09/13/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – “‘Women, come out! Women, come out!’ We came out and started fleeing, then realized that Fulani herdsmen militias were already coming into the village to attack. As we kept running and descended to the sandy bank of the river, we heard gunshots erupting and saw smoke of burning houses rising in the village. We continued running.”

Marice recalled for International Christian Concern (ICC) the day that she not only lost most of her left hand, but also the day that she saw her son brutally murdered. Marice lives in Lawaru village, located in Demsa Local Council area of Adamawa State, Nigeria.  Lawaru is a predominantly Christian village and has been targeted on several occasions by Fulani militants. However, the attack on December 4, 2017 was the largest they ever suffered. Five villages, including Lawaru, were invaded in a well-coordinated attack that left dozens dead and wounded.

Marice began, “I am the wife of the pastor of Christ Apostolic Church, Lawaru. On December 4, 2017, around 6:00 am, while we were in the house, we suddenly heard someone shouting   It was a sudden attack on Lawaru that day so the villagers fled whichever direction they could get to for safety.” Marice continued, “I had run and passed Dong village, together with my son who was 25-years-old, by name Confidence. I was in front and telling him to run faster. Just then I heard him shouting “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” Confidence, her son, was very ill and could not run quickly. The attackers quickly caught up to him and threw him to the ground.

Marice continued, “[When I heard him yell], I turned to look and saw that he was surrounded by the Fulani and they were hacking him with their machetes. On seeing that, I stopped running, but continued praying.”

She helplessly watched as her son was brutally hacked to death. Frozen by shock and horror, she did not consider how she might be next. “While I was looking and praying, two of them came over to me and told me to give them my mobile phone.  I told them I had none.  While I was speaking, a third one came, pulled out his machete and tried to smash my head.  I lifted my hand and he struck, slicing off my two fingers. He lifted to strike me again, I again raised up the same hand and he cut off another part of the hand. Then I collapsed, but kept praying.”

Even when Marice collapsed, the militia showed no mercy, but inflicted more cuts on her head and back. “I had on me some church money, proceeds of some harvested crops. I had hidden it in my underwear zipper. As they macheted me, they saw the local safe and asked, ‘What is that?’  I said, ‘It is money.’ One of them ripped off my underwear and smashed the container and pulled out the money, and said to the others, “Let’s go and share, let’s go and share.’ Then the one that was striking me stopped and went to join the others to share the money.”  Marice was left lying in a pool of her own blood.

Give Me Water

Earlier that day, Pastor Giduel, Marice’s husband, left his house to pick up his mobile phone. Lawaru has no electricity, so he left it to charge in another village with a small business that charges mobile phones on a generator. As he was returning home, he heard the church bells and other local gongs sounding throughout the Lawaru. He quickly ran home to look for his family, but found his house empty.

Sensing danger, Pastor Giduel fled for safety. He said, “Suddenly, I heard sporadic gun shots all over and smoke of burning rising.  I fled as bullets were flying over me from different directions.  It was God who helped me to escape miraculously without being hit by any of those bullets! … It was God that spared my life! It was so dreadful, that we kept wondering which direction to run to.  Sometimes we just laid flat on the ground among shrubs.”

Pastor Giduel laid in hiding for hours as the attack continued. When it finally quieted down, around 3:00 pm, those who survived left their hiding places and returned to the village to see if there was anything left. It was then that Pastor Giduel got news that the bodies of his wife and son were seen lying on a pathway in the bush.

He recalled, “I rushed to search and found them.  My son was already dead.  He had three spears shot into his body and had been hacked so badly. But my wife was still conscious, though also badly injured.  She recognized me and spoke up and said, ‘I thought you had been killed. Please get me some water to drink.’ She had bled so much from the brutal attack that I did not think she would survive. I rushed and got some water for her and she drank.”

Pastor Giduel asked some of the other survivors to help carry Marice and the body of his son away from the bush. After receiving emergency first aid, Pastor Giduel took Marice to the biggest hospital in a neighboring state where his wife could get specialized medical care. Marice had to stay in that hospital for the next three months, and thankfully survived. Pastor Giduel and Marice may have lost their oldest son, but they still have each other and their five other children.

A Year Later, ICC Meets Marice

As I walked through Lawaru village a year later, the stifling heat made it hard to breathe. I was there to see the farm that ICC had started and meet some of those who were benefiting from it.

While in Lawaru, I learned about Pastor Giduel and Marice. It would be very easy to assume that someone who has suffered this tragedy might be broken or depressed. However, that was not the sense I got from Marice when we first met.

She is strong, joyful, and cares greatly for her family. Knowing that she had suffered great physical trauma just a year prior, I was astounded to see her smiling. Despite still having some major health challenges due to the severity of her injuries, her only request was that I pray for their family and to help give her some relief from the burning pains in her hand and back.

“I still experience pains on my hand, and my back.  Whenever the pains come, it’s like fire burning in my body. When this starts, I get some cold water and pour on those areas just to get some form of relief,” she explained. Despite these excruciating pains, I found her alongside her husband and children, helping to care for the rice paddy that they had received from ICC.

Marice shows the strength that the Lord can give to those who follow Him. Marice and her husband’s last comment to me before I left was, “We give thanks to God, we give thanks to God.”

This has left an impression on me ever since. In the West, we have more blessings than we can ever imagine. Most of us will never have to experience the trauma and persecution that Marice and many of those like her do every day. Her strength and joy can only come from her faith in Christ. We, as a church body, must learn from her example and make sure to build our faith on Him and His promises.