Small Steps at a Time

I am completely moved by what happened last Wednesday in my home country of Colombia. To make a long story short, the reason I moved to the U.S. is because of the threats that were being made to my immediate family from the FARC. This was shortly after my grandfather was kidnapped and held for ransom for a few months. Fortunately, my parents moved my sisters and I out of danger as soon as the threats started coming towards us. About two months after we immigrated here, the FARC kidnapped my aunt, uncle and 2 cousins (they let my 2 cousins go soon after because they were both under 2 years old). My aunt and uncle were held for ransom as well, but my family was unable to meet their demands. The night before their scheduled execution, my aunt and uncle escaped from the jungle in the middle of the night with the help of one of the FARC members they befriended (when it was discovered that this member helped, his entire family was executed).

So after the news broke out this week that Colombian military agents posed as aid workers and rescued 15 hostages (including 3 Americans), some of which had been kidnapped for 10 years, I was clearly touched and the progress being made. I even got teary eyed watching this video of the hostages prior to knowing they were being rescued and then after they found out they were free. 

Now the news today said that a number of bombs were found planted around the capital city of Bogota, which the military feels is the work of the FARC in response to the rescue of their hostages. I can only imagine what they are planning at the moment to get back at the rest of the country, but what is promising is that the FARC is looking weaker now than ever. However, there are still hundreds of hostages captive, being chained to trees by the neck and dying of diseases only found in the jungle. I pray that the U.S. and France continue to aid in this devastating fight that has been plauging a beautiful country otherwise.