Unknown Nations’ Greg Kelley connected with a partner whose daughter was among the original 315 people abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Secondary School in Niger state. She was also among the 50 students who escaped to safety over the weekend, praise God. 

But other news is surfacing that makes this kidnapping even more grim.

Fulani man in Nigeria. Courtesy of Pixabay.

“What we’re hearing now is it’s not so much about ransom. It’s purely about these people, and they’re Fulani bandits,” says Kelley. “It’s about them viewing this school as a soft target, them taking these girls, forcibly converting them to Islam, and then taking them on as their wives.” 

The abduction on Friday was Nigeria’s worst since the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of 276 Christian and Muslim schoolgirls. Dozens of those women remain missing today. 

In the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok school kidnapping, Kelley says, “I had met families who told me there were five parents — either a mother or a father — that they knew directly who died of a heart attack over the grief of it.”

Pray for God’s mercy and comfort for these families as they hope and wait. Pray for faithful endurance and miraculous deliverance of the boys, girls, and adult staff of the school. 

Gospel ministry is urgent

In the spiritual battleground of northern Nigeria, Unknown Nations’ partners continue to seek opportunities to share the good news of Christ — even today.

Nigerian children. (Photo courtesy of Victor Nnakwe/Unsplash)

“Our missionaries are working in these areas, and so it puts them in harm’s way. It puts their villages in harm’s way. A lot of times, people are scattering out of these areas. And what it does is it perpetuates the state of fear,” says Kelley. 

“There’s 100 million people who live in northern Nigeria, so it’s a massive concentration of population. Every single family now is going to be thinking twice about, ‘Do I send my child to school?’” 

Nigeria has a large Christian population in the south, but little momentum for gospel mission, says Kelley. 

“We need the church in the south to come to a place of desperation and brokenness where it’s finally mobilizing itself and sending missionaries into the north,” Kelley says. “Let’s remember, they don’t need a visa, they don’t need even a passport. They just need to get in a vehicle and drive north, and they have [an] abundance of resources to do it.” 

Ask God to stir up a greater passion for the Great Commission among believers in southern Nigeria, that they may find their place in gospel ministry to the north. 

Header photo of Nigerian church courtesy of Tosin Superson via Pexels.

“When you have a program in Dari, it really turns heads,” he says, pointing out that heart languages allow for greater depth of communication than do regional languages. 

Willey says the programming is particularly important in Afghanistan, where girls are strictly banned from secondary or higher education. 

“Really the way that girls or women in the country will be able to access any education is through a madrasa, or a religious center, but of course this is not from a Christian worldview,” Willey says. 

In contrast, SAT-7’s programming is always grounded in a Biblical worldview, one that also celebrates literacy and a broader education. Beyond that, Willey says the content is culturally sensitive.

Photo is a representative stock image courtesy of ArmyAmber via Pixabay.

“SAT-7 is Christian content in the Middle East created by Middle Eastern Christians for the people of the Middle East, so the context is there, the understanding is there,” he says. 

Satellite TV remains ubiquitous in Afghanistan, allowing SAT-7 to cast a wide net in search of an audience. Even as the country makes headlines for internet restrictions, Willey says SAT-7 can work around the shutdowns.

“SAT-7 has other ways that we can deliver the great content, but it just may be digital content via satellite, which is virtually uncensorable,” he says. 

Please pray that this programming would serve as an open door for God’s Word to prick the hearts of women and girls across Afghanistan. Willey says it’s paramount for them to understand the Gospel. 

“But also, what Scripture has to say about their worth.” 

Would you ask the Lord to work in the hearts of Afghan women? Please pray that those viewing SAT-7’s programs would understand the value they have in the eyes of their Maker.

Featured photo courtesy of SAT-7.

David Durance, president of TeachBeyond, says those barriers begin early.

“Families are already saying to their young girls that they need to provide economically for the family. And then there’s the other side of that, which is a real social pressure to be married very young…. They’re married off at the age of 13, 14, and many by 15.”

(Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond)

Plan International’s 2025 State of the World’s Girls report shows how devastating that cycle can be. Across 15 countries, researchers spoke with 251 girls who married before age 18. Sixty-three percent were no longer in school, training, or work after marriage. More than one in three dropped out of school because of marriage — and only a few were able to continue learning afterward.

“If we were to map the two issues together – literacy issues combined with kids that don’t complete K to 12 education – then we’d see that this is actually a huge issue that needs to be addressed,” says Durance.

TeachBeyond is tackling that issue by offering girls high-quality education and free meals.

“When there is high-quality, affordable education…the equation changes for these parents,” Durance says. “It’s now saying there’s a practical invitation where my daughter might actually have an opportunity to have a different pathway forward in her life.”

(Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond via Facebook)

Educators with TeachBeyond are local believers who can serve as role models for their students. These Christian teachers point girls to Jesus, who calls them valuable, worthy, and loved.

Durance says, “We actually see this as, obviously a crisis, but a huge opportunity where – from the ground up, from the child up – we can pray for a whole society to receive the Gospel and be transformed by the power of the Gospel. “

Pray for young girls to access education, and for families to see daughters as valuable and capable. Thank the Lord for mentors inspiring girls toward Christ-centered leadership. Pray, ultimately, for Gospel transformation in communities trapped by poverty and tradition.

Learn more about TeachBeyond.

Header photo courtesy of TeachBeyond.

One woman we’ll call Isabel works with nonprofit organizations that meet humanitarian needs in Yemen. As a Christian in that field, she sees glimmers of hope.

“I think it’s easy in a place like Yemen to think of how oppressed women can be, and so it’s even more encouraging and beautiful to hear how God is working through the lives of women there.”

(Photo courtesy of Lara Jameson/Pexels)

She knows one woman who grew up deeply questioning her status. After searching earnestly for answers, she discovered Christian resources that opened her eyes to life in Christ. 

“What I love about her story is that in the end, her husband ends up meeting Jesus first and totally changing. Then she does as well shortly afterwards, and their whole family, and part of their community too,” says Isabel. 

“I love that because of her courage to question and to journey through that and share with others, she ends up not only just changing her life, but changing everyone around her’s life as well.” 

Stories of devastation in Yemen are real and sobering. But you can pray in faith for God to bring hope and salvation to women in that nation. He sees every one of them. 

“God sees the injustice, the inequality, the effects that these things have. He’s there, and He’s encouraging and speaking to even those in the lowest of these situations,” Isabel says. “That continues to be encouraging to see God’s character in that way that He has not forgotten the women. He’s not forgotten the children.”

Learn more here about the specific challenges many Christians in Yemen face.

Header photo of children in Yemen courtesy of Irwan Zahuri via Pexels.

Yet, even with access to an education, a teen Maasai girl faces another challenge: Puberty and her monthly period.

Kenya Hope serves in the Maasai community. Alexa Mueller with Kenya Hope explains, “For a Maasai girl,…she does not have access to menstrual supplies. So whenever she has her monthly bleed, very often, she’ll stay home from school and miss that time in class.”

Kenya Hope’s Girls on Mission ministry provides dignity bags to teen girls. (Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

It creates a compounding effect as a girl is absent from school each month.

Mueller says teen boys or men will sometimes buy a teen girl disposable pads, knowing how desperate she is for menstrual supplies. “The girl will receive it, use them, and be grateful for them. Then the same boy will come back and say, ‘Well, now you owe me.’ Well, the girl, if she says, ‘I can’t, I don’t have any money. I have no way to pay you back,’ they will ask for some kind of a physical favor in return.”

If a girl in Kenyan culture gets pregnant, she is automatically pulled from school. “Then you’re guaranteed that you will have FGM and child marriage and so forth.”

Menstrual supplies can be the linchpin that keeps Maasai girls in school and out of harm’s way.

Kenya Hope’s Girls on Mission ministry provides dignity bags to teen girls. (Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

That’s why Kenya Hope distributes “dignity bags” to these girls through their Girls on Mission ministry. Each dignity bag contains critical menstrual supplies that enable them to maintain their education.

“It’s amazing what a pair of underwear means to these girls – the soft cotton underwear, specifically! That is not something they have there,” says Mueller. “So these [are] coveted supplies of multiple reusable pads as well as underwear that is soft and wearable, and…laundry soap.”

Most importantly, Mueller emphasizes, “The Gospel is weaved into everything — that they have a Savior who loves them, that they are valued and precious and beautiful. [We tell them] they have a Savior who died for them and sees them. That’s life-changing!”

Pray these teen girls ultimately find true confidence in Christ.

Learn more about Kenya Hope’s ministry.

Header photo courtesy of Kenya Hope.

There is no end in sight to their suffering. According to a UN report, an estimated 6.9 million people in Sudan are at risk of gender-based violence. 

Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says their ministry is pivoting to bring the hope of Christ to these women trapped in Sudan’s humanitarian crisis.

“We’re going to, in the first quarter of this year, have a women’s only workshop that will be focusing on how Jesus dealt with women in the New Testament, how he valued them,” he says.

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

“We’re hoping to minister to women in these refugee camps, those that have been traumatized by the war, by displacement, [by] deaths in their families — even just the traveling across the country has been cruel and unusual in terms of how to get into a safe place.”

Spoken Worldwide has led these kinds of workshops in other countries. Weaver says the truths of God’s Word have profoundly affected women in cultures that tend to devalue them. 

“When you begin to show them the value of women in Scripture, they’re going, ‘Wait a minute. So I’ve been looked down upon. I haven’t had educational opportunities. And you’re saying I can be contributing to the kingdom of God? I can be valued as an individual?'” he says.

“This is such an eye-opener for these women. It breaks through some barriers to the gospel that existed in the past.” 

Praise God for bringing His hope into Sudan’s tragedy! Pray that Spoken Worldwide’s upcoming workshops will lead many women to understand there’s a God who loves them more than they can imagine. 

“I’d love for people to be praying for breakthroughs, for women to see that they are valued by God, that they are not looked down upon by God,” Weaver says. 

Header image is a screengrab from VOA’s Number of Refugees Who Fled Sudan for Chad Double in Week. This is a refugee camp in Chad.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo courtesy of Ian Kiragu/Unsplash)

Nehemiah with FMI says the statistics paint a grim picture. “According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, cases of violence against women have risen significantly in recent years with 159 reported cases of deaths, with many incidents escalating to femicide.”

Those are just the reported cases. “Activists point out that social attitudes often blame victims, further discouraging women from seeking help,” Nehemiah says. “So we see many unreported cases in society.”

FMI models a biblical approach, elevating and supporting women in Kenya. “Our partners are engaging with our sisters on the ground, and they’re involving them in the ministry.

“We are praying, and we are talking on the different projects where we can engage our sisters to start some small cottage industries where they can grow and they can make a little money.”

Nehemiah adds, “Initially, the Church was unaware or had no idea how to respond to this situation…. But now we can see that the Church is standing and now the Church leaders are raising their voice as well. They have become an echo for the victims.”

Pray for justice and for Kenyan women to know their worth in Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Ethan McArthur/Unsplash.

International (MNN) — “If God loves me, why would he make me a girl?”

This is a question Lisa Pak of Finishing the Task ministry was asked by a young woman.

Photo by Andrey K via Unsplash

“How do you answer that?” Pak asks. “For all the things that I can do… the world is unfair. It is very much still a man’s world.”

Misogyny, sexism, and abuse against women are still prevalent around the globe, and they come in a variety of forms, including:

• Sexual abuse
• Human trafficking
• Lack of female education
• Child marriage
• Female genital mutilation

“The culture has deformed and continues to oppress that identity of God, the image of God, in women—in God’s daughters,” Pak says.

When this is the daily lived experience of a young woman, it makes it hard for her to believe in an all-powerful, all-loving God who sees her.

“Culture has been telling her that she’s less than—less than the boys, less than the older women, less than the cattle depending on the culture…” Pak says. “And now somebody comes with this message that God loves you, but she’s never felt it. And so that to her just does not make sense… ‘If he didn’t have to make me a girl, then why did he?’”

It’s a question being asked by women across the globe in parts of the world where the Gospel either has not reached or hasn’t yet begun to change the culture. According to Pak, when someone faces such intense of pressure from the culture around them, it takes internal strength for them to overcome it.

Photo by Andrey K via Unsplash.

“That’s where I believe the gospel needs to take seed in a people group—especially when the culture is so overwhelming for the girls—and in her individual heart…” Pak explains. “She needs to know that God is love, because that is the only way that you can overcome all the evil voices and the lies of the enemy that tell you that you are a less-than.”

So what can be done to transform the culture and help these young women? Pak believes it starts with how we live.

“I think the first step is your mothers, your daughters, your aunties, your nieces… you start treating them with the respect that you would treat somebody who carries the image of God, as Christ-bearers.”

For those of us who are daughters of Christ, it also starts with recognizing our own dignity—“you need to know how much you are loved, because it’s out of that heart that you’re able to love others.”

Ultimately, it’s going to take God’s people living out the Great Commission and sharing the gospel, in order for God’s love to reach people like the young girl Pak spoke with.

“So many women around the world, they’re not seen. They’re just part of the background, just the white noise, just part of the din of society. That’s not where God has placed his daughters… The Lord has created them in his image, and the dignity has been robbed by the sinfulness and the brokenness of this world.”

“…But God is just, and in those small moments, we can uplift one girl’s head. We can treat them with dignity. We can give them hope, and we can demonstrate confidence as women ourselves, to step up and be humble yet bold, and have that inner fortitude.”

Learn more about the work Finishing the Task is doing here.

Header photo courtesy of Chandan Chaurasia via Unsplash. 

Later, as a young woman, Wakeela struggled to feel loved and accepted. She saw herself as worthless.

That all started to change when Wakeela began watching SAT-7’s satellite television program My Mirror. The program encourages Arab women in their God-given value and identity in Christ.

Marianne Awaraji, presenter of My Mirror. (Photo, caption courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

Joe Willey with SAT-7 says Wakeela eventually connected with their Viewer Support Team. “The program My Mirror gave her an opportunity to say, ‘I’m really struggling with this.’ But the Viewer Support Team was also able to show her that these negative beliefs that she had about herself aren’t true according to Scripture and according to how God sees her.”

Through SAT-7’s encouragement and programming that pointed her to the Bible, Wakeela came to understand her worth in the eyes of her Heavenly Father.

There are other Arab women like Wakeela in Egypt who need your prayers!

Willey asks, “Pray for young girls, young women, women who are mature – first and foremost, that they would understand how they are valued in the eyes of God. That is a bedrock principle.

“But secondly, [pray] that they would be valued by their husbands, by their families, by their siblings. Then that value, I believe, will be translated into being valued in the culture – and that is what SAT-7 is going to say. Women [and] girls are not pieces of property. They’re not to be bought or sold or treated poorly. They are a person made in the image of God.”

Click here to learn more about SAT-7’s satellite television ministry in the Middle East and North Africa!

*Name changed by SAT-7 for security.

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA.

Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach (CWO) says, “In Burkina with all that’s going on as far as different villages being attacked and things like that, it’s not safe for the kids to go to school. So we know they are closing.”

Village of Opportunity graduation in Burkina Faso 2023. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

CWO is determined to keep their Village of Opportunity open in Burkina Faso, offering vocational training to female students.

“We teach sewing, cosmetology, and we started culinary classes. Actually, [we are] in the middle of a building project to build a kitchen classroom so we can even reach more young ladies.”

All the education is in a Gospel context, helping students grow in their faith or learn about Christ.

The next school session starts in October, and CWO is raising funds to build an activity center at the Village of Opportunity.

“What that would be is a place where we can have activities for our own young ladies at the Village of Opportunity,” says Yoder. “But [we could] also rent it out, which would raise some funds in-country to help the school become a little more self-sustaining.”

Your gift to CWO goes a long way for educational ministry in Burkina Faso. Support CWO’s Burkina Faso ministry here!

Cooking school at CWO’s Village of Opportunity in Burkina Faso. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

Yoder says, “We’re just excited about what’s going on in Burkina and how God is working in spite of the issues that are going on with the government and with the insecurity there.”

Header photo of kindergarten schoolchildren in Burkina Faso, courtesy of RobertoVi/Pixabay.