“Myself and my friend, Matthew, were out of the village when the attackers invaded it,” Amara shares with us. “It was while we were returning that we met them [the militants] as they were retreating from their attack.”
After being noticed by the militants, Amara and Matthew tried to escape, but the militants opened fire. One bullet struck Amara in her back and tossed her to the ground. Still alive, she lay as quiet and still as possible, so they would think she was dead. They checked her body, then moved along. Sadly, Matthew had been killed.
“I crawled and hid under a bush, where I remained until I was rescued the following morning and brought to the hospital,” Amara says. It was while she was at the hospital that she heard of the attack on her village.
“The invaders shot at anyone,” Amara says in recalling what she heard about the attack on persecuted Christians in Nigeria. “They sometimes used machetes to cut and mow defenseless women and children.”
Amara’s seven-year-old daughter was getting ready for bed when she heard gunshots in her village. She quickly hid in the corner of her bedroom. She was trembling and didn’t know what to do. Then the militants burst into her home and slashed her with a machete, leaving her for dead. Fortunately, she survived the assault and woke up in the hospital. Amara and her daughter have since been reunited, with her daughter recovering from lacerations and a fractured hand.
“During the attack on our people, ten members of our community were killed, while many others were wounded,” Amara says.
Despite her serious injuries, Amara’s daughter is filled with the love of Christ. Even at such a young age, she spends time praying for those who harmed her, hoping they’ll find Jesus and stop committing evil acts toward others.
