Summary

SummaryIโ€™m Jeff Woodke, a missionary whose life was chained beneath the Sahara sun for six and a half years. ๐Ÿ™ In those early days, I prayed eight hours a dayโ€”then, as hope drained away, my prayers shrank to twenty minutes. I endured snake-ridden nights, shifting between camps south of Abalak and deeper into Mali. Desperate, I staged hunger and water strikesโ€”gaining a watch, a radio, even video calls with my wifeโ€”yet still felt forgotten. Then came the fruit basket from Iyad ag Ghaliโ€™s camp, a promise of release I refused to believe. ๐ŸŒพ Under a tree in front of thousands of jihadists, I met Olivier Dubois, who convinced me this wasnโ€™t fantasy but my freedom point. One truck ride without weapons later, I was stripped, clothed, flown to Niamey, and cared for by French nursesโ€”my beard cut away, but my faith stronger than ever. Now, reading Johnโ€™s Gospel and preaching forgiveness, I testify: chains of bitterness are broken when we forgive, and prayer truly works.

โ€œHope is the first thing to goโ€ Jeffery Woodke says, speaking about his six-and-a-half years as a hostage held by radical Islamist terror groups. He says he started out, after being kidnapped, praying eight hours a day. But over the years his hopelessness increased and his prayer time faded to twenty minutes daily. Suicidal, he beseeched his persecutors numerous times to take his life, knowing heaven would be much better than his existence as a hostage chained to a tree.

Despite his doubts, God was always with Jeff. He found he couldnโ€™t abandon prayer altogether.

Listen as Jeff shares more about his time as a hostage; his hunger and water strikes to get better treatment and the ongoing trauma he deals with after his experience as a captive. Heโ€™ll tell the stories he heard about the Covid pandemicโ€”and how he assumed his family must have all died and mourned their loss.

Jeff will also tell about his release, from getting a โ€œfruit basketโ€ from the leader of his terrorist captors to being taken to the largest gathering of jihadists and Mujahadin heโ€™d ever seen. It was there, under a tree, he met the French journalist Olivier Dubois. The two men were released together in March, 2023.

Jeff spent several days in medical care after his release as doctors tried to stabilize his health before he could get on a plane to return to the US. One of the first things he asked for was a Bible. โ€œItโ€™s good to have the Word of God,โ€ he says. He quickly turned to the gospel of John and began to read.

Jeffโ€™s testimony of forgiveness is powerful. After being chained physically, Jeff asks why anyone would chain themselves up willingly with unforgiveness? Forgiveness, he says, can cut those chains.

Jeffery Woodke is still learning to process his years of hostage trauma. Pray for healing as he and Els explore what this season in their life will be. Jeff was amazed and humbled how Christians around the world prayed fervently for his release. โ€œPrayer works,โ€ he says. Heโ€™ll help us continue to pray for persecuted Christians still held hostage in West Africa and other parts of the world.

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The Voice of the Martyrs โ€“ https://www.vom.org
Founded by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand https://www.persecution.com/founders/
VOM President Cole Richards https://www.persecution.com/bios/cole…
VOM Radio Host Todd Nettleton https://www.vomradio.net/host

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Time Chapters
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01:37 Abduction into African wilderness
03:07 Hope fades over years of captivity
04:01 Transfers between southern and northern zones
06:12 Hunger and water strikes for better treatment
11:55 Receiving fruit basket from captors
13:08 Meeting journalist Olivier Dubois
13:35 Loaded on unarmed truck toward freedom
14:27 Stripped, clothed, and flown to Niamey
15:22 Medical care and beard cut-off
21:11 Embracing forgiveness and healing
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Voice of the Martyrs USA
The Voice of the Martyrs serves persecuted Christians in the worldโ€™s most difficult and dangerous places to follow Christ. ย 
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