“God is everything to me. He is the one that opens doors in my life where there seem to be no doors.”
Ativi is a young woman living in Nigeria, seeking to follow Jesus, no matter the cost.
Image: Ativi, Nigeria.
“I used to go to church, and I was in the girls’ brigade and ladies fellowship,” she said. “In the evening, we would sit down and chat without fear of the unknown.”
A Life Of Uncertainty
When Boko Haram attacked her village, Ativi’s life was turned upside down. “In the late hours of the morning we began to hear gunshots,” she described. “I was at the farm harvesting groundnuts with my mother. I ran home, took our belongings and fled. The sound of the guns made me so scared. I ran to Cameroon and found a place we could stay with the help of a friend. My mother joined us there later.
Image: Ativi in her village in Northeastern Nigeria.
“When we were told that peace had returned to our village, we came back home. Everything was calm when we returned, but people lived in poverty. We were traumatized, seeing our church burnt down. Whenever I entered the church, I felt heavy-hearted because I knew my church wasn’t the same anymore. The relationship between people was no longer the same; everybody kept to themselves for quite some time.”
A Chance To Rebuild
“After the attack, I didn’t understand myself anymore. I was living a reckless life. That was until I came for this livelihood training. Then things became better. I used to be very hot-tempered. When anyone hurt me, I didn’t forgive easily. But we were taught that we should be people who forgive.
Image: Ativi using her sewing machine.
“I learnt how to sew very well. Previously it was very difficult for me. I didn’t even know how to cut fabric. Anytime I was told to cut fabric, I would get scared, but my teacher taught me how to do it. This has now become my pride. Now if people bring their fabrics, I sew it for them with full confidence.
“Our teacher taught us how to relate with people. I also learnt how to be patient with customers who bring their fabrics to me. We shouldn’t waste the fabric, and we should sew it on time. If they come and we are not done sewing, we give them a seat and finish up the work quickly.
“Every morning, we have devotions. The Word of God is my foundation for everything. He made me, and he knows everything in my life. He is the one that opens doors in my life where there seems to be no doors.”
Through your support, Open Doors provides livelihood training to persecuted Christians like Ativi, giving them an opportunity to remain and share the gospel in communities where persecution and hardship threaten the church.