BRAZILIAN CHURCH REMEMBERS LEAH SHARIBU, PRAYS FOR NIGERIA

BRAZILIAN CHURCH REMEMBERS LEAH SHARIBU, PRAYS FOR NIGERIA

Pastor Sandro Coutinho and wife

The call came late in the night. It was a foreign number but the very country couldn’t be deciphered readily. The caller wanted to speak with the editor. When I told him I was speaking, he introduced himself: “I am Adilson calling from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. We came across your online magazine and my Church likes to ask you some questions on the persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria more particularly, about Leah Sharibu whom we are aware has been held by the enemies of Jesus for a long time.

Adilson introduced his Church as Igreja Betel and you wonder how come a Brazilian speaks English when the lingua franca of the country is Portuguese. Adilson clarified that he and his wife studied and speak English and their church found them useful in reaching the world. The topic was a good one for me, just after a few days that I spoke with the mother of Leah Sharibu. I promised to respond to all of their questions. This is a case of an interviewer becoming an interviewee.

A few days later, he called back that they would like to work out my speaking directly to the congregation during service. The church would like to hear from me directly and also pray for Christians in particular and the nation in general. The idea sounded good but how would that happen? Through the internet! Wow! We discussed the modality. I would come on Skype video, using a widescreen pad and a fast internet to stream. My image would be broadcast on the whiteboard in their church as I speak live and members would be asking me questions. My responses would be translated into Portuguese and their questions would be translated to me in English by Adilson. 

 It was a deal. I was excited about it. I went to God in prayer to perfect this. And take it forward such that someday, I would visit and worship with the church in person. At about 11 pm Nigerian time, 6 pm in Rio, I came online, watching Christians in the Church worshipping, singing, dancing, praising God. Here I was in Lagos Nigeria fellowshipping with fellow Christians in Rio. The wonders of the Internet!

Adilson and his wife, Amanda

There they were, praising and worshipping God in the Portuguese language. And here I was clapping along. The pastor, who I later identified Sandro Coutinho soon came on stage and led the congratulations in prayers. A man of prayer and love for mankind. In his prayers, he asked God to save Nigeria and the believers from the hands of the enemies.

Soon it was time for me to stream. Right from my library, I saw myself on the whiteboard on the stage of Congregacao Betel, Rio de Janeiro. I greeted all of them in the name of Jesus. I heard them burst into a shout of praise, all waving at me and i waved back, praising God. When calmness returned, the questions began: 

 State of the Church in Northern Nigeria:
 The Church is in poor state physically but the minds of the Christians there are firm and resolute. So many Churches have been burnt especially in the North East. Pastors and congregation killed with little or no compensation from the government. We, however, thank God that the buildings do not make the Church, the people therein is the Church. Where two or three are gathered in His name, Jesus promised to be there. Also, many of the churches still standing are almost illegal structures that could be demolished any time because so many state governments in the core northern Nigeria would not give Certificate of Occupancy to these Churches, making them vulnerable. 

Whenever there is any altercation internationally, even in faraway Sweden or Middle East, Christians become panicky because the street urchins called Almajiri are led by their patrons to seek a quick revenge on the Christians in the north by burning their places of worship, houses and perhaps lose their lives in the process. 

Question on Leah Sharibu:
 It is unfortunate that… of the over one hundred girls that were kidnapped at Dapchi town, only Leah is still left with the enemies of Christ on account of her refusal to renounce Jesus. We Christians, however, praise God that this young lady did not shame us by renouncing Christ to satisfy the whims of the enemies. Today, angels are clapping for Leah, believing that… even if she dies in the process, a great victory has been won and a statement made that not all of us would deny Christ.

So many questions were fielded before the Nigerian end of the Internet began to misbehave. Meanwhile, I was streaming in darkness, using this Chinese fluorescent lamp as NEPA. When it was clear that the interview would not go on, the streaming was truncated and the Church rose in unison and began to pray for Leah Sharibu, Christians in the north and Nigeria as a whole. 

It was a great experience for me. A Church in faraway Brazil would remember Leah Sharibu and Nigeria. This is the message of Christ… when I was naked, did you clothe me? When I was in prison, did you visit me? When I was hungry, did you feed me? Lord, bless and show your mercy on this Brazilian Church.