Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9
Mary Wangechi (c. 1953)
“I could never turn my back on [Jesus]”
Mary’s decision to become a Christian greatly angered her husband and mother; she was beaten and excluded from the family. They lived in the Njumbi region of Kenya during the time of the Mau Mau rebellion and were friends of a pastor, Elijah Gachanja, and his family. Mary, a mother of three, became a Christian during a weekend retreat organised by Pastor Elijah. After this she was often beaten and finally told that she could not eat in either her husband’s or mother’s house – even though she had grown and prepared the food they ate. Mary therefore went every day to the pastor’s house for a meal.
At this time the Mau Mau strategy of making people take oaths of loyalty began. Mary was a strong witness for her faith and her family did not know what to do. Her father told her to go to her husband, her husband told her to go to her father. Mary said, “One thing I am not ever going to do is to take this oath. Jesus is my Saviour and I could never turn my back on Him.”
This declaration was reported to the Mau Mau. One night, in the darkness, tribe members strangled her to death and disposed of her body in a pit latrine. The people of her church searched for Mary for a week, not realising she was dead, until finally her body was found. Despite the opposition of Mary’s family to her Christian faith, over time several relatives, including her father and three children, became believers.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
George Matheson (1842-1906)