The worldwide prayer vigil continues for 118 students abducted from the ### Baptist High School in ###, ### on July 5. A total of 121 were taken but three have been released or escaped. The students are between the ages of ### and ###, with most under 15 years of age.
Last week, one student was released by the kidnappers on health grounds. Two more students were rescued by police on July 21 along the highway, but anxious parents still await the return of the rest of the children.
One mother, ###, told AFP "Last night, I couldn't even sleep when it was raining. I was imagining whether the rain is falling on their heads. My daughter is very sensitive to cold, and I was imagining how she is feeling right now."
###, the father of another abducted child said, "I am very worried, and sometimes I am beyond words. The government of ### promised to protect lives and properties, but they have failed us."
Many parents wait at the school, hoping and praying for word of their children. The abductors have about $### as ransom. "We parents have gathered some money, but the church is trying to raise the remainder to meet the demands of the bandits," one parent said. This latest kidnapping is yet another in northern ###, which has been the scene of a kidnapping epidemic over the last year. Many observers believe the primary motivation of the abductions is financial and the kidnappers have been largely labeled bandits in ###.
Please join prayerful hands with these suffering parents and their captive children.
Pray for grace for both the children and their parents during this time.
Pray for speedy release and ask the Lord to guard the children against emotional and physical harm during their captivity.
Pray that sufficient pressure will be brought to bear on the government to help get the children back and to find a solution to the deepening security crisis in northern ###.
Thanks so much for praying for our ### family, God bless. From a text alert sent by ###.
