Inside Story: Colombia ~ God Is Real

God Is Real

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Cristian Suarez started using drugs at the age of 14 in Colombia.

Image © Pacific Press

By 18, he was a hard-core drug user, and an up-and-coming rock star after winning an audition to join a well-known rock group. He thought he had reached the top, playing to wild crowds in sold-out soccer stadiums.

When he turned 21, he decided to go solo, and his dreams collapsed. After a daunting year on his own, he was left with no money or home. He moved back in with his mother. Drugs seemed to be his sole refuge.

Cristian had never believed in God. But sad, lonely, and alone at home, he lifted up his eyes and said, “Lord, I don’t know who you are. I don’t even believe in you. But if You are real, if You really exist, I need You to tell me. If You tell me, “I am real,’ I will follow you.”

At that precise moment, his cellphone rang.

“Hello, could I please speak with Cristian Suarez,” an elder woman said.

“You are speaking to him,” he said. “How can I help you?”

“Cristian, I’ve called to tell you that God is real,” she said.

Cristian was shocked. The caller had said the exact words that he had asked from God in order to believe in Him.

“What’s your name?” he said.

He didn’t recognize her name, Nulbia, when she gave it. She said she was the 65-year-old sister of one of his musician friends, Leonardo.

“Why did you tell me precisely those words?” Cristian asked.

She said Cristian had visited her home for the first time two weeks earlier to pick up her brother for a rehearsal. That night, she prayed, “Lord, that man needs You.” She got Cristian’s phone number from her brother and, two weeks later, felt impressed to call. She prayed, “Lord, use me,” and made the call.

Cristian excitedly called another friend, Alfonso, to tell him about the phone call. Alfonso got a strange sound in his voice and asked Cristian to come over to his house. He met Cristian with a Bible in his hand. Cristian was surprised. Alfonso had never mentioned God in the years that they had been friends. That night, Alfonso gave him a thorough Bible study about Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. It turned out that Alfonso wanted to become an Adventist.

Three months later, Cristian was baptized and free of drugs. Today, a decade later, he is studying to become a pastor at Colombia Adventist University in Medellin, Colombia. Alfonso also has joined the Adventist Church.

Cristian no longer has any doubt about God. “Nothing is impossible for God,” he said.