A Muslim woman in Mosul who was raped and tortured by ISIS militants embraced Christianity and begged Jesus for healing after witnessing the love of local missionaries.
The young woman, known only as Nofa, shared her story with Iraqi Christian workers at a camp where she, along with thousands of others displaced by ISIS, have taken refuge.
A pharmacology graduate, Nofa was dreaming of owning her own pharmacy just two years ago. However, those dreams were dashed when ISIS stormed her hometown, killing her father, an Iraqi army officer. Then, fighters entered her house and raped her for two days.
"Afterward she lived through the worst two years," the director of the indigenous ministry providing them aid told Christian Aid Mission. "She hated everything about Islam, seeing ISIS' actions as the embodiment of the history of the Muslims."
As they provided physical aid to Nofa and her mother, missionaries had the opportunity to provide spiritual aid, as well, sharing the Gospel with the traumatized family. CAM notes that officials at the Iraqi- and U.N.-run camps deny entry to aid groups as part of a tight security system, so the workers must pass the relief items and the gospel through a chain-link fence.
"Once we told her about Christ, she raised up her hands to heaven and said with tears, 'Lord, I accept you and surrender myself totally to you; please pick me up from my sufferings,'" the indigenous missionary said.
According to the missionaries, Nofa is just one of thousands of women who suffered such atrocities at the hands of ISIS militants. While sharing the message of Christ's forgiveness, missionaries have taught many abused women about the need to forgive, and that the healing process begins with forgiving those who harmed them.
Women are not ISIS' only victims: The ministry said an overwhelming amount of children continue to arrive at the camp, without any idea where their parents or siblings are. Still others have been brainwashed with ISIS' violent ideology. Over the past two years, the group has kidnapped thousands of children and taken them to various training camps across Iraq and Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group has released a number of propaganda videos showing children as young as six years old declaring their ambition to become "martyrs" for Islam and participating in violent training exercises.
A displaced child from minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to Islamic State in Sinjar town.
The Christian workers have taught these children to love others, live in peace and accept everyone, the ministry workers revealed.
In these horrific circumstances, the indigenous missionary said the Lord is clearly at work, as a number of Muslims have expressed a desire to learn more about the Gospel.
"Through the distribution of aid from behind the fence, we were recently able to talk to about 80 people about Christ," he said. "A large number of them expressed great interest and requested a Bible, but with confidentiality, because the majority are still in a state of horror from ISIS. A number of them asked the Lord into their hearts and prayed the salvation prayer, and many women sought spiritual and physical healing from Christ."
As the Iraqi army continues to recapture Mosul, the number of displaced is growing by the thousands every day, the ministry director said. He urged Christians worldwide to pray for missionaries as they continue to minister to those traumatized by the war and terror around them.
"The harvest is plentiful, and there is much work to be done," he said. "We need very much your help and your prayers."
To learn how you can help, visit the Christian Aid Mission website.
