Alejandro was only three years old. He was having a good time playing outside the house where his family lived. Most boys and girls in Cochabamba, Bolivia, lived in small houses made out of adobe. But Alejandro lived in a large, beautiful house with a big tree in the yard and a fence around the yard.
His father went outside to check on Alejandro. He hadn’t heard him playing or talking for a little while. But Alejandro was nowhere to be seen. He called Alejandro’s name. There was no answer. He called to his wife and told her. They both raced through every room in the house and then all around the yard, searching for him and calling him. But there was no sign of Alejandro.
Alejandro’s mother quickly told their neighbors so they would help look for him. His father called the police and each of the military checkpoints that were on the roads leading out of Cochabamba. A search was started, but there was no sign of Alejandro. He was gone. His parents were so upset. They hoped he was still alive. How they loved him!
This is what had happened to Alejandro. Two men had come into his yard and must have offered him a piece of candy or something else to make him stay quiet. Quickly they had taken Alejandro and hidden him elsewhere in Cochabamba. Then they sold him to a woman.
No one had reported having seen Alejandro as the police and his parents searched for him. And no one answered the advertisements they put in the newspaper.
The woman who bought him wanted someone to help her make chicha, a liquor made by cooking corn and letting it ferment. Instead of having a happy time as a little boy in his parents’ home, he was now a servant in the house of this mean lady. When he was a little older she made him keep the fires burning all day, then at night he had to wash her clothes. She called him Lucho, which means “fight”.
And Lucho did fight ... against all he had to do ... but it didn’t change things. His work never stopped during the day or evening. She was a hard mistress. Boys and girls who are not saved from their sins have Satan as their hard, cruel master. They need a new master who loves them, just as Lucho needed his parents who loved him and wanted him back so badly.
When Lucho was a little older he planned an escape. One night while the woman was sleeping he snuck out and jumped on the back of a truck headed for the town of Uyuni. He didn’t know his parents were back in Cochabamba. Somehow he thought they were from Uyuni, so that is where he was headed.
From the beautiful valley where Cochabamba is located, the truck climbed up into the cold Andes Mountains until he jumped off the truck in Uyuni. Lucho did not find his parents there, so he needed to find another place to live.
Finally, a family took him in as a servant. They made their living by selling alcohol and would often beat Lucho when they were drunk. Lucho was very unhappy during the years he lived there. He did have one friend though, a conductor on the train that went through Uyuni. Lucho told the conductor what he could remember of his past and how miserable his life was where he lived.
One day this friend helped him escape by sneaking him onto the night train. The conductor had made plans for Lucho to ride the train as far as the mining center of Atocha, which is farther south in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia. There he was met by a relative of the conductor who took him to nearby Telamayo, a mining town. Here they treated Lucho well.
Has a friend ever told you about the Lord Jesus and how much He loves you and how He died for you on Calvary’s cross? Your friend wants you to hear about the Lord Jesus because He is the only One who can bring you real lasting joy and peace.
At about 19 years of age, Lucho had to go to the town of Tupiza to serve his required time in the Bolivian army. He did not know his birthday because of having been kidnapped when he was very young. As an army official began to ask him questions, Lucho started to tell his story. He couldn’t give his complete name nor his exact age. He didn’t know the names of his parents. He didn’t even know that his parents lived in Cochabamba. He just remembered that two men had taken him away from a nice big house with a large tree in the yard.
This army officer became a friend to Lucho and offered to put an advertisement in a newspaper called La Presencia, that was sold all over Bolivia. It simply said,
“A young man looks for his parents and his house. The facts that he remembers are that he lived in a large and beautiful house with a large tree in the patio of his house. If you have information, please write to the army base in Tupiza.”
Lucho’s father picked up that issue of La Presencia and read the advertisement. He and his wife had never given up hope of finding their boy. Immediately, they rushed to Tupiza and went to the army base. They were quickly reunited with their long-lost Alejandro.
Will you return to your Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves you and waits for you? He made you, but if you are not saved, you have been going away from Him ever since. Do you realize you are a sinner and that because of your sins you deserve to spend eternity in the lake of fire? Have you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who loves you? He is the only One who can be your Saviour, because He died and His precious blood was shed on Calvary’s cross. Just as Alejandro’s parents dropped every thing and went to be reunited with their son whom they loved so dearly, the Lord Jesus who loves you so very much will save you right now if you believe on Him. Don’t wait! You need “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:2121Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)). “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).