Asabe Searches for Salvation and Peace

The night Asabe fled from her village in Zamfara State, Nigeria, was the longest night of her life, reports HC, the leader of Intercede International’s partner mission in Nigeria (name protected for security reasons). The crack of gunfire still echoed in her ears, and the memory of her only son – her 21-year-old boy – lay heavy on her heart. He had been caught in the violence that had swept their community, taken by terrorists who had brought fear and sorrow to countless homes. Losing him broke something deep within her, and grief pushed her into the darkness of the forest as she ran with nothing but the clothes on her body.

For hours she wandered, praying for safety, unsure where to go or whom to trust. Every snapping twig felt like danger. But as dawn crept over the trees, she came upon a small footpath and followed it until she met a group of indigenous missionaries partnered with Intercede who had been delivering aid in the outskirts of the forest communities.

When they saw her trembling, hungry, and exhausted, they understood immediately that she needed protection. Without hesitation, they hid her in their compound, knowing that the terrorists were still searching the area. For two weeks, she lived quietly in a small room where the missionaries brought her food, comfort, and the gentle companionship she desperately needed.

During those days of hiding, they offered her an Audio Bible – not to pressure her, but simply to give her something peaceful to listen to as she tried to heal her heart. At first she listened just to calm her fears. But with each passing day, the words seemed to speak directly into her wounded soul: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

She listened to the stories of Jesus. His compassion, His healing, His nearness to the broken-hearted. She wept, not just from grief, but from feeling seen for the first time since tragedy struck.

One evening, after days of reflection and whispered prayers, she told the missionaries: “If Jesus can give peace to someone as broken as me… then I want Him.” There, in that quiet room where she had once shaken with fear, Asabe accepted Christ with trembling hands but steady faith. The missionaries prayed with her, and she felt a warmth she had never known – a gentle assurance that although she had lost everything, she was not abandoned.

A New Beginning

Today, Asabe is no longer hiding. She is a disciple, growing strong in her faith, learning the Scriptures she once heard only through the Audio Bible. Her sorrow has not disappeared, but it has been transformed. She speaks boldly about the peace she found in Christ, and her life has become a testimony of courage, redemption, and hope.

Those who meet her often describe her as a woman whose smile carries the strength of someone who has walked through the fire and come out with a light that cannot be hidden.

She was once a woman fleeing for her life. Now she is a woman carrying life to others.

Each day, as she shares her journey, she remembers her son, not with despair, but with the hope that their story did not end in tragedy, but in a new beginning shaped by the love she found in Christ.

Photo:  Asabe is now a daughter of the Lord Almighty.