We are called to pray for and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ during persecution. Through organizations like Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs and International Christian Concern we have the ability to reach them directly. Please take a couple minutes to either send a card of encouragement or post a letter and prayer below. We will continually update this page with new believers that we can encourage. 

HAJARATU & FAMILY - Nigeria
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Hajaratu is a young Nigerian Christian, a mother and widow of two years. Her husband, David Matthew, died of an illness, leaving her to care for her five children on her own. She recently shared her story with us.
On the night of July 10, 2020, Hajaratu sat with her neighbors under a tree before heading home to prepare dinner and get her children to sleep. After they were all safely in bed, Hajaratu warmed herself by the fire’s hot coals and fell asleep. “About two minutes later, I heard the gunshots,” she says. The young mother ran to wake up her children. “I flung my little daughter on my back, quickly strapped her [to my back] with a cloth and went outside to the gate,” she remembers. The other kids, old enough to run on their own, ran outside to join the rest of the people fleeing the village. The shooting grew louder, and gunshots cracked and popped right beside her kitchen wall.
“We all ran out, scattering in different directions,” Hajaratu says. She ran toward the river.

Fulani militants had overtaken her village. That night, Hajaratu lost much more than her possessions, grain stores, animals and parts of her home. She survived the attack, but the gut-wrenching reality of life after that night has remained; Hajaratu—unable to swim—nearly drowned as she crossed a fast-moving river for safety. Tragically, when she came out of the water, Hajaratu realized her baby daughter was no longer on her back. Days later, she was reunited with her remaining four children.

Through Open Doors, Hajaratu received food items to feed her children, financial support to rebuild and trauma counseling. She has now returned to her village with her family but continues to wrestle with the loss of her daughter. Thankfully, she’s beginning to find hope again. She sings as she works:
Only words of gratitude
Only words of gratitude
There is nothing I have to offer you, my God
Except words of gratitude

Please take a moment to write our sister, Hajaratu, a card or letter using the Hausa phrase below and strengthen her with your encouraging and uplifting words.
"Zuwa ga Hajaratu, Mungode sosai yadda kika baiyana sheda mana labarinki. Wannan abin ya albarkaceni kwarai da gaske. Inayi miki adu’a. Nagode"
(Thank you for sharing your testimony with us. It blessed me deeply. I am praying for you and your family regularly.)

You can send a digital message using the form on this page or you can drop off, mail or email a physical letter or card to the church office. This letter writing opportunity is available until May 30th, at which time we will be sending all the collective letters and cards together.  

*Courtesy of OpenDoors (opendoorsusa.org)

Daniela & Sebastian - Colombia

After their father was killed for preaching the gospel, Daniella and Sebastian are on the path to healing in Colombia. Twelve-year-old Daniela and five-year-old Sebastian find it very difficult to talk about the day their father died. Pastor Plinio had just returned from praying at the church when he was murdered in his own home—the family, including Daniela, rushed into the room where he was shot and killed. Daniela will never forget what she saw. Open Doors asked the young girl what she thinks her father would have liked for her to do in the future. “Well,” she says without hesitation, “to be a great person and to follow in the ways of God.”
Thankfully, through the generosity of Open Doors’ supporters, Daniela and Sebastian were able to spend a month at the Center for Children—a project that gives permanent shelter to many Colombian children of persecuted Christians. Here, Daniela and Sebastian learned how to be kids again and have begun to heal.
Please take a few moments to share some love and encouragement with Daniela and Sebastian. Let them know they’re a part of a large Christian family that stretches worldwide!

You can send a digital message using the form on this page or you can drop off, mail or email a physical letter or card to the church office. This letter writing opportunity is available until February 28th, at which time we will be sending all the collective letters and cards together.  

Writing Guidelines:
Greeting cards, children’s artwork and postcards are best.
If possible, please write in Spanish (google translate) or simple English and please keep your letter brief.
Print clearly.
Be encouraging and include 1-2 Bible verses.
Please show sensitivity; please don’t dwell on Daniela’s and Sebastian’s plight or share about the blessings of life in your country.

For Security:
Do not mention Open Doors or your local church in your letters.
If writing a postcard, please send it in an envelope and do not write the Open Doors’ address on the postcard.
You may provide your name but do not provide your full address.
Do not criticize a country’s religion or religious extremists, its government, judicial system or political leaders.
Do not send money or make proposals to help.
​​*Courtesy of OpenDoors (opendoorsusa.org)