Mauricio* was brought up to follow the traditional customs of his indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico. So when he became a Christian, his community began discriminating against him. Thanks to local Open Doors partners, Mauricio is being supported by a lawyer who has helped him to regain his standing in the village and retain his rights.
SCRIPT:
Mauricio
“Actually, my community does not allow the word of God. They have a wrong way of thinking towards Christians. They think that what we believe does not come from God.”
Mauricio was brought up to follow the traditional customs of his indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico. The authorities there allow no room to deviate from the religious beliefs that have been passed from one generation to the next.
“My suffering started when I accepted the Lord Jesus. The authorities in my community first wanted to take away my right to my land, my agrarian certificate.
“And they imprisoned me and my wife for 24 hours the whole time. They took away my drinking water and I was left without public services for about seven months. They prohibited my children from going to school and there was also a lot of mockery on them.”
Mauricio’s Agrarian Certificate was a very important document. Without it he e could not own land or work as a farmer. But with legal help from Open doors local partners, he was able to apply for a new one.
“The lawyer helped us a lot. After the lawyer began working on my case, we were able to get my agrarian certificate reinstated and not only my certificates, we were also able to get all of my public services connected, such as water, electricity, my children’s school. And in the end, the authorities recognized me as part of the community.”
During this time of discrimination Mauricio and in his family, they have been strengthened through prayer.
“This situation meant that instead of my faith disappearing, my faith in God increased more and more. To remain firm the key was prayer. We met together as a family to pray, to sing, and to fast.”
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