Displaying items by tag: Naomis story

Naomi, a Nigerian Christian widow, never expected to suffer persecution, but when her town was overrun by Islamists, she was ready. Her Bible had taught her, ‘Persecution is God’s Word being fulfilled.’ While Naomi was working her farmland outside the city she heard distant gunfire. She immediately ran toward the sound, concerned for her children at home. After passing scenes of horrific violence on her way she gathered her children and fled to nearby mountains, where they stayed before moving to a Cameroon refugee camp. Poor conditions there forced them to return to Nigeria. When mission workers learned of her situation, they helped the family move into their own home and arranged for the children to attend a good school. Naomi said, ‘Attacks made my faith stronger.’

Naomi and other refugees ate edible leaves while fleeing Boko Haram. She was desperate. ‘I had only God, and I talked to Him. He gave me the strength I needed.’ Naomi, her children and several thousand other refugees hid on a mountain for two years before Boko Haram chased them, with guns and bombs, to Cameroon. After leaving Cameroon, she found a camp for internally displaced people, but again they were told to leave. ‘I did not know where to go, so I cried to God.’ Next, Voice of the Martyrs workers found her - an answer to her prayers. They helped her children start school, and helped them move into their own house. ‘Since the passing of my husband, God has kept me. The attack only made me stronger in my faith.’