Though the fig tree does not bud…yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The tragedy that many Nigerians have lived through would have crushed most of us but like the above passage in Habakkuk, they continue to praise their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Naomi and her 1-year old daughter, Hope

Naomi and her 1-year old daughter, Hope

Naomi’s story by Peggy Faw Gish

One-year-old “Hope” crawled around on the floor of the reception area at the EYN Headquarters Annex in Jos.  She had a quick smile and inquisitive face.  Every time she headed toward the door to the outside steps, her mother, Naomi, got up and caught her just in time.  Many EYN staff members enjoyed playing around with Hope on their way through the room.

Naomi had worked as a secretary to the Director of Education for EYN, at the former headquarters near Mubi. She and her daughters, Blessing (18) and Hope (1) fled on October 29, 2014, when Boko Haram attacked there, and they found their way to Jos. Now they live in Jos and she works at the  EYN headquarters annex.

Behind her welcoming smile, her face showed her deep pain as she told about her husband, Bello Philip Mwada, a member of the Nigerian Police Force, and her three sons, Moses, Emmanuel, and Haruna, who had been killed by Boko Haram fighters. “My husband, was a man of God,” Naomi said, but he was targeted because several times he found out that militant fighters were coming to a particular community, and he warned the residents to flee.

Blessing will soon be finishing secondary school, and hopes to be able to go to a university, but does not know how she will do that financially.  Naomi, who now works at the headquarters and has the full care of her daughters, doesn’t expect she will return to  Mubi, but will try to resettle in Jos. In spite of her losses and grief, she expressed her gratitude for the EYN community which has helped her during these difficult times, and to God who gives her strength.

Let us continue to lift up in prayer our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.