Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: September 2, 2023
When David stepped up to confront Goliath, Saul said he was too young for the fight. Yet David trusted in the Lord’s strength:
‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’
Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.’ (1 Samuel 17:37)
David called to mind the times when God delivered him from danger in the past, and he trusted that God would be faithful once again.
Similarly, as we press on in prayer for the return of the Du Merci children in Nigeria, we remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness in the case so far. Professor Solomon Tarfa, who co-founded the Du Merci centres with his wife, Mercy, was finally released from prison earlier this year, having been acquitted of unfounded forgery charges.
All 16 children should have been returned to the Tarfas’ care as soon as the professor was acquitted of false child abduction charges in 2021, yet they are still in government orphanages. They are traumatised by the lengthy separation, and several have experienced emotional and physical abuse.
The legal battle continues
In our prayer update on 29 July, we explained that the initial hearing of the legal case for the return of the children had been delayed and would be transferred to a vacation judge.
On 24 August, the prosecution began their submission by claiming that the Tarfas ran a ‘baby-making factory’ – an absurd claim which had previously been dismissed in court. The judge adjourned the court until 20 September, asking the Tarfas to bring evidence that these claims had already been proven false in court.
Please pray:
- That the court will resume on 20 September without any further delays or injustice.
- That the judge would listen to the evidence fairly.
- For the children’s long-overdue reunion with Professor Solomon and Mercy Tarfa – the only parents most of them have ever known.
- For God to restore all that has been lost to them, for compensation and for reparations.