A preacher in Africa who stared death in the face recently recounted how an act of kindness helped save their lives and convert militants into Christians.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, a missionary group that preaches the Gospel in African towns that have never heard of Jesus or Christianity. Amaechina recently opened up about the one time he thought he would die at the hands of militants.
"We were ministering to people, and some people came to kill us," Amaechina told the Christian Post. "They were there to kill us. We saw them with their machetes, we saw them with their swords, and we believed that that was our last breath."
Amaechina and his fellow preachers thought that those were the final moments of their lives. But instead of begging and pleading with the militants not to slaughter them, they decided to do a kind act for their attackers. The Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network president said, "We gave them rice, gave them spaghetti, gave them cream and soup ... and they moved away from us."
Amaechina said that moments later, one of the militant leaders returned, not to incite violence, but to tell them through an interpreter that "We were here to kill you. Since we are poor, no one has ever given us gifts, but because of these gifts, we want to become Christians."
Amaechina admitted that he could not believe his ears. He remarked, "We led them to Christ. It was wonderful, it was awesome and it was an eye-opener. Since that day, we have never resisted showing kindness. There's power in kindness and love. And that is what we believe in ministry."
It is the central idea of kindness that drives Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network to continue its mission today, since its inception in 2007. The nonprofit is composed of mission-minded churches and faith-based Christian organizations that hope ot advance tjhe Kingdom of God by preaching to unreached people in Northern Nigeria.
Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network performs two major interventions, including Gospel intervention, which involves conventional mission, diaspora mission and ecclesiastical mission. The other type of invention is humanitarian invention which involves food and clothing programs, clean water programs, orphanage programs, medical missions, educational programs, and skill acquisition programs.
According to Faithwire, Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, as it ranks seventh in Open Doors USA's 2022 World Watch List. Open Doors USA described Christian persecution in Nigeria as "brutally violent," especially in northern Nigeria where Christians are "under the constant threat of attack" from militant forces such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani militants and other criminals.
"Christians are often specifically targeted because of their faith," the report said, citing both ISWAP and Boko Haram as wanting to "eliminate the Christian presence in Nigeria." Christians in northern Nigeria are also treated as second-class citizens, especially those who convert from Islam to Christianity, who are often subjected to attacks and false charges under Sharia law.
