How far would you go to save the lives of those you love?
Would you protest? Would you embarrass yourself? Would you pray?
On this International Women’s day, we want to share one woman’s inspiring story that changed a nation.
Mother of eight, Leymah Gbowee, had enough of the endless civil war in her nation of Liberia. Thousands had been murdered. Boys carried machine guns. Girls were sexually assaulted.
Leymah cried out to God and He gave her a dream:
Come together.
Wear white.
Sit silently and pray.

Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Armed with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war.

The government and rebel group met for peace talks, but no one was talking peace. Everyone was enjoying their time away from the turmoil of their homeland.
Meanwhile, mass graves were being dug.
Leymah could not sit silently anymore. She rallied the women to form a human barricade to force the men to talk peace. They called the local law enforcement to have her arrested and she complied. She said to the man about to arrest her that she would make it very easy for him.
What she did next may shock the Western world, but it brought the fear of God in the African men surrounding her that day.
She started to undress.
In African culture, if a woman undresses publicly it not only brings great shame to the man, but also they say it brings a curse.
“Stop!!! We’ll talk peace.” And, they did. The rest is history as the nation of Liberia has enjoyed peace ever since Leymah led thousands of women to rise up and sit down for peace.
Through your prayers and support, you can be a part of this mission.
