THE BURDEN OF THE FINAL DAY – A PASSIONATE HEART FOR THE SALVATION OF THE HAUSA LAND OF NIGERIA

(A SPECIAL MISSION REPORT OF THE JIGAWA STATE 2018 MISSION OUTREACH CONDUCTED BY THE HAUSA CHRISTIANS FOUNDATION (HACFO) NIGERIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HASKEN RAYUWA AFRIKA MINISTRY, NIGERIA FROM: 5^TH TO 7^TH DECEMBER, 2018)

It was a phenomenal experience for both the Hausa Christians Foundation (HACFO) and Hasken Rayuwa Afrika Ministry during the 3 days joint mission outreach to Roni, Jigawa State, Nigeria. We were excited to minister the Word and the Love of Jesus Christ as a way of encouraging, edifying and empowering the Hausa Christians of Jigawa to remain strong, steadfast and committed to their faith in Christ Jesus and the work of mission in the Hausa Land. We were overwhelmed at the kind of the reception we received, and the keen interest in listening to our teachings and ministrations throughout the sessions. They remained attentive and receptive of what God laid in our hearts to minister in those three days. We thought we were there to just minister, but we ended up been ministered, encouraged and challenged at the same time. The 3 days mission outreach took a new turn in the last session of the program. It was a moment of heaviness for us all that were there. After the last teaching session, we gave our hosts a time to share testimonies of how the Lord has blessed them during our stay with them for the three days; that was how everybody broke silence.

We misunderstood the smiles in their faces, their zeal to serve God and their resolute to serve God to mean that all is well with most of them. At this point, we received the strangest revelation of why God sent us to those places on a mission. In that last session, we got to understand in reality the kind of people we were ministering to. They are people who have paid a huge price, some with even their lives for them to remain in Christ and for Christianity to survive to this time. Most of them had heartbreaking stories, which could not even be uttered without tears from both our eyes. Some were disowned by their parents, some were driven away to perish, some were thrown into a well to die there but they survived it, while some were denied their inheritance and their belongings, all for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were humbled by the level of the stigmatization and marginalization that almost all of them endured for more than 40, 50 and even 60 years and above simply for their choice to follow Christ. Without having a firsthand experience or information with evidence of what we saw, it will be literarily impossible for many people to believe what the Northern Christians of Nigeria especially the Hausa Christians are going through at the moment.

What could be more painful than becoming an outcast, or an orphan not because your parents are dead, or your brothers and sisters are dead nor because of any crime you committed but because of your choice to believe and follow Christ. They went through severe pains of physical and psychological torture, but still love those who have treated them unjustly.

With tears running down their eyes, we hear them begging us to pray for their parents, brothers and sisters who are yet to come to Christ. We won’t forget these words “Please, we need your prayers, our brothers and sisters are dying without coming to Christ, please join us to pray so that they won’t perish. We are highly blessed and encouraged by your coming. We don’t use to have such opportunities, please come again.” We literarily saw the love of Christ in them, passionately praying for the salvation of those who kill them, reject them, and deny them their legitimate sources of livelihood. Some stories are heavy to say, and difficult to believe without seeing it.

After this life-changing experience, our eyes were opened to the numerous privileges that many Christians are having especially those in southern part of Nigeria but some are abusing it. These are Christians that many people thought don’t even exist, they live every day in rejection and persecution yet, they are living and moving on with the Gospel against all odds. It takes a sincere heart of love to pray for your enemy and to still love him or her with the God-kind of Love.

This experience does not require emotional sympathy only, but it has reignited our hearts to go further with the love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to save the world from destruction and entanglement of the enemy. Love is what is required to reach the world for Christ. Time is fast moving but there are so much more harvests to be done.

We therefore request of every Christian in Nigeria especially from the South to do the following for the Christians of Jigawa State and Northern Nigeria in general:

1. Pray for the Grace to continue and finish this race strong

2. Pray for the salvation of our Brothers and Sisters who are yet to come to the love and saving power of Jesus Christ.

3. Pray and take authority over every veil of darkness that has covered their eyes from seeing the way of Christ to be lifted up.

4. Send all manners of help for the persecuted Christians in those places (Eg. Bibles, Educational and Learning Materials, Clothing, Food, Health Facilities, scholarships etc.)

5. Become our Mission Partner to reach the Hausa Land effectively with the love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.