Most of the Chibok girls released in May were prayed for by Church of the Brethren congregations

Artwork by Bryan Meyer.

Sixty of the Chibok girls who were released in a prisoner swap in early May were among those who have been held in prayer by Church of the Brethren congregations since 2014. Each of those congregations has received a letter from the Church of the Brethren.

Continued prayer is requested for the approximately 106 Chibok girls who remain in captivity, and for the hundreds of other children and adults who have been abducted by Boko Haram over recent years.

The 82 girls released last month were among the more than 270 abducted from a school in Chibok, Nigeria, on April 14, 2014. The majority were from families who attend congregations of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), although Muslim as well as Christian girls were kidnapped. When EYN asked for prayer and fasting, a letter was sent to the Church of the Brethren congregations in the US and Puerto Rico assigning a girl’s name to each church for prayer.

A few girls escaped almost immediately, and within the first two weeks 57 had escaped. In 2016, another escaped, one was killed by her captors, one was rescued by the Nigerian military, and the Nigerian government negotiated the release of 21 with help from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government.

Here is a listing of the girls released in May who had been assigned to congregations for prayer (listing provided by the Global Mission and Service staff):

Awa Abge — Community, Guernsey, Spring Branch, Carson Valley, Waynesboro, Roanoke Oak Grove

Naomi Adamu — Goshen City, Living Peace, Shanks, Maple Grove, Lebanon

**Christiana Ali may be Christy Yahi who was prayed for by Koinonia, N. Winona, Akron Springfield, Hatfield, Johnson City, Oakton

Ruth Amos — Pleasant Chapel, Stone Bridge, Portland Peace, Pottstown, Mount Airy First, Crummet Run

Saratu Ayuba — Yellow Creek, Onekama, Chambersburg, Salisbury, Walker’s Chapel

Na’omi Bitrus — Peace, Canton, Bear Creek, Brownsville, Eaton, Mount Pleasant, Lirio de los Valles, Smithfield, Crab Run, Danville Emmanuel, Brookside, New Hope

Rahila Bitrus — South Ferncreek, Quinter, Zion Hill, Johnstown Westmont, Blue Ridge, Salkum

Abigail Bukar — Bremen, Sanford, Weston, Harmonyville, Hopewell, South Mill Creek

Yana Bukar — Columbia City, Lost and Found, Ambler, E. Cocalico, Trinity

Maryamu Bulama — Walnut, Downsville, Living Stream, Schuylkill Big Dam, Dranesville, Onego

Muwa Daniel — Living Faith, Skyridge, Nuevo Amanecer, Amaranth, Mtn. View McGaheysville

Filo Dauda — Rock Community, Edgewood, Woodworth, Buffalo Valley, Columbia Furnace, Fellowship

Mary Dauda — Bakersfield, Union Center, Concord Living Faith, Elizabethtown, Scalp Level, Henry Fork

Aisha Ezekial — Church of the Living Savior, Peru, Mt. Carmel, Fairchance, La Casa del Amigo, Pine Ridge

**Liatu Habila may be Liyatu Habitu who was prayed for by Hurricane Creek, Glade Valley, White Cottage, Green Tree, Mt. Pleasant, Capon Chapel

Lydia Habila — Community, University Park, Cedar Grove, Diehl’s Crossroads, Trinity, Goshen

Febi Haruna — Franklin Grove, Sam’s Creek, Potsdam, Free Spring, Palmyra Fellowship, Mathias

**Tobita Hellapa may be Tabitha Hyelampa who was prayed for by Santa Ana Principe de Paz, W. Eel River, Tokahookaadi, Greencastle, Travelers Rest, Mt. Olivet

Ladi Ibrahim — Anderson, Meadow Branch, Pleasant Plains, Germantown, Pine Grove, Bean Settlement

Hanatu Ishaku – Glendale, Bethany, Eden, W. Green Tree, Woodbury, Oak Grove S.

Ruth Ishaku — Freeport, Bethesda, Living Peace, Bear Run, Wakemans Grove, Mt. View

Hauwa Ishaya — Little Pine, Zion, Center, Raven Run, Emmanuel

Rebeca Joseph — Romine, Union Bridge, Mohican, Newville, Harrisonburg First, Rough Run

Esther Joshua — Decatur, Locust Grove, Silver Creek, Mechanicsburg, Mount Bethel, Oakvale

**Yagana Joshua may be Yana Joshua  who was prayed for by Ankeny, Rock House, Defiance, Alpha and Omega, Summit, Pine Grove-Pocahontas

Ruth Kollo — Live Oak, Pine Creek, New Haven, Renacer-Ephrata, New Fairview, Masons Cove

**Kawa Luka may be Kauna Luka who was prayed for by Lower Deer Creek, Shalom Ann Arbor, Altoona First, Mechanic Grove, Mt. Zion Linville

Na’omi Luka — Fredericksburg Hillcrest, Manor, Oakland, Mount Zion Rd., Jeters Chapel, Bowden Family Worship Center

Laraba Maman — Venice, Topeka, Mack Memorial, Center Hill, Bethlehem, Ellisforde

Asabe Manu — New Hope, Buck Creek, Big Sky, Bermudian, Fairview, Roanoke Summerdean

Hauwa Musa — Polo, Thurmont, W. Alexandria, Dunnings Creek, Nineveh, Bethel

Maryamu Musa — Panther Creek, Beaver Dam, Prices Creek, Heidelberg, Smith Mtn. Lake, Brake

Palmata Musa — Neighborhood, Ridgely, Good Shepherd, Pleasant Ridge, Hollywood, Walnut Grove

Lugwa Mutah — Camp Creek, Woodgrove Brethren Christian Parish, Little Swatara, Robinson, Hiner

Hauwa Nkeki — Indianapolis Northview, Root River, Montgomery, Sugar Run, Mill Creek

Racheal Nkeki — Girard, Fairview, Ross, Mohrsville, Ewing, New Dale

Grace Paul — Oak Grove, Danville, Sugarcreek East, Nanty Glo, Red Oak Grove, Shiloh

Jummai Paul — Jacksonville, Osage, Bristolville, Huntingdon Stone, Arlington, Woodbridge

Deborah Peter — Miami First, Parsons, Happy Corner, Johnstown Roxbury, Good Shepherd Blacksburg, Richland Valley

Rhoda Peter — Community Waterford, New Life, Huntsdale, Providence, Pleasant View

Naomi Philimon — Virden, Westernport, Big Creek, Palmyra, Fairview Mt. Clinton, Harpers Chapel

Tabitha Pogu — La Verne, New Paris, Brummetts Creek, Ephrata, Wyomissing, Cedar Grove Ruckersville

Luggwa Samuel — Panora, Baltimore Dundalk, Reading, Parkview, Koinonia Fellowship, Shady Grove

Yanke Shittima — Eglise des Freres Haitiens, Newton, Lick Creek, Indiana, Mt. Lebanon, Meadow Mills

Tabitha Silas — Ivester, Fairview, Greenville, Conestoga, Buena Vista Stone, Cedar Grove Brandywine

Kwanta Simon — Paradise, Blissville, Mill Creek, Maple Glen, Sierra Bayamon, Barren Ridge

Rifkatu Soloman — La Place, Gortner Union, Lake Breeze, Monroeville, Ferrum, Brick

Hana Stephen — Pomona Fellowship, Portland, Enders, Rayman, Rio Prieto, Arbor Hill

Solomi Titus — Living Light of Peace, Wabash, Light of the Gospel, Harrisburg First, Hawthorne, New Bethel

Esther Usman — Los Angeles, Central Evangelical, Manchester, Peak Creek, Erie Community United, York Second, Selma

Maimuna Usman — Rockford, Pipe Creek, W. Milton, Mt. Olivet, Garbers, Petersburg Memorial

Maryamu Wavi — Bowmont, Trinity, Bethel, Clover Creek, Daleville, Smith Creek

Mairama Yahaya — Cherry Grove, Laurel Glen, Sidney Trinity, Florin, Pleasant Dale, Harness Run

Na’omi Yahonna — Bethel, Poplar Grove, Haitian First New York, Indian Creek, Mtn. Valley, Round Hill

Hadiza Yakubu — Pyrmont, Florence, Bedford, Richland, Manassas

Juliana Yakubu — Bradenton Good Shepherd, Lenexa Fellowship, Bellefontaine, Sugar Grove, French Broad, Parkway

Maryamu Yakubu — Fruitland, Hagerstown, New Carlisle, Beech Run, Forest Chapel, Friends Run

Mary Yakubu — Elkhart Valley, Hope, Brothersvalley, Roaring Spring First, Valley Pike

Margret Yama — Fort Wayne Agape, New Haven, Burnham, Middlecreek, Moneta Lake Side

Saraya Yanga — Burnettsville, Adrian, Altoona Juniata, Quakertown First, Bethel Keezletown, Wiley Ford

Naomi Zakaria — Bethany, Community, Maple Grove, Way of Hope, Limestone, Waynesboro

*This number has differed in various media reports. The number of names in the list shared for prayer with the Church of the Brethren did not include the 57 who escaped in the first two weeks after the abduction.

**These names differ slightly from the names in the original list shared for prayer.

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