Maria: Putting the Past Behind Print E-mail

Songs in the Mountains

Visiting friends is difficult in some parts of Colombia. Last year a group of Christians drove over rough roads until the road ended. Then they hiked up a mountain for several hours until they reached a coffee farm.

The Christians noticed a solar-powered radio hanging on a porch. A dozen farm workers had just returned from picking coffee beans. The workers listened to a Christian radio program while they ate lunch.

The farmer’s family and neighbors gathered with the visitors for worship and fellowship. After their meeting, the visitors heard someone singing. The songs sounded like the choruses broadcast on the radio, but something was different about them. Strangely, none of the people seemed to be singing.

Then one of the visitors found two parrots perched on the house singing songs they had learned from the radio. “One sang high, and the other a bit low, so it sounded like a wild gospel duo,” he said.

A Sad Choice
The parrots weren’t the only ones who had learned from the Christian broadcasts. Maria, a girl from the parrots’ village, had also listened to the programs as a child.

But then Maria made a bad choice. She rebelled against her Christian parents and joined a guerrilla group that was fighting against the government.

From time to time, other young people also join the guerrillas (a group called “FARC”). When FARC took most of the boys in one village into their ranks, some village girls became bored at home. “(They) thought that life with the guerillas would be an adventure,” said a BBC News report. But after they joined FARC, the girls found out guerrilla life was miserable, and that it was very hard to escape.

Maria's parents have prayed for her for many years, even though she rebelled against them. Maria was injured in the guerrilla fighting and can no longer do hard physical work. FARC soldiers give her easier jobs to do.

Maria cries when she remembers her family. She wishes she could see them. Sometimes it takes courage to admit to God and our families that we have made a mistake.

Please pray Maria will not lose the hope of seeing her family again. Pray FARC will release her and she will serve only Christ. Pray her family will know God’s peace when they are away from her. Pray for other youth who are tempted to rebel and do dangerous things.

Source: Colombia para Cristo
 

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