E-Newsletter

A Father

A Daughter

A Mission

The evening of December 22, 2011, three men knocked on the door of Pastor Peter, a Christian pastor living in Nigeria.  He was home with his son, Caleb, and his daughter, Deborah.  The men at the door, who were from the terrorist group Boko Haram (which figuratively means “Western education is a sin”), told the pastor he should deny his Christian faith.  

According to Deborah Peter, “My dad told them that he would not deny his faith.  They said that if he did not deny his faith they were going to kill him.  My dad refused, saying that Jesus said whoever acknowledges Him in front of man, He will acknowledge in front of God; and whoever denies Him in front of man, He will deny in front of God in heaven.”

They shot her father three times, and proceeded to murder her brother as well.  The men put Deborah in the middle of their bodies, ordered her to stay quiet, and left her there, where she remained until the army came the next day.

Each week, I have the opportunity to meet with or hear from a number of organizations or people from in and around the Ninth District of Virginia.  Many of these people wish to discuss their concerns about important domestic issues such as health care, energy policy, and more.

However, last week I was able to meet with Deborah Peter, the 15-year-old whose recent testimony to members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was summarized above.  It truly was an honor to meet such a brave young girl and to hear her powerful story.

Reports indicate that Deborah is originally from Chibok, Nigeria – the same town in which Boko Haram abducted nearly 300 schoolgirls more than a month ago.

“I decided to tell the world my story when the Chibok girls were taken because everyone needs to know how horrible Boko Haram is,” Deborah wrote in her testimony.  “They kill innocent people who never hurt them.  I want the world to understand what happened to me.  I hope that the kidnapped Chibok girls will take courage from my story, and know more of what God says, and know what it means to stand strong in the face of bad people.  I hope that they will be free and be able to go to school and worship freely.  I hope that like me, some of them can come and continue their education in America.”

The Jubilee Campaign – a nonprofit that seeks to promote human rights and religious liberty – worked hard get Deborah into a safe environment after the attack on her household.  She acquired a visa from the U.S. embassy, and attended a 9/11 camp for child survivors of terrorism.

While important, you might be asking how this all connects with the Ninth District of Virginia.  Well, the Jubilee Campaign was able to find a home for Deborah at the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia.

Mountain Mission School focuses on local and regional kids first and foremost, having served more than 20,000 kids from most of our nation’s states since 1921.  But the school has also helped to provide a safe, loving environment for children from more than 60 countries.  I have visited the school on several occasions, and it is a great organization.

A father's mission to show strength in adversity and keep the faith; a daughter's mission to spread the word of the religious intolerance of the Boko Haram; and a mission in the mountains to help children.  Amongst evil, good always stands out.

For more on Mountain Mission School, visit www.mmsKids.org, and for additional information on the Jubilee Campaign, visit www.jubileecampaign.org.

As always, if you have concerns or comments or wish to inquire about legislative issues, feel free to contact my offices.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671.  To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.

###