12/31/2021 Mozambique (International Christian Concern) –Beginning in 2017, armed militants, bearing the Islamic State flag, have wreaked havoc in the northern Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently shared the story of 52-year-old Chico, a devout Christian and father of five who was forced to flee his community after being terrorized by the insurgents.

Chico told ACN that in October 2020, terrorists took over his town, Muidumbe, for over two months. “Days went by and our homes were torched and destroyed,” he said, “I sent four of my children to Montepuez to stay with a relative; the oldest, who was 24, stayed. When people were caught trying to get food they were killed, so I told my son not to go into town because it was very dangerous.”

After five days, Chico was forced to leave to find water. It was then that he heard the devastating news that his son had been killed by the insurgents. “On the seventh day, acquaintances showed up and told me that my son had been beheaded,” he said. “He had gone out with a group of young people and encountered the terrorists.”

Chico went back into the town to tell his wife the terrible news. He then searched for his son’s body, in order to give him a proper burial.

“After two weeks, we found the body already decomposing. The head was hanging from a pole with the body lying next to it. Full of fear, we dug a grave while one person stood as a lookout. We were on the town’s outskirts. We dug a little, made a hole of two feed, dragged the body. I took the head from the pole and put it in the tomb. After we finished, we hurried back.”

In addition to his son, Chico also lost his 95-year old mother in a separate attack by the insurgents. “I went to that area myself to look for her, but I didn’t find any bodies, nor clothes. No one knew anything about her. I realized then that I would never see my mum again.”

Please pray for Chico and his family, and for the millions of others who have experienced similar tragedies in terror-ridden Mozambique. Join us in asking our Lord to bring His redeeming light into these areas of extreme darkness, and to overcome the evil of this world with his infinite love.

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