'I would like to honor the people we lost'

“Listen! Thousands of Christians are being killed across Africa. We are talking about it. Will you?”

As he speaks, Pastor Michée holds out a cherished photo. It’s one of only two pictures he has to remind him of his father. Michée is passionate for his father’s story to be heard, for the world to wake up to what is happening to Christians in Burkina Faso, and to speak up against the violence against Christians across sub-Saharan Africa.

‘The village was attacked’

“I will never forget that phone call. It changed my life.”

Pastor Michée shakes his head as he remembers that night. “I was in bed when I received a message from a friend. ‘The village was attacked today,’ he said.

“I was devastated. I tried to ring my father's number, but it was not going through. So I called my younger sister and she picked up.

“‘We are in the bush,’ she cried. ‘We don't even know where to go.’

“Then she told me that my father was handcuffed in front of her and she was not sure if he would survive. Tears came to my eyes and my heart was deeply in pain. I didn't know what to say.”

‘We were proud to worship God’

The attack on Pastor Michée’s village was particularly devastating because until then, the community members lived in harmony with those around them.

“Before the attack, the village was comparable to a small paradise for us,” Michée remembers. “There was joy and a peaceful atmosphere.

“The church, which had started with only one person, had expanded. At the time of the attack the church had almost 600 members including children, so almost all the people in the village were Christians. We were proud to worship God.

“There was an ethnic group called Fulani living with us. We were living together as if we were the same family, and we used to drink tea and play football together.”

But the “small paradise” wouldn’t last.

“At a certain point Fulani strangers began coming to the village armed,” Michée says. “These extremist Fulani (militants) would gather people together and tell them they had a message for them. Step by step, we noticed that the indigenous Fulani with whom we were living also started bearing weapons—but they hid them. That was the beginning of the tensions because the trust that had been built was getting broken, bit by bit.”

‘I recognized my father by his shoes’

“On the day of the attack, these [extremist Fulani militants] first sent some spies to the village to check the positions of the villagers,” Michée says. “Then they called the terrorists, and in a blink of an eye more than 100 terrorists entered the village. Their plan was to catch the people and kill all the men living in the village. When they entered the village, if they caught you, they handcuffed your hands behind you.

“There was another group in charge of chasing the animals, and a third in charge of setting houses on fire.”

Immediately, people began to scatter. “Some people were lucky enough to escape,” Michée says. “But the people who were handcuffed were brought to the church and their eyes were covered. They took them inside the church and they were all shot dead.

“Thirty-one people were killed that day. Twenty-five were killed at the church, including my father and my brothers. Four others were killed elsewhere. The women and children were all dispersed in the bush.”

Pastor Michée tried to go to the village the next morning, but the military refused to let anyone in. A friend in the military called him to say, “your father was a victim.” He sent Michée a photo.

“I recognized my father because he had recently bought some shoes and he had them on,” says Michée. “I was also able to identify him through his clothes.”

‘It was not only the men who were victims’

But there were more than 31 victims that day.

“It was not only the men who were victims,” explains Michée. “It was the women too, because the men who gave them hope and cared for their needs were now gone.

“The objective was to destroy the future of the village. They destroyed all our houses. Everything was burnt. Our possessions and animals were stolen. We had nothing left.”

And according to Michée, the destruction was not just physical.

“The plan was to sabotage the worship of God, to discourage the Christians in their belief,” he says. “The village had a very strong church. The village was blessed and that created jealousy in the enemy and led them to destroy the worship of God in our village.”

‘I re-found hope in God’

In the days after the attack, Michée began to process the full horror of what had happened. But it was the death of his father Filibert that haunted him the most.

“I was trying to imagine how my father died. What was his last prayer for us before dying? I was asking myself, ‘Why was I unable to go and save the lives of my parents?’

“This had a very negative impact on my faith. I was wondering, ‘Why has God allowed this to happen? Why didn't he save my father, my brothers and my uncles?’”

Soon, all he could think about was revenge.

“I wanted to get enrolled as a Volunteer for the Defense of the Country to defend myself and take revenge for my people,” Michée notes. “I told myself, ‘God did not defend us. Otherwise, my father would not have died.’ For me that was evidence that God had let us down.

“Prayer was no longer meaningful to me. But as a pastor, I was compelled to do it. I was just uttering words, but deep down, I was doubting. I had a lot of bitterness in my heart.”

His heart was hurting and God seemed silent. How could he go on?

When Open Doors partners heard about the attack on Pastor Michée’s village, they came alongside the surviving villagers, offering relief aid and trauma care for the people bearing emotional scars from the attack. Michée was invited to join trauma training.

“The trauma care training changed my life,” he says. “One thing that helped me was the sharing of personal stories. That really relieved me. I had the opportunity to cry when I was relating my testimony, and I felt that I got free from the bitterness within me.

“An untreated trauma is contagious. The trauma I was going through almost destroyed my faith in God, my ministry, even my relationship with my family. But after the training, my relationship with God was revived. I thought that He let me down, but thanks to the training, I realized there is much more love that God still has for me. I re-found hope in God.”

The attack on his village had nearly cost Michée everything he held dear. But God was not silent after all—the trauma care showed Michée that Jesus was alongside him every step of the way, grieving with him and holding him close.

“I was very angry against God, against myself and all the people close to me. But my anger was gone,” says Michée. “I lacked forgiveness, I had revenge in mind. All that was gone. I had fear, and anytime I would hear a gunshot, I was stressed. Thanks to the training, all of that has changed. I have been renewed.”

The healing of hearts and souls

After receiving trauma training, Pastor Michée noticed that many people in his community also needed help.

“There are a great number of people who are going through trauma but they are ignorant about it,” he explains. “These symptoms still have repercussions in their lives. Many have stopped going to church. I felt they are in dire need of this training that I received.”

Pastor Michée is now providing trauma care for 16 people in his village, including several widows. “Many of them were not expecting this miracle that awaited them,” he says. “Some came thinking they would get material help. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, many discovered they were in need of something more precious than material things—the healing of their hearts and souls.

“I saw that the hearts of many have been healed. And I think that the healing process is still ongoing and will completely do away with their trauma.”

‘There are still threats’

Although much of the surviving community has now returned to rebuild their homes and lives, they remain at risk. “Today we still have the feeling that we are not totally secure, because there are still threats,” Michée shares. “At times these people (terrorists) pass by, sometimes even close to the village.”

But despite these fears, their faith remains. “My hope is that many people will still hold on strong in their faith.

“Going through hard times does not mean God has forsaken us,” Michée continues. “God is faithful. And His Word tells us that, whatever situation we are going through, God is with us. So in times of despair, suffering and hardship, God is by our side. God still loves us. Jesus said, because He suffered, we also are going to suffer. And all the sufferings we are facing today were foreseen in the Word of God.”

‘We must honor them’

There is something else that spurs Pastor Michée on in his ministry: the memory of his father, brothers, and the other members of his community who lost their lives that day. That precious photo he showed is a physical reminder of what was taken—and what needs to be commemorated.

“I would like us to honor the people we lost in the attack—our fathers, mothers, brothers and children,” Pastor Michée says. “As Christians, we believe in everlasting life. They are dead but, like Jesus, they will rise. They died in Jesus’ mighty name and they will be rewarded as they deserve. And for that, we must honor them.

“Their death can be compared to the harvesting of crops. If you harvest, you collect the corn and the stems are left to become fertilizers. The death of a Christian is similar. You die, but your blood and body become fertilizers for those who are alive, because it will reinforce and multiply our faith. They are not dead for nothing.

“We thank God for what he has done. He took our people and brought them to His side in heaven. Our people died as strong believers, and we are asking God to help us have the same faith, worshipping Jesus. And when we die, may He grant us everlasting life.

“In spite of what happened to me and my people, I will hope for the grace of God. I am praying for my people to be delivered, consoled and restored.”

Pray for Pastor Michée and his community

“Your prayers are highly important to us,” says Pastor Michée. “It will encourage us to keep on being hopeful and continue our journey with God. I would like you to pray:

1. For a good understanding within my family. Pray for us to keep faith in God.
2. For me to always be devoted in my ministry until the end.
3. For my community, for the widows and children, that God keeps their faith alive, because they don't have anyone to rely on apart from God.
4. For the church to go on preaching the word of God, and for the church to support its members so that their faith is accomplished according to the will of God.