AFGHANISTAN: Martyr’s Widow Says, “I’ll See Them Again”

There had been reports of a pending terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, when Hannelie Groenewald went in work as a medical doctor on November 29, 2014. Hannelie didn’t know that the Taliban attack would target her own home and family. When she arrived home that evening, a sea of police and military personnel were all around the smoking ruins of her house. Reporters were already there, asking her for comment. She still didn’t know what had happened; that her husband, Werner, and two teen aged children, Jean-Pierre and Rode, had been killed in a Taliban attack on their home. She was taken to a neighbor’s house, where she read, over and over, Psalm 91, praying through its promises of help and divine covering. God’s overwhelming peace washed over her. As a mother, she wished to have been with her children, to comfort them during the attack. But Hannelie is reminded that God is sovereign. Listen as she shares how God carried her through the days following the attack, and how Afghan people were impacted by her peace and spirit of forgiveness. Hannelie also tells of God’s blessings to her even as flames engulfed her home. Pray for new believers in Afghanistan, that God would use the martyrs blood that has flowed there to bring forth a spiritual harvest, and that God’s church will be built up, even after the Taliban takeover of that nation in 2021. Listen and watch Hannelie’s story on the new VOM App, and find her new book, Tragedy in Kabul: Fulfilling a Life Purpose for God’s Glory (affiliate link) to learn more about how God remained faithful and encouraged her as she continued to serve Him. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.