{"id":1642,"date":"2021-07-26T19:05:40","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T19:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=1642"},"modified":"2021-10-25T15:59:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T15:59:08","slug":"stories-of-christian-martyrs-dora-lilia-and-ferley-saavedra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/stories-of-christian-martyrs-dora-lilia-and-ferley-saavedra\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories of Christian Martyrs: Dora Lilia and Ferley Saavedra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The small number of children in the village of Santana Ramos in
Colombia <\/a>enjoyed coming to school and learning from their
teacher, Dora Lilia Saavedra. She prayed with them every day
and told them about Jesus while they learned. She also sometimes traveled for hours to more distant villages, where there were no teachers, to
help the children there. She was a good, loving teacher. But one day in
November, the children\u2019s ordinary school day was interrupted when two
men with guns, wearing army fatigues and boots, walked into the one-room schoolhouse and told the children to leave.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will be no more school today. Go home and return tomorrow,\u201d they said gruffly. The children quickly gathered their belongings and slipped out of the schoolhouse, wondering what was going to happen.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dora Lilia and her husband, Ferley Saavedra, who also taught at the
school, knew what was going to happen, and they were prepared. These
men who had come for them were guerrilla soldiers with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia <\/a>(FARC), a Marxist movement characterized by threat, force, and violence. For decades they have terrorized Colombians<\/a>, targeting Christians in particular. \u201cChristians are dangerous,\u201d they say. \u201cChristians cannot lie. If the army asks them about us, they will tell the truth!\u201d They also don\u2019t like that Christians stand opposed to violence, which is the principal way of life for the guerrillas. They recruit members at a young age since the life expectancy of a guerrilla is short, and they don\u2019t want anything or anyone to stand in their way or to weaken their cause. The Saavedras stood in their way by teaching children, for if the children knew about the love of Jesus and became Christians, they would not join the guerrillas\u2019 cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t

\r\n\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\"\"\r\n\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t

Request your free magazine<\/p>\r\n\t\t\tSubscribe<\/a>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\n\n\n

Dora Lilia knew the risks when she returned to Santana Ramos to
teach. A poor rural farming village marked by violence between the
FARC guerrillas and the Colombian <\/a>government, Santana Ramos was
Dora Lilia\u2019s home, and she hoped, through her love of teaching, to bring
the light of Jesus there. This is exactly what she and her husband did,
and it was also why their lives were threatened. But even when Dora Lilia
was warned by a neighbor that she and her husband would be killed the
following day, the farthest thing from her mind was to take her family
and flee the village, though she was advised to do so.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of panic, relief poured over her at the neighbor\u2019s words.
Earlier, this man had come to tell Dora Lilia that her brother was going
to be killed. Now the neighbor was correcting his statement. \u201cI have
made a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is not your brother who will be killed
tomorrow\u2026 but it is you and your husband.\u201d \u201cThis is better,\u201d Dora Lilia told him. \u201cMy brother was not ready to meet the Lord. But my husband and I are.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She refused to let fear keep her from her work, and instead drew
closer to her family and to the Lord for peace and preparation. That
evening the couple led their children in family devotions. They prayed
and read the Bible <\/a>together. \u201cMommy may be going to sleep tomorrow for a long time,\u201d Dora Lilia told her oldest daughter.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the kids were in bed, the couple spent much of the night praying and fasting, reminiscent of Jesus\u2019s time with His Father in prayer in
the garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, \u201cNot my will, but yours, be
done\u201d (Luke 22:42). When morning came, the Saavedras headed to the
school as usual, knowing that their lives, and those of their children,
were in the Lord\u2019s hands.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the soldiers marched in and the students had been sent away,
the guerrillas told the couple to say goodbye to their own children. Suddenly, more guerrillas entered, their big boots treading heavily on the
wooden floorboards. One of them pointed at the oldest child, Marcella.
\u201cWe will kill her first!\u201d he shouted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, please,\u201d Dora Lilia pleaded. She stepped in front of the man to
shield her daughter from him. \u201cIt is me you want. Take me. Leave her
here and take me now.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crying children were left behind as Dora Lilia and Ferley were
taken out of the schoolhouse and led across a field to a river about three
hundred yards away. The guerrillas ordered the couple to lie face-down
on the ground, where they were each shot to death.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saavedras daily lived out the love of Christ. So influential were
their lives that just months after their death, twelve-year-old Marcella
was able to say, \u201cIf I met the men who did this I would forgive them. I
know this would be hard, but I know God forgives them. So I have to as
well.\u201d Through her parents\u2019 example, this little girl had learned love and
forgiveness in place of hatred and bitterness. It is certain that many other
children have learned that lesson as well and will continue to share it
because two teachers were willing to risk their lives to bring Christ\u2019s love
and truth to a place where it was most needed.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Rejoice in hope, be patient
in tribulation, be constant
in prayer. Bless those who
persecute you; bless and
do not curse them.”
Romans 12:12,14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is an excerpt from Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs. <\/em>You can get your own copy free with any donation to The Voice of the Martyrs.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The small number of children in the village of Santana Ramos inColombia enjoyed coming to school and learning from theirteacher, Dora Lilia Saavedra. She prayed with them every dayand told them about Jesus while they learned. She also sometimes traveled for hours to more distant villages, where there were no teachers, tohelp the children there. She was a good, loving teacher. But one day inNovember, the children\u2019s ordinary school day was interrupted when twomen with guns, wearing army fatigues and boots, walked into the one-room schoolhouse and told the children to leave. \u201cThere will be no more school today. Go home and return tomorrow,\u201d they said gruffly. The children quickly gathered their belongings and slipped out of the schoolhouse, wondering what was going to happen. Dora Lilia and her husband, Ferley Saavedra, who also taught at theschool, knew what was going to happen, and they were prepared. Thesemen who had come for them were guerrilla soldiers with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist movement characterized by threat, force, and violence. For decades they have terrorized Colombians, targeting Christians in particular. \u201cChristians are dangerous,\u201d they say. \u201cChristians cannot lie. If the army asks them about us, they will<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-1642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foxe","tag-colombia","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nStories of Christian Martyrs: Dora Lilia and Ferley Saavedra - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dora Lilia and her husband, Ferley Saavedra, who also taught at the school, knew what was going to happen, and they were prepared.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/stories-of-christian-martyrs-dora-lilia-and-ferley-saavedra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stories of Christian Martyrs: Dora Lilia and Ferley Saavedra - 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