After three attacks on his community, Pastor Soré* fled with his family, joining two million people in Burkina Faso who have been displaced by extremist violence. Pastor Soré’s situation seems hopeless, but your prayers and gifts are providing him and his family with a vital lifeline.
It was the third Islamic militant attack on his village in Burkina Faso that made Pastor Soré take his family and flee as refugees.
During the first attack, all the men ran for the surrounding countryside – knowing they were most likely to be killed. “The terrorists took people’s money and all the goods they could carry, then left,” Pastor Soré remembers.
The second attack was much, much worse. After the men had run away, the extremists raped the women in their homes. But when the attackers returned a third time, they burned everything they could, forcing the entire village to flee for good.
In less than a day, Pastor Soré and his family became refugees among the two million people displaced in Burkina Faso. Many are Christians, driven out of their homes by extremists. “When the terrorists come to churches and find Christians, they tell them that Christianity’s time is over, and they should turn to the Islamic religion,” Pastor Soré says. “So, they warn Christians to stop conducting services. After warning, when they come back later and find you in the church, they kill you.”
And it’s not just Burkina Faso that has seen this surge in extremist violence. Countries across sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have seen an huge increase in violence from Islamic extremists groups, who are attacking and killing Christians, as well as driving them from their homes and communities. Open Doors’ Arise Africa campaign aims to stop the violence and start the healing for believers like Pastor Soré.
Pastor Soré and his wife, Teresa, have two children – but they care for 15 other Christians, mostly young children who have been orphaned or placed in their care.
The city where they first arrived was already overcrowded with displaced people seeking refuge. Pastor Soré decided to take his family closer to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
The makeshift shelter the family has built on an empty piece of land
When they arrived at the place they live now, it was a wide-open, empty piece of land. “It took us four days to arrive to this place,” he says. “We were weary, walking for three days without finding a means of transportation to carry us. The ladies and all the children were spending the nights on the roadside, and I was going back and forth, seeking a means of transportation.”
The nearest water source for the family is just over a mile away, and they managed to put together a shelter – but it’s inadequate. They are the only people around for miles. “Who could assist us in this isolated place in case of sickness or death?” Pastor Soré asks. “If robbers come to attack us, who are our neighbours who could help?”
And yet, he continues to turn to God for help: “We are sad to be in such a condition, not knowing how to get out of it, and we have been trusting God for change.”
The older girls in the family are in charge of getting water from several kilometres away every day
Comforted and resilient
When Open Doors partners in Burkina Faso heard about Pastor Soré’s situation, they travelled to listen to his story and find out how they could help him and his family.
“The ministry first helped me with prayer that really comforted me,” he says. “In addition to the prayer support, the ministry helped me with seeds and fertilisers. It helped me to grow crops and feed my family members. They also helped us with food, including rice and oil. We wholeheartedly praise God for such blessings and thank the ministry.”
Your prayers and support are providing vital food and supplies for Pastor Soré and his family
“The Almighty God is with me in good times, and He is still with me in these hardships.”
Pastor Soré
Thanks to your prayers and support, Pastor Soré is able to remain resilient in the midst of his circumstances. “I may suffer physically, but my spirit who is in Christ is not affected by physical suffering,” he says. “The Almighty God is with me in good times, and He is still with me in these hardships.
“I do believe that we are displaced, but Jesus is not and will never be displaced from our lives. He is always with us. This truth strengthens my faith and helps me in this difficult time, and I’m glad with God.”
