Alicia’s family love Jesus, but their choice to worship Him in their remote village in Oaxaca, Mexico has made them a target for the community’s hatred.
The Music
Alicia learned to play the guitar at a very young age. When missionaries visited her community to run children’s activities and tell them about Jesus, she never imagined it would lead to discovering her passion for music and singing. It wasn’t the first time she had heard about Jesus, but it was a pivotal moment in her spiritual journey. Through the missionaries’ efforts, she discovered a new way to connect with God.
“My relationship with Him is based on prayer, reading the Bible and singing,” she says. “I’m always singing to Him. Even in my mind or while I do my chores. He gave me the gift of music, and He has told me I am His daughter who sings and praises Him.”
As a natural and gifted worshipper, Alicia never knew how important music could be until threats and violence entered her family’s life.
The Meeting
The local assembly were furious as they listened to Alicia’s father and two other Christian men explain why they could not join in the village’s traditional ceremonies.
In the remote regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, where Alicia and her family live, their indigenous community esteems a form of worship that blends pre-Hispanic traditions with Catholicism. This often involves rituals at natural sites such as caves or springs. The community lights candles, fireworks, and makes offerings rooted in the ancient worship of multiple deities such as Tláloc the Aztec god of rain.
“A Christian should not do that,” Alicia says. “The Lord has taught us to worship only Him.”
But the village leaders were offended that the Christians wanted to worship just one God. They responded with violence. Alicia’s father was jailed along with his two companions. One of the men was beaten.
“We had never seen anything like that before,” Alicia says, still shocked.
Her father and the two men were eventually released, but the persecution escalated quickly after that.
“They held a meeting just to discuss us, the Christians,” Alicia remembers. “They debated whether to tear down our houses or burn them. In the end, they decided to strip us of everything. They cut off our electricity and water and seized our land. They took our belongings.”
The Christian men, most of them farmers, were banned from tending their land. Their families, including Alicia’s, survived on secret support from a few courageous relatives. Anyone found helping them risked the same attack. Parents fell into despair as the rights of their children were further threatened.
“They wanted to ban us from going to school or accessing medical care,” Alicia says quietly.
And then they received an ominous warning: they would be expelled from the village, or worse, if they refused to take part in the community’s customs.
The Miracle
Alicia looks visibly shaken when she says, “What scared me most was that they would kill us, burn us one by one.” Her eyes become glazed with tears. “I felt deeply worried because we were losing everything, even members of our own family turned against us because we decided to stop contributing to the festivals.”
She watched men from her village disconnect the electricity to their home. She felt her sister’s grief when it was too dark to play, and the TV wouldn’t work.
Alone in her room, Alicia strums her guitar and sings. “In praise, I found answers, words that echoed in my mind,” she says.
She loves her Bible, especially the book of Joshua where God encourages him to be strong and courageous. She finds great comfort in the story of Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
“It encouraged me to see that none of them gave up their faith and how God protected them,” she says. “That gave me hope, knowing He has a plan for us, too.”
Though some of the Christian families left their village, Alicia’s family gathered with those that remained and prayed for God to help them.
Then, they witnessed a miracle. The village leaders agreed to talk. “They said we could stay if we paid a fine,” Alica remembers. Her family borrowed money to pay the debt. “We saw it as an answer from God. It happened right after we began praying in the early mornings.”
Today, their services have been restored as have some of their rights. They can’t build a church or openly talk about their faith, but that doesn’t stop Alicia’s family from worshipping God. And it doesn’t stop Alicia from walking the streets with her guitar.
Open Doors have also come alongside them with frequent visits, prayer, persecution preparedness training, and the means to establish a sheep-rearing business to pay back their debt.
This Christmas will be a time to thank God for what He has done and trusting Him for what He will do, especially in their community.
“I hope God touches their hearts and changes their customs,” she says, “that they’ll allow us to follow Jesus freely.”
