A Congolese Woman Heals from Kidnapping Trauma

Kimboti’s husband was away working in the fields when Islamic militants attacked their village. Such attacks have become common where Kimboti lives in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

As she and her eight children ran for their lives, they were captured and taken into the jungle. “I started praying right away,” she said. “In my prayers I felt the peace of God.”

Hoping to convey that same peace to her children, Kimboti prayed aloud with them even as the Muslim extremists listened. She believed they would all be killed, but she knew death meant they would be with Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, she had no way of knowing if her husband had survived the attack.

Then, one evening a compassionate guard released them and showed them a path that would lead to a refugee camp. When Kimboti and her children reached the camp, they were welcomed with blankets and clothes.

Soon afterward, Kimboti was reunited with her husband. “I felt just incredible joy,” she said. The local church community, with VOM’s help, has helped support displaced Christians in the camp.

Kimboti was invited by the local church to meet with eight Christians who had survived similar attacks. For several days they prayed together, heard biblical teaching, shared their experiences and learned spiritually and emotionally healthy ways to cope with their fear and loss.

Kimboti was grateful for the opportunity to meet with others who understood her suffering and helped her fix her eyes on God. And she now encourages other survivors to seek the kind of care she found in the church. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I am praising the Lord.”

As persecuted Christians in the DRC continue to suffer at the hands of Islamists, we invite you to consider standing with those like Kimboti during this challenging time.

With Permission: The Voice of the Martyrs