On 5 November 2005, Collin Lee and his wife, Hedwig, were driving along the Ugandan border in Sudan when they came upon a roadblock.
Twenty militants – members of the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – stood before them. The couple tried to reverse their car, but it was too late. The militants sprayed the vehicle with bullets, hitting Collin’s chest and neck as he sat in the passenger seat.
The gunmen approached to set the car on fire, but Hedwig, who had only sustained minor wounds, begged the men to pull Collin from the car first. They made no effort to help her as the smoke billowed and flames engulfed the jeep.
Hedwig, who was pregnant at the time, eventually managed to unclasp Collin’s seatbelt and drag him from the car. She then pulled his arm around her and stumbled along for an hour before reaching the closest village.
The couple were treated for their injuries in a hospital but, sadly, Collin died just six hours after the shooting.
Collin and Hedwig had felt a call from God to work for an organisation offering trauma counselling for war victims in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. Together they counselled the victims and shared the Good News. Through their work, hundreds have come to know Jesus.
Over a million lives in Uganda and surrounding nations have been affected by the attacks of the LRA. Children are kidnapped and used as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. A large part of the Ugandan rural population has left home and taken refuge in larger cities.
As we remember Collin today, may we also pray for other victims of violence in Uganda, Sudan and surrounding nations. Pray that survivors of persecution attacks will receive trauma counselling and will find peace and comfort in Jesus.