Chandler Peterson/Global Christian Relief
Pastor Samuel ministers to a congregation of displaced people – Christians in Burkina Faso who were driven out of their homes by jihadists, just as he was. Most of them cannot read and few own Bibles. They meet in an unfinished building with a dirt floor, and it’s the only place that most of them are able to encounter Scripture.
“We manage through prayer,” Samuel says. “We manage by the grace of God.”
Samuel’s Persecution Story
Samuel came to faith in Christ after his mother was healed from an illness. A pastor from the region where she was healed started a new church in Samuel’s village.
“During my prayers, God told me that he needed me in the ministry,” Samuel says. “So I accepted the call to go to Bible school.”
Before he was displaced from his region, Pastor Samuel planted 25 churches. He discipled others who went on to become pastors themselves.
“There weren’t many believers there,” he says of his first church. “It wasn’t easy, but we managed. There were many sick people who were healed.”
But he has faced challenges throughout his ministry.
“When you fight against the power of evil, the power of evil also always fights against you,” the pastor says.
At first, the biggest challenges were illnesses in his family, especially among his wife and children. But then the jihadists came.
“It wasn’t easy. All we could do was pray,” says Samuel’s wife Catherine. “If we came home at night, we couldn’t sleep, because we didn’t know what awaited us the next day. We just kept praying, and God helped us.”
She recounts that terrorists came to their church several times. Knowing Samuel’s reputation as one who prays for healing, one even posed as a sick person in need of prayer. Catherine and some others did pray for him at their church, but he and the other jihadists returned later looking for Samuel.
“They came at night. I heard the gunshots,” Samuel says. “They looked for me at night and during the day, every time.”
He often got calls from a local government official warning him to leave for the night.
“Every time I left, it was into the forest,” he says. “Often, up in a tree, when I would spend the night, I got so exhausted.”
But one night, he got a call from one of the jihadists, warning him that they were coming to kill him.
He walked all night, about 100 kilometers, until he got on a bus to another town, leaving all his belongings behind. Catherine came after him.
“It was my husband who left first and me second,” she says. “At that moment, I didn’t even know if I was still on this earth. I wondered whether I was already in the grave or whether I was still alive. Our life had completely changed to the point where it was very difficult. The village had emptied of its inhabitants. That’s when someone saw me and asked, ‘Are you still here? Do your best to go join your husband tomorrow. If they didn’t get your husband, they know how to hurt him.’ That’s how I decided to leave the village.”
She tried to return to pack some things to take with her, but it was too late. The terrorists had already come back.
“We are plunged into terrible situations, but God has protected us,” says Samuel.
“We have crossed the valley of the shadow of death and we are still alive,” Catherine adds.
New Beginnings
When they made their way to safety in the city of Ouagadougou, Samuel and his family began attending a new church. It wasn’t long before regional leaders asked him to lead a congregation of his own there.
“When I came, there was nothing,” he says. “It’s when I arrived, then, that they decided to do outreach … everything possible to see if there will be converts who come.”
He held his services under a tent for six months until they could begin construction on a church building. That was two years ago, and though the building is not yet finished, around 100 people now attend this church.
“In this church, we make do,” Samuel says. “Since these are displaced people – myself, being displaced, too – we each manage on our own.”
“I believe that by next year God will help us fix up the church and it will be filled with believers,” Catherine adds.
The believers who attend Samuel’s church speak several languages, including French, Gulmancema, and Mooré.
“Most of the members of my church can’t read,” Samuel says. “So when they come to church, I read them the words of God. And for those who don’t understand Gulmancema and Mooré, we try to interpret. We use many languages so they understand, so they have access to the Scripture when they come to the prayer meeting.”
But most of these Christians lack access to the Scriptures in their daily lives.
“When they come here, they hear the word of God,” Samuel says. “But if they go home again, they need to wait for Sunday again. That’s how it is. They only hear the word of God when they come to the prayer meeting. When they go back home, they don’t have a Bible to read, so it’s difficult for them.”
Audio Bibles
We gave Pastor Samuel and members of his church audio Bibles: small devices that will read the Word of God aloud in their heart languages. Even those who cannot read and have never owned a Bible before can now listen whenever they choose and share the Bible with those around them.
“Now, every believer, from their home, can listen to the word of God in their mother tongue,” Samuel says. “It’s a grace for us. It’s a blessing for us. They will grow in the Christian faith.”
Emmanuel, a member of Samuel’s church who also escaped persecution by terrorists, says he can read “a little,” but never has the opportunity outside of church. With his audio Bible, all that will change.
“Honestly I am filled with joy,” Emmanuel says. “Since I got this, even if I don’t have time to read, I put on the audio and listen. I can take it to help other people.”
Sita, his wife, also expresses her gratitude through a translator.
“It will bring them a lot, listening to the word of God, being more educated in the Bible,” the translator explains. “She will listen to it everywhere as soon as she can. … They’ll be able to spread the word of God more effectively, and make Jesus known to more people.”
“I am truly happy to receive this device,” adds Germaine, another member of the church. “Now I can work while listening to the Word of God. I can simply turn this on and listen while memorizing Scripture. Even while taking a shower, I can listen to God’s Word. Wherever I go, I can carry it with me. Even if I feel discouraged, hearing a Bible verse can comfort and encourage me.”
