Countries List," as Christians in this part of the world occasionally face such assaults.
As these villagers now rebuild their homes and livelihoods, may they rest in the assurance of God's promise to meet all of their needs (Philippians 4:19). Despite the challenges they have faced, pray that He will strengthen their faith daily and equip them to be His effective witnesses in Sierra Leone. Ask the Lord to grant wisdom to the VOM workers assessing the situation, while also enabling them to be a source of encouragement to these struggling believers. In addition, please pray for His peace to rest on the country of Sierra Leone as a whole, so that attacks on the minority Christian population will not continue.
