CAMEROON: “I KNEW JESUS WOULD PERFORM HIS MIRACLE”

When Adam from Cameroon was at school, he had an amazing dream. “Jesus told me I should not worry, for He is with me,” he remembers. It was a powerful encounter – one that’s helped sustain him as he’s experienced extreme persecution.

Singled out and kidnapped

After finishing school and starting a family. He was working on an island in Far North Cameroon when he and his colleagues were surrounded by Boko Haram militants. Singling out the Christians from the Muslims, the militants asked them who gave them permission to work on the land. “We had no idea that territory belonged to Muslims,” he recalls. “We said we didn’t know.”

He was forced to travel for several days and ended up being taken prisoner and held in a Boko Haram camp. After five weeks in captivity, Adam and his friend escaped when the militants began arguing. “We ran away while there was tension. God did it; God helped and we fled.”

Reunited with his family, everyday life became increasingly difficult for Adam and other local Christians. The village was controlled by Boko Haram, who imposed strict Islamic law that made it almost impossible for believers to express their faith. Land and resources owned by Christians were seized, and they weren’t allowed to work unless they worked for the militants who would pay them.

“Since we no longer have jobs or farms, sometimes having enough food to eat becomes a problem. This has made some of our Christian brothers and sisters trade Christianity for Islam. Some are being forced to convert, and they do so to cope.”

Image: A church in Cameroon

Tied up alongside brothers

Adam and his family had just returned from a secret gathering with other believers when he was kidnapped for a second time – and this time the ordeal was far worse. He was taken along with other members of his family when the militants came during the night. His little brother was tragically shot and killed.

Adam remembers, “Everyone was crying, thinking that they would be killed. We were saying that our time had come. We were afraid, just waiting for them to kill us.” Adam thought about his children and frail parents, and who’d take care of them. “In my heart I was worried, but I prayed.”

“GOD SPARED US”

The group were taken to a Boko Haram camp, where they were asked repeatedly if they are Christians. “We said, ‘Yes, we are.’ I knew Jesus would perform His miracle, because we were praying.”

Despite trying to stay hopeful, Adam and the group were severely worried, but they boldly prayed. “If they will kill us, let them kill us. But if we’re going to be free, show us, because we’re tired of suffering.”

Six weeks later, a sign came. The guards at the entrance of the camp fell asleep, leaving the door open, and the group fled. “God spared us!” says Adam

Comforted and strengthened

Adam was reunited with his family, but they were now displaced. He struggles with nightmares because of his ordeal and has struggled to find work. But your prayers and support is showing Adam that he’s not alone. “With God’s help, you have comforted me,” he says. “I no longer have the weight in my heart.”

Other believers affected by violence in the region have also benefited from your faithful support, including the provision of Bibles in French and Hausa. “It has helped us to be strengthened. We are rooted in the Word of God. It has made us strong; we are not ashamed and we do not doubt either.”

“I was kidnapped twice, but I wasn’t killed,” says Adam, who today comes alongside other believers affected by Islamist militant attacks. “I don’t know why it happened this way, but the Lord is the One who has let me live for His glory. Maybe He spared me to worship Him.”

Please pray for Adam and other displaced Christians across sub-Saharan Africa using the points below. You can also sign the Arise Africa petition and ask for world leaders to act and ensure justice, restoration and peace for Christians in the region.