Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockli arrived in Mali in 1998 as part of a missions team. Beatrice grew close to a local pastor’s family, staying in Timbuktu for several years and becoming known for distributing tracts. She was kidnapped in April 2012 during an Islamist insurgency in the country and held for 10 days before being released. She briefly returned to Switzerland but returned to Mali in 2013 against her family’s wishes and the advice of her government. She cited Galatians 2:20 to local Christian leaders as her reason for returning: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live…” She stayed until 8 June 2016, when she was taken from her home by armed men in pickup trucks. Along with other foreign hostages, Beatrice was held by fighters of the Al-Qaeda. In early October, a hostage who had been released reported that Beatrice had been executed just weeks before by members of the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslim group. “Her death, in our opinion, is that of a martyr who resisted in her Christian faith and surely refused to reject faith in Jesus,” wrote a VOM contact.
Pray that her witness for Christ might lead her executors to salvation.
Pray that those she led to Christ in Mali will remain bold in their faith.