When we met Camila* in Bogotá, Colombia, she had everything she owned packed in the trunk of her car. She was looking for a new place to live after fleeing her home due to death threats.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been run out of town, nor was it the first time she’d had to completely rebuild her life.
Colombia has a large Christian population and churches all over the country that are flourishing. There are many passionate followers of Christ there, but there are also parts of the country where organized crime and guerrilla fighters maintain total control.
Camila has been ministering in a dangerous part of Colombia for more than 20 years. As she lives out her faith, the people who need her help find her, but the violence does, too. Camila has suffered a lot for her faith, but she accepts suffering as part of the sacrifice she makes in following Christ.
Camila began right where she lived: visiting neighbors to share the good news of the gospel with them. Gradually, a group of interested people began meeting for Bible study and worship in Camila’s home. Camila became quite well known in the community, where a powerful organized crime group operated.
The mafia group dealt in drugs and human trafficking, and they often recruited girls in the community for prostitution by force. As a trusted leader, girls would often seek help from Camila, and when she could, she would ferry the girls to a safer place, keeping them out of the traffickers’ hands. “I have been persecuted for many years because I help children,” Camila told ICR.
In one example, the mafia men took a young woman to a luxury hotel to meet an old man. When she realized what was happening, she started screaming and causing a scene. When hotel staff intervened and asked who they could call for help, the girl gave them Camila’s name. She knew Camila from the visits to her home when Camila shared the gospel. As a person of trust, Camila came to the hotel and got the girl away from there.
The crime henchmen began threatening Camila. Her husband, who was not a committed Christian, thought she should stay out of it. But as a believer, she could not stop keeping the girls in her community from being harmed. When she saw children being abused, she reported it. When she saw drug dealers selling their product, she called the police.
Camila had already moved five times to stay ahead of her enemies. The threats grew worse, until one night, they became real. While she slept, a group of men crept in and injected her with a drug to keep her from waking. They assaulted her and left. In the morning, church members found the door of her home open, and Camila lying there in a stupor. When she finally awoke, she went straight to the hospital for them to collect evidence and make a statement.
“It was clearly retaliation from the organized crime to silence her,” the ICR field worker said.
However, authorities did nothing to help. “[They] did not consider the persecution of Christians a priority,” Camila said.
Again, she did not let this horrible event stop her from her mission work. She started sleeping in a new place every few nights, moving between the homes of her adult children and never going out at night alone. But she kept going house to house, sharing the gospel and helping lead the local church.
Over the years, the threats have continued. Finally last year, Camila knew she had to leave. The mafia was threatening to kill her, and she didn’t want to put anyone around her at risk. Like hundreds of other Christian workers in Colombia, Camila was forced leave her home area.
ICR workers met Camila last year right after she had packed up. They decided to help her rent an apartment where she can live when she restarts her ministry. In spite of all that’s happened to her, Camila trusts God.
“Colombia has a mighty God who will always help believers in Christ Jesus to continue the work of our heavenly Father, because we have been called to do so,” she said.
The efforts of Camila and others, with the Holy Spirit’s help, are making a difference in Colombia.
Miguel’s mother prayed for him for 24 years. She was a Christian, but her son was not. As a young man, he joined the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas and became a commander. This left-wing group fought against the government for years, but finally in 2016, signed a peace agreement. Afterward, Miguel joined a political party. However, he was caught with a firearm, violating the terms of the FARC’s peace agreement, and went to prison.
While in prison, one of the many Christian prison ministries shared the gospel with him, and Miguel gave his life to Christ. He told the Lord, “If you get me out of this prison, I will serve you as a missionary.”
Then 45 days later, Miguel was released. Now he travels into some of the most dangerous regions of Colombia sharing the gospel. Because of his previous experience, he’s familiar with the way these “red zones” operate, and he is able to go places other Christian ministers cannot.
“I’m not afraid to serve in red zones, because I have been there. These people [the guerrillas] are misguided, like I was. And they need to meet Jesus, find peace, and find the way out!” Miguel said. “Who will go to them despite the danger? Here I am, send me.”
*names changed
