Colombia’s long armed conflict has brought much destruction. More than six million people have been forced to leave their homes, possessions and traditions. 69-year-old Miguel has had to leave his home several times.
Colombia is one of the five countries in the world with the highest number of forcibly displaced people.
Miguel is from the state of Bolivar, but at a young age he left his hometown to look for new job opportunities. At the age of 22, he arrived in the state of Arauca, where he began to cultivate the land to earn a living for his family. There he also met a forest worker who offered him a job.
Miguel accepted the job without hesitation. In addition to his salary, he also constantly received information about the National Liberation Army (ELN), of which his employer was a member.
The brainwashing produced results
Miguel says: “My employer began to plant thoughts in my head that it was important to fight against future suffering and to get rid of the ignorance and slavery that the ruling elite tried to humiliate the people with. Of course, you should also pick up a weapon in battle. I gradually became inspired by this idea and as such a young man I joined the revolutionary movement.”
Miguel joined the ELN forces in February 1979 and served four years in the jungle as a member of a guerilla group. However, after the birth of his first daughter, he still wanted to go back home.
“It was not easy for them to let me go, but they knew that if someone wanted to leave, he would leave. If the person who left was to their liking, he was welcome back if he wished.”
Miguel continued to work for the guerrillas in the urban area for eight years. He made the final decision to leave the group after a confrontation where he almost lost his life.
“In this situation, I realized that I could have died and my daughter would have been left without a father. I started talking to the group about my departure and after half a year I was released. However, Miguel still had to continue spreading the ELN ideology in the urban area.
Answering prayers and fulfilling a promise
Miguel’s life was peaceful until a member of another rebel group reported him and his past activities to the military. The army began to persecute him so much that he had to flee home with his family. He returned to his native Bolivar. There his daughter fell ill.
Although Miguel did not know how to pray in the midst of the pain, he prayed this way: “Lord, if You are a healing God, heal my daughter and I promise to serve You.”
When Miguel then saw how God healed his daughter, he wanted to keep his promise. “I went to a Christian church and they told me the gospel there. Surprisingly, I noticed that my mindset had changed.”
In the process, a new battle began in Miguel’s life – this time in his own home because of his wife’s opposition to religious matters.
The Lord gave and the Lord took away
“My wife left our home. I remained father and mother to our daughters to fight for them,” says Miguel. But the abandonments did not end there, because at the same time paramilitary forces took over the state of Bolivar. “They were going to kill me because I didn’t want to pay extortion money for my small piece of land. I had to leave my home quickly and I moved to Caesar, another state. I was really scared.”
Once again looking for a place to escape, Miguel miraculously managed to get in touch with his ex-wife’s family. When Miguel told them he wanted to return to Arauca, they sent him and his daughters money so they could return to their home. The return was not only physical but also spiritual.
Miguel says: “Because of the situation at home, I had distanced myself from religious matters. When I came back to Arauca, I found my current church where I could hear the gospel again. There I could pray and believe that my sins were forgiven, I was baptized there and I still belong to this church today.”
After the new persecution to evangelize
After returning home, Miguel realized that although he no longer had to run from illegal groups or the army, he was now being persecuted for his faith: “In all the villages of Arauca, members of the guerrilla organization FARC started killing pastors and persecuting congregations. They closed the churches and forbade the preaching of the gospel. They killed everyone they saw preaching in the villages.”
Miguel knows the reason for the attacks: “Because of our evangelization, people started to leave the ranks of the organization and accept Christianity. I know members and leaders of guerilla groups who have now become pastors because of the gospel. They have said that they persecuted us because we took people from them.”
The situation changed only when the army entered the city and drove the guerrillas away. After that, churches were opened and Christians could once again gather to serve God and sing hymns. That’s how Miguel, the guerrilla commander, eventually became God’s songwriter.
Miguel states that the workshop and Bible study from Open Doors have been very important: “I learned a lot. I got a lot of good material that helped me learn to preach. Today, I preach the gospel everywhere in our country.”
Source and photo: Pako and koitinpaluu – the guerilla commentary era of God’s songs Open Doors Finland