Ernesto: suffering with Christ, bearing His cross

Ernesto’s life was changed when he was brutally attacked and tortured by religious extremists. But his story is also one of God’s power to redeem even the most broken stories. Please be aware that this story contains details of persecution that readers may find particularly distressing.

The violence that Nigerian Christians face is finally being talked about, as eyes around the world have turned to the country. But Nigeria is not an isolated case: violence is overwhelming communities across sub-Saharan Africa, and there are many stories of persecution that the world needs to hear.

One such story is that of a believer called Ernesto* from Mozambique. For most of Ernesto’s life, persecution was a distant worry. It was only when armed militants invaded his community that it took on a terrifying reality in his life, leaving scars, seen and unseen, for years to come.

“I didn’t know how to escape”

Ernesto provided for his family by selling fish. He would travel to the beach near his house, buy fish from the local fishermen and return to sell it. It was a simple, contented life. But, one day everything changed when over 100 extremists invaded his village.

“Between five and six in the afternoon, the terrorists arrived and started shooting,” Ernesto recalls. “They started to burn down the houses. I tried to run, but I kept hearing gunshots. I didn’t know how to escape.”

A crescendo of shouts and the crackle of fires began to fill Ernesto’s ears as he ran. However, he was soon caught and rounded up with other villagers who had been captured.

The militants loaded looted goods onto the backs of their captives. Ernesto couldn’t bear the weight of the bag and collapsed. “They hit me on the back with a weapon. I tried to get up while all the others were looking at me. Even if the bags were heavy, they couldn’t put them down because they were afraid.”

Unable to rise, the captors continued to hit Ernesto. Then, they ordered him to pray.

“I’m a Christian”

“They said that I had to pray in Arabic so that I could carry the luggage. I said, ‘No, I am not a Muslim. I’m a Christian.’”

His captors were immediately roused. “Do you pray to Jesus? Are you a Christian?” they demanded.

Ernesto refused to deny it and the extremists began to laugh. One then pulled out a knife and began to torture him – still he refused to deny his Saviour, the One who first suffered for him.

“They said, ‘Since you are insisting on talking about Jesus, we will show you what Jesus passed through.’”

That was when the jihadists brought out long nails and a hammer.

“I could not even defend myself”

Ernesto remembers each detail. “They looked for a large tree and cut a stake, nailed the stake to that tree so that it could serve as a cross. They leaned me against that tree and started nailing my knee into it,” he says. “Their idea was to crucify me like Jesus.”

When his captors ran out of nails, they used wires to tie his arms to the cross and set part of Ernesto’s body on fire. “I could not even defend myself,” he remembers.

That seemed like the end for Ernesto. But God had other plans. During the whole ordeal, a couple from the village were hiding nearby. When the jihadists departed, leaving Ernesto to die, the couple darted out and extinguished the fire by throwing sand on the flames. They untied Ernesto and transported him to a nearby town where they reported everything to the police.

Ernesto was taken to hospital, still alive.

“I am not alone”

Initially, Ernesto’s injuries rendered him paralysed. He spent 45 days in hospital before returning home to heal. The scars on his body were unignorable, as were the ones on his mind, and they took a long time to heal. When he looked at his reflection, he couldn’t believe that it was his face looking back at him.

However, the God of resurrection life was beginning to restore Ernesto. A local partner visited Ernesto and saw his need for help. “When I met with Ernesto, his condition was very serious. He complained a lot about pain and was also very traumatised,” the partner shares.

Open Doors covered his medical bills, supporting him during his seven-month recovery period.

“He was very discouraged,” the caregiver remembers. “His condition was debilitating, not only emotionally, but at the same time, he was deeply impacted. He did not expect that the first contact for his help would come from just one person, or from a young person similar to him. I remember him saying, ‘I am here but I am not alone; I am with God, and I am with many brothers involved in this process’.”

Ernesto himself remembers these moments of restoration with tenderness. “They helped me, they prayed for me. I’m feeling well because of the intervention of these brothers in Christ,” he says.

“I have forgiven them”

Ernesto looks back on his experience with clarity. He says, “At that time, when they told me to pray in Arabic, I knew that I could not deny who I was. If I belonged to Christ, I had to belong to Christ, no matter if they killed me.”

Despite all that he has suffered, he has known the love of God. He looks forward with faith, asking for your prayers: “I ask for prayers for my region. Churches are unsafe. Many people are displaced, without a home.”

He even looks on his persecutors with love, just as Jesus did as He hung upon the cross. “I ask God to forgive these people and for God to make them stop this,” Ernesto says. “I don’t hold any grudges against them. I’ve also forgiven them.”

*Name changed for security reasons