Welcome to the Hackberry House of Chosun. I'm Bob and it's January 18, 2025. Reading today from the January issue of the VOM magazine. And if you'd like to be put on the mailing list of Voice of the Martyrs and receive free your own copy of this magazine, just contact them at vom.org. We're going through the January issue, which has to do with what are being called the Nigerian Sisters of Honor. These are the women who have been left behind because Muslim radicals came into their village or whatever and killed their husbands, their widows. Much of this going on in northern Nigeria and we're hoping that reading these stories will cause you to pray for these sisters and others that are there suffering. Chundung says, life has not been easy for me. I could not hold up myself. I could not feed the children. Her husband, David, was killed on September 7, 2001, in Josh, Nigeria. While walking to the bank that day to collect his salary, he was caught up in fighting between Muslims and Christians. But Chundong doesn't know specifically how he, her husband, was killed. Twenty other people from their church also were killed that day. David's body was never found, and so the family never had the opportunity to hold a funeral for him. Chundong was left to raise their four children on her own. Rebecca says many widows are forced into prostitution. Rebecca's husband was shot to death by Boko Haram militants as he walked to church one day in 2014. At the time, Rebecca was pregnant with their fifth child. The militants destroyed Rebecca's entire village in the attack, and she didn't know what had happened to her husband until three days later, when she discovered his body in a morgue. Rebecca said her faith has wavered since her husband's murder, as she had struggled to provide for her children. But now, after receiving months of instruction from God's word, and after processing her pain with other Christians, her faith has been restored. Ruth says, I never thought I would ever forgive Boko Haram, but I did. I have not only forgiven them, but I love them. As the Nigerian widows receive encouragement and support through God's word and the body of Christ, they find hope and they learn to forgive. For three months, our Nigerian sisters study God's Word to learn more about His character and how much He loves them. They spend time reflecting on biblical truth and whether they are living according to that truth. Through this careful study of Scripture, the Holy Spirit brings transformational change to their lives, including the ability to forgive their persecutors. Boko Haram attacked Ruth's village named Gaza in 2013, killing several hundred people and burning many homes and buildings, including her church. She said the militants were angry because Muslims in Gaza had been turning to faith in Christ. Ruth's family, including six children ranging in age from 2 to 16, survived the attack and then walked for 17 days to reach safety in Cameroon. But her husband, Luca, was never the same after the ordeal, and Ruth believes that lingering effects of the attack ultimately led to his death in 2021. As Ruth has learned biblical approaches to forgiveness and seen the change in other women in the program, she's been able to let go of her own pain. Then there's Asabi. She says, I learned forgiveness toward everyone who has hurt me. She said, when I first came, I did not talk. I was always afraid. Asabi was raised in a Muslim family, but after placing her faith in Christ, she married a Christian named Yacouba. In 2020, Boko Haram bombed their village, and Yacouba was killed in the attack. After Yacouba's death, his Muslim brother threw Asabi and her child out of their home. These are just some of the stories. I have more next time we get together. I think you have enough to pray about right there, and I hope that you will pray, pray, pray for these people. Thank you so much for your visit to the Hackberry House of Chosun, and there is on this Sermon Audio website a large collection of readings, including hundreds from Spurgeon, There are sermons and books of other well-known preachers, stories of great Christians, Bible commentaries, reports on the suffering church, and more. Just go to sermonaudio.com forward slash aservant70 if you're not there already. Click on sermons or click on series and just browse through there. I think you'll find some things that will bless you. And click on the word articles also to see some of my written comments of the past. I'm putting five articles on there every day, hopefully to bless you. For any assistance, email me at BobDiakonos7, B-O-B-D-I-A-K-O-N-O-S and the number seven, BobDiakonos7 at gmail.com. And Lord willing, we'll talk again real soon. Bye-bye.