This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 18 May 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
OXFORDSHIRE-based charity Open Doors UK & Ireland recently took a team from the UK to Nigeria to offer support and encouragement to persecuted Christians.
President of Open Doors UK & Ireland Eddie Lyle gives out Bibles to children in a camp for displaced people.
Nigeria is number 12 on the Open Doors 2016 World Watch List, the ranking of the countries where persecution against Christians is the worst.
Open Doors researchers estimate that over 4,000 Christians were killed for their faith in Nigeria in 2015 alone; they are frequently the target of Islamic extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, and face discrimination in the 12 northern states that have adopted Islamic law. The team from the UK, made up of UK church leaders and Open Doors staff, including the President of Open Doors UK & Ireland Eddie Lyle, were able to distribute vital aid such as food and financial support to Nigerian Christians and church leaders, as well as providing spiritual support such as Bibles and Christian books.
The team also spent time with persecuted believers, hearing their stories, praying with them and offering them encouragement. On one of their visits, the group went to a refugee camp where around 7,500 internally displaced people were staying.
Most of them had been forced to flee their homes in Gwoza when it was taken over by Boko Haram militants.
"They weren't living in brilliant conditions, but their joy, their worship, was infectious," says Roger, an Open Doors staff member.
"Some of these people have been through horrendous experiences. "On another visit, Eddie was able to pray with a woman called Angela; at just 25, she was widowed when Boko Haram militants killed her husband, leaving her to care for their three children alone.
Eddie says, "These are the type of people we're supporting, praying for and advocating for. "The team also delivered messages of support written by Christians in the UK for persecuted Nigerian believers.
"You could see them reading these letters of encouragement and saying 'God has just spoken to me through this'.
Those words of encouragement meant a huge amount," Eddie says. For Roger, the highlight of the trip was visiting land which will be used by Open Doors partners to build a trauma care centre for the victims of persecution, as well as a place where church leaders can be trained in trauma care.
"To be able to stand on that ground and know that the Lord is going to do a mighty work with it, was just an amazing experience. "