Mari’s hand trembled as she reached for the lamp sitting on the bedside table. Would she dare to turn it off? She tried to compose herself. ‘I’m thirteen!’ she reasoned. ‘Too old to believe in superstitions.’ However, as Mari’s hand came to rest on the knob of the lamp, every muscle in her body became tense with trepidation. Did she really have the nerve to find out whether the words of the Curandera (female witchdoctor) were simply superstition or reality? Before she knew what she was doing, the young girl found herself enveloped in total darkness. She had dared! The black, coldness in the room was so thick it seemed palpable, and the silence so eerie it sent a chill down Mari’s spine. But the silence would not last, for in that moment, she heard a sound that caused every hair on her body to stand bolt upright.
“Maria! Come here at once.” Mari stopped what she was doing and looked toward the open door of her home. “Coming!” she yelled back at the top of her lungs. From her mother’s tone, she knew better than to drag her feet. She ran around the small, humble dwelling and found her mother busy washing clothes at the lavadero (a concrete sink divided into two compartments–one to hold clean water and the other with a built-in washboard.)
“Where have you been?” exclaimed the woman. Mari didn’t respond. She knew her mother wasn’t done yet. “Can’t you see how much work there is to do around here? And don’t you think that just because you’re in school now, means that you don’t have to help with the housework. Now go change out of that school garb and help me get lunch ready for your younger siblings.
Mari gladly left her mother’s scolding and went inside to the privacy of her bedroom. She closed the door with a thud. She had never had a good relationship with her mother and felt much resentment toward her.
Her childhood had been difficult, but the older she got, that harder it became.
Don Pedro and Doña Maria, Mari’s parents, were staunch Catholics, not to mention, highly superstitious. Mari’s childhood had been marked by sorcery and fear. When a member of the family got sick, the worried parents wasted no time taking them to the Curandera, who would diagnose and “treat” the patient in her own bizarre and repulsive manner.
For example, if the symptom presented was a headache, the cause would first be ascertained by the “healer” . Usually, the prognosis was the same: someone had given them an evil eye, stemming from jealousy toward the unfortunate, ailing individual.
The following “cure” for fright, was common in the rural areas of Mexico and although carried out in slightly different manners, the basic idea remained the same…
“I’m afraid little Isabel will never be the same after that fright she had the other day.” stated a worried aunt. A hum of concern shot up from the other aunts seated at the table. “I feel a strong responsibility, as her kin to do something about it.” A quiet murmur of approval rose this time.
“I propose the following…” The women gathered in a tight circle to hear the plan. After some careful planning, a buzz of excitement reverberated around the room.
The following day, Isabel was carelessly walking around the corner of one of the rooms in her home when, out of nowhere, she found herself surrounded by her aunts who had filled their mouths with alcohol, being careful not to swallow it, and who were now busy spitting it all over the stunned girl. They quickly threw a blanket over her head and started yelling at her spirit to return. It was a common belief that if someone had had a really bad scare, their spirit would depart. The only way to counter this was to call the spirit back three times. Isabel, who was quite vexed over her aunts’ well intended efforts, only got a disgusting face wash and another scare from the incident.
When Mari was very young, one of the Curanderas had informed Doña Maria that her oldest daughter possessed special powers and abilities to become a witch. She asserted that the little girl had the power to do good or evil but that the spirits were trying to steal her. The only solution, she had asserted, was for Mari to sleep with a lamp on. If this order was disobeyed, something terrible might happen.
With this dread instilled in her from a very young age, Mari never slept without a lamp on, for fear that the words of the Curandera might come true. On top of all this, she was a girl! Oh the guilt and self-reproach she felt over this one fact. In her childish mind, she had been led to believe that the bad things that had been done to her, were actually due to her being a girl, which somehow, was her own fault.
In short, she was miserable. And as if this weren’t enough, when she was thirteen, something happened that would cause her previous troubles to appear trivial.
It all came about on that fateful night when she had dared to prove wrong the words of the Curandera. As she lay tensely in the darkness, waiting with trepidation to see what would happen, her dark eyes darted wildly. Every hair on her body stood on end as she realized with horror that she was not alone. A voice was speaking to her from somewhere in the darkness. Not a soothing voice. What she heard was thick, dark, and inhuman. Mari hid her head under the covers, trying to get away from the horrible voice, but it was no use, she could not hide from the evil presence of her tormentor. She was doomed!
From that moment on, Mari’s life changed drastically. She dreaded the night coming, for she knew what awaited her. But even the day brought little relief, for she would see small dark figures no one else saw. Her parents, in desperation took her to more Curanderos to remove the spell, but nothing helped. Her fear of being alone at night was so great, that even at fifteen, she would knock on her parents’ door almost every night begging them to allow her to sleep between them. Her life was a pit of hopeless despair. She had nowhere to go, no one to whom she could turn.
Finally, she decided that if this was life, it was not worth living. One day her boyfriend, Beto, walked into her room only to find Mari half unconscious. He ran over to her side and carefully unwound the cord she had wrapped around her own neck. If he hadn’t intervened she most surely would have succeeded in her ghastly attempt.
Not long after this incident, Beto and Mari decided to get married in hopes to fill some of the void they both felt. Married life brought little relief, however, to the eighteen-year-old, who continued suffering nightly attacks. Her husband tried in vain to help her. It was no use. Her heart resembled a cold, dark lump of ice, with nothing to provide any warmth, light or hope.
…But then came Jesus
“You know something,” began the young woman looking at Mari with eyes full of compassion, “There is somebody who loves you, so much that He died for you.” She paused to let the words sink in, searching her listener’s face to see whether the truth she was trying to present was getting across. Mari was awestruck. She could hardly believe her ears. She turned to her friend in amazement and repeated, “Somebody loves me and died for me? Who is it?”
“Yes,” the Christian beamed. “His name is Jesus! He came and died for you to pay for your sins. He is our Savior. ”
Mari was ecstatic. Never before had anyone shared this message with her. Jesus loved her and had died on the cross to pay for the bad things she had done. That was all she needed to know. Right then and there, in child-like faith, she believed it! She believed that Jesus was her Savior! It was as if, in that moment, the concrete wall of her prison cell which had kept her captive for so many years had been penetrated and the sunlight came seeping in. For the first time, she could feel the warmth of His love melting her frigid heart. He was the missing link in her life. He was the One her soul had been yearning for. She rushed home to tell Beto the good news.
Beto was extremely open to learn more of Mari’s new discovery and soon the couple began attending a Christian church. It was not long before Beto joined his wife in trusting Christ alone for salvation.
Now that they were a new creation, their lives couldn’t help but radiate the transformation. For many years Mari had harbored bitterness toward her mother. She had waited resentfully for her to take the first step in repairing their relationship, but now, she realized that perhaps it was she herself who needed to approach her mother and ask for forgiveness for the ways in which she had been disrespectful and disobedient. This humble confession on Mari’s part led Doña Maria to ask her daughter for forgiveness also.
Another clear proof that Mari was, indeed, a different person, became evident when at night, those same demons would come to torment her. Now, she did not feel afraid. Instead, she would bravely yell, “You no longer have a foothold in my life because now I serve a living God.” After several attempts to frighten her, they finally left her alone and she never again experienced any more nightly visits.
Beto and Mari’s new lives did not go unnoticed by Don Pedro and Doña Maria, who considered their daughter’s faith sheer rebellion.
“How could she do this to me?” Don Pedro shook his head in disbelief and dismay as he thought of his little girl. All the time and energy he had invested in her growing up, and the many times he had tenderly done what no one else would have. He had brushed her tangled hair and had walked to school to drop off her lunch pail. He would take her to his soccer games and dedicate goals to her. In many ways, he had been Mari’s place of refuge as a little girl. But now she had defrauded him, and had joined a strange cult, whose goal, no doubt, was to steal members from the Catholic church.
So great was Don Pedro’s anguish over his daughter’s apparent apostasy, that one day, at work, he began feeling pain in his chest. He finally went to the infirmary, where the doctor, an older gentleman attended him.
“Has anything upset you recently or have you had any situations which could have caused strong emotions?” began the doctor after hearing his patient’s symptoms. Don Pedro admitted that he had, and went on to tell the doctor about his daughter and her new fanaticism over reading the Bible and following Jesus. Don Pedro waited to hear the doctor’s diagnosis.
The older gentleman stroked his chin and thought a moment, then, leaning forward in his chair with a hint of mischief playing on his face, he said, “I’m going to tell you something. I am a devout, die-hard, Roman Catholic copycat. We were all taught this religion by our parents who were taught it in turn by their parents and grandparents before them. But noneof us even knows why we believe what we believe. You leave your daughter alone. ” he continued in earnest. “She’s seeking the truth!”
The words of the doctor softened Don Pedro’s heart somewhat, but he still couldn’t understand why his daughter did what she did.
She would share her new faith with him, she would invite him to go to church, but Don Pedro refused every time. He did not want someone trying to change his religion. This went on for years.
One day Mari invited her parents to accompany them to a Christmas presentation which would be hosted by the church at Camp Berea, around a 5-hour drive from San Luis Potosí, where they lived. Don Pedro decided it would be interesting to travel to a new area of the country and see the terrain so he told Mari he’d go to see the scenery and have fun. Mari frowned and said, “If that’s your only reason for going, I won’t take you.” “Alright, alright, I’ll go to the program.” Don Pedro threw up his hands in resignation. But to himself he confided that his main purpose in going was still to see the scenery.
The day of the presentation they were running late and didn’t make it for most of the program. In fact, they only got there in time to hear the final invitation to come to Jesus for salvation. Don Pedro sat, mesmerized by what he was hearing. For the first time he began to understand who Jesus was and what He had done for him. His heart felt such peace in this place. The testimony of the people who were running the event was not lost upon Don Pedro, either. He understood that no one was trying to change him to a different religion, since truly, this was no religion; it was a personal relationship with God that these people seemed to have. He later recalled, “I came to discover new countryside, but when I came, I found Jesus. It was the most precious thing I could have found.”
Although Don Pedro was now convinced that his former beliefs were very wrong and that Jesus was the truth, he still had not fully comprehended the extent of God’s love and what He had done on his behalf. However, from that point on he began slowly advancing in his knowledge of the Bible. At an annual Easter Camp held the following year, again at Camp Berea, Don Pedro finally understood that Jesus was his Savior, who had paid for his sins on the cross and that not even a lifetime of good works would be sufficient to pay what Jesus in a moment had paid for all of humanity. Don Pedro felt his burden roll away as he trusted in the Savior who promises to give rest to all who will come to Him. Don Pedro had come to Jesus and He truly had not cast him out.
Epilogue: Beto and Mari are committed to raising their three children in the ways of the Lord They desire to be faithful at this task and consider no sacrifice too great if it will help their children’s spiritual growth. Their oldest son, Diego, is currently attending a boys discipleship program run by Michael Clark.
Doña Maria also became a believer in Jesus not long after her husband. In October of 2024, Don Pedro was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Upon receiving the news, he said, “The doctors say its terminal, but I know my days are in God’s hand. He is the One who decides what my lifespan will be.” Through many restless and painful days and nights that ensued, Don Pedro’s faith never faltered and he experienced the joy of the Lord’s presence through his darkest moments. Eleven months after being diagnosed, Don Pedro finished the race and went to be with his Lord on September 12th, 2025. A few months before his homegoing, when he shared his testimony with me, he said the following, “I want to encourage everyone: in spite of my sickness and what I have suffered or what may lie ahead, may everything be to the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”