Boko Haram victims find healing in Christian couple's trauma care ministry
A Christian couple's gospel ministry in Nigeria tries to alleviate the spiritual and emotional pain caused by Boko Haram by caring for the souls of the terror group's victims.
Ray and Denice, who works for Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, are not just providing physical relief to Nigerians who are traumatized by Boko Haram.
The couple, who serves as field officers and developers of the ministry, tells Mission Network News that their work involves providing spiritual and emotional relief they call "soul care" to the victims of the militant Islamic sect.
"We bring them into these trauma response ministries and we pray for them, we minister the Word of God to them, we cry with them, we hold them," says Ray.
One of the victims cared for by the couple is a Christian woman named Deborah. Her husband, who served as an elder in a church, was shot dead by Boko Haram after he refused to convert to Islam.
Boko Haram also threatened to kill Deborah's two nieces, aged 9 and 11. The brave young girls refused to renounce their Christianity so the terror group abducted them.
"We saw a picture of [Deborah] holding a photo of those girls and we saw the trauma she was carrying, watching her little girls as they were abducted. She has been searching for those little girls since 2012 in refugee camps," says Ray.
Two years ago, Ray had given the names of all the kidnapped Chibok girls to the church to pray for them. He believes that the release of 21 schoolgirls last month was a direct answer to their prayers.
Ray adds that the prayers and support for Voice of the Martyrs have a significant impact on the Church in Nigeria. The ministry is involved in Christmas outreach as well as clothing, food and medical projects.
Denice says that Nigerian believers are remaining steadfast in their faith in Christ despite the risk of losing everything. She recalls the courage and conviction of a Nigerian pastor and his wife, whom the couple nicknamed Abraham and Sarah.
"They have chosen to remain in their city and this pastor is determined to be there as long as he has a member of the church there. So he has said for him and his wife, they will remain strong and be that witness in that community," says Denice.