10%

"We are displaced, but Jesus is not!"

Three attacks and a dangerous escape - the story of Pastor Soré in Burkina Faso.

By Open Doors

September 1^st, 2024

Open Doors met with Pastor Soré* recently. It was the beginning of the hot season, when the Burkinabé—which is what the people of Burkina Faso are called—hold their breath for the country’s hottest and dryest months still to come.

Despite the tough conditions, there was much activity around the straw shelters where his family sleeps. The youngest children played; mama Awa, Soré’s mother, busied herself preparing beans to sell to earn some money; Teresa, Soré’s wife, prepared food; and the teenage girls went to fetch water.

Whenever you meet Pastor Soré and his family, there’s a contagious joy that emanates, and it’s a bright light amidst the worsening situation in Burkina Faso. It seems like a miracle. And it’s even more miraculous when you consider how they came to live in this part of Burkina Faso.

Pastor Soré and family outside their temporary shelter.

Teresa, Soré’s wife, preparing food.

Going to fetch fresh water.

Soré’s mother, preparing beans to sell at market.

Wentoin, carrying Esther, Pastor Soré's daughter.

Three attacks and a dangerous escape

“We heard about the terrorist attacks, which were getting closer to our area, and one night they came to us,” Pastor Soré says. “When they arrived, they started firing warning shots and men started fleeing away immediately.

“Men are terrorists’ primary targets,” he explains. “Because we know this, as soon as the terrorists entered the village, all the men began running away.”

Angry at not finding men, [the radicals] forced all the women to give them their husbands’ money. They took people’s money and all the goods they could carry, then left.”

Pastor Soré’s church was spared, and no one lost their lives.

Pastor Soré pictured beside his temporary shelter.

The second attack came at night.

“As soon as the news spread that they were around, again the men started to flee. When the terrorists didn’t find men, they forced all the women into their rooms and raped them,” Soré painfully remembers.

The community was attacked a third time. In early 2023 the extremists burned everything they could, forcing everyone in the village to run for their lives.

“After the third attack, we were compelled to leave the village,” he says.

And with that, Pastor Soré and his family became another statistic—in Burkina Faso, terrorist attacks have internally displaced more than 2 million people. Various jihadist groups drive the violent insurgency that has left many followers of Jesus fleeing their homes in the north of the country. Christians are often their preferred target.

“We assume they are Muslim [extremists],” Pastor Soré explains. “They always start and end their actions with ‘Allahu Akbar.’”

A new home but a harder life

Life changed in an instant for Pastor Soré. In his home village he had a thriving church, and his family had a comfortable home they loved. Water was easy to access, and they were able to farm so everyone had enough to eat. The children were in school.

But now, life has been upended. The place where they first arrived was already overcrowded with displaced people seeking refuge. So Pastor Soré decided to take his family closer to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. “It took us four days to reach this place,” he says. At the time, Teresa was pregnant with their youngest daughter, Esther. Their son Wenkun was four.

Just outside Ouagadougou the family met a pastor who offered them some land after hearing their story. There was no infrastructure or house, but it was at least a base, a safer place to rest and regroup.

By now, pastor Sore’s family had grown to include others who had fled the attack on their village. Soré and Teresa now look after 15 others – including young children and older teenagers who have either been orphaned or given to them to care for.

“One of our first issues was getting water,” he says. “We started looking for a water source and found it about 2km away.”

Next was the challenge of making a structure to live in. “When we arrived in this empty land, we stayed in the open space for two days. Then we went to the bush to cut stakes and used tarpaulins and fences to make the first shelter.” Since then, the family has extended the initial shelter, adding more tarps and materials to expand the covering.

In the dry season, the heat is too extreme to live under the tarpaulin. And when it’s cool, the tarps and ground both get cold, and sleeping becomes difficult. When it rains, the ground stays wet and attracts mosquitos. It’s a difficult way of life.

“We are sad to be in such a condition, not knowing how to get out of it, and we have been trusting God for change,” Pastor Soré says.

“Since it is in the bush, another issue is that, in the night, snakes come when they see our lights. Every night I had to be watchful, killing the snakes, while my family members were sleeping.”

Teresa has to cook for the entire group in an open area, unprotected from the wind, dust and heat. When it rains, it means they cannot make a fire to cook on.

"We are displaced, but Jesus is not!"

"We are displaced, but Jesus is not!"

"We are displaced, but Jesus is not!"

Among all this pain and uncertainty, Pastor Soré’s faith in God remains. He continually gives glory to God for the limited resources the family has—and offers gratitude for the blessings he sees. “God has given us strength to live without murmuring and complaining,” he says.

Walking alongside the suffering

Thanks to the gifts and prayers of Open Doors supporters, and through our local partners in the region, a vital lifeline has been extended to Pastor Soré and his family, helping them know they aren’t alone—or forgotten.

“While I was experiencing these hardships, I was asked one day to come and testify about our situation,” Pastor Soré says. “The ministry first helped me with prayer that really comforted me,” he continues. In addition to the prayer support, the ministry helped me with seeds and fertilizers. It helped me to grow crops and feed my family members. They also helped us with food, including rice and oil. We wholeheartedly praise God for such blessings and thank the ministry.”

Open Doors partners have been able to help displaced people like Pastor Soré in Burkina Faso—and in other countries across sub-Saharan Africa where Christians are pushed out of their homes because of their faith. Right now, 16.2 million followers of Jesus have been forcibly displaced, many of them by targeted persecution. The needs are massive, and your gifts and prayers are so important to start healing the wounds of displacement.

Pastor Soré pictured with corn, grown to help feed his family.

Open Doors partners in Burkina Faso have been able to walk alongside Pastor Soré and his family as they try to survive and live for Jesus.

“What helps me keep my faith is the truth that I may suffer physically, but my spirit who is in Christ is not affected by physical suffering,” Pastor Soré says. “The Almighty God is with me. He was with me in good times, and He is still with me in these hardships.”

“I do believe that we are displaced, but Jesus is not and will never be displaced from our lives. He is always with us. This truth strengthens my faith and helps me in this difficult time, and I’m glad with God.”

The hope for new fruit

Despite the reality of their situation, Pastor Soré still looks forward to continuing his ministry “My plan is to get my own place for the ministry, and I have been asking God for it,” Pastor Soré says. “God’s plan for me is not to pastor only my family members. I need a place where I can build a bigger church and continue the ministry as I have been doing.”

Portrait of Pastor Soré.

“The call for evangelism is still in my heart, and I’m unhappy I cannot do it here,” he continues. “I really ask God to open doors for me to continue evangelism and for souls to be saved.”

“The Bible says that the righteous are blessed, but they may also go through difficult times,” Pastor Soré explains. “While we are still on the earth, we may experience both realities. When I look in the Bible, I see that all warriors encountered difficulties in their lives, even though the difficulties may look different. It’s my turn today, and an important truth about suffering is that suffering is never eternal, but Jesus is eternal. I’m convinced that one day, Christ will put this suffering to an end, and it will go as it came.”

Ongoing faith

Much of the corn that was farmed last year has been eaten. Now only a single bag remains and will have to be stretched to feed the many mouths of Pastor Soré’s family. The lack of food is a constant concern—but the assurance of God’s faithfulness is equally as constant.

“The corn is running short, but I know that we will never lack food,” Pastor Soré shares. “Since Christ is with us, by the time it finishes, He will give us food again. I never worry about food. My life is more important than food, and as long as I’m alive, I will not lack food. I may not have money to buy food, but I have faith that Jesus who is faithful can use other people to give us food.”

Speaking with Pastor Soré can be constantly surprising, and challenging—the suffering experienced by him and his family are constantly in focus. His shelter is basic, the food and water are scarce, the pain of being forced from their homes by extremists lies just under the surface. Yet, the depth of pain is not what you are left with.

Pastor Sore, with his son Wenkun, wife Teresa and daughter Esther.

Instead, it’s the miraculous hope of Christ—and the reminder that the same Jesus who gives that hope is the one who will sustain the church in Burkina Faso for generations to come. “This joy and peace comes from the Lord who made us look glad and confident,” Pastor Soré says.

“My family members have already experienced God’s hand in the past, and they know the same God is still with us. They don’t look unto me but unto God, and God has really given them the ability to live victoriously in these problems. My family members are neither moved by suffering nor abundance. Only Jesus is [their] focus. When you ask the smallest one to pray or preach, they can do it. Making them to grow in the image of Christ is my work.”

Prayer points

Here’s how you can pray with Pastor Soré and his family:

“Christians all over the world, please I would like to ask you to pray. First, for all Christians in Burkina Faso, notably those who are displaced and living with me, to stay firm in their faith.”

“Second, pray for me to keep a strong faith and succeed in the work God has called me to do.”

“Also pray for me to get land where my family can stay and follow Christ all the remaining days of our life.”

“I ask you to pray for us to get our own water source and get enough clean water for our family.”

"We are displaced, but Jesus is not!"

Footnotes

*Pseudonyms used to help protect identities.

FootNotes

*Pseudonyms used to help protect identities.

© 2026 Open Doors

Story Told With

Start publishing stories like this

Loading, please hold on.