The Lord is with me. I go where I want to go. I take classes at night. If I am killed, that too is within God's plan," says Raul (not his real name), a student at the Mennonite Seminary in Bogotá.
     Before giving up his weapons, Raul had been an intellectual leader in the FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia) movement. With three years of law school, he was put in charge of political and ideological training.
     But Raul was restless and discontented with a life focused on destruction. Surely there must be a more noble purpose for him, he thought. These feelings eventually led to a personal transformation and faith in Christ; now he believes with conviction that God has a purpose for each person. He speaks eloquently of how God protected him, helped him to get out of the FARC, and is now using him to bring life to Colombia rather than destruction.
     Seven years ago, Raul explains, the Colombian government introduced a program to encourage peace-seeking revolutionaries to re-enter society. But death threats from FARC and paramilitary AUC (Autodefensa Unidades de Colombia) combatants make re-entry difficult. Peace-seekers live in fear and must hide. Many are assassinated. Since living with their family puts everyone in danger, they often live lonely lives hiding in large cities like Bogotá. They are enticed or pressured to return to the cycle of violence by both sides. Raul himself was offered a good salary to work for the paramilitaries.
     In the midst of this precarious existence, Raul received a vision to use his country's generous capacity for fruit production to bring life and joy to people in Colombia and beyond. Out of this vision emerged a company called Flor Viva, or "Living Flower." Flor Viva's mission statement says: "We believe in ourselves, we believe in hope, we believe in life, the life that is generated by the land, the same land over which we wandered in a former shadowy existence. In such a way we transform the life produced by our campesinos, the fruit of their labour, into delicious pulp and juice for the delight of our society."
     Raul and his seven fellow employees, all former FARC members, several of whom are now participants in the Mennonite Church, face many challenges. The greatest of these is fear. When Raul deserted the FARC, he had an opportunity to leave the country, but he decided that God had a purpose for him in Colombia. His mother discouraged the idea of setting up a fruit factory; it would make him vulnerable; people would know where to find him. But the vision prevailed.
     He says with a peaceful smile that he doesn't have fear, despite the killings of several companions. With the breakdown in peace negotiations, Raul and his employees face even greater risks since they are accused of providing information to the military.
     Raul speaks passionately about the fruit pulp project. Its success will show there is another way, that it is possible to leave behind violence. The challenge now is to develop national and international markets.
     Flor Viva produces juice and pulp out of some twenty fruits, all grown in the campo of Colombia. The fruit plant has modern equipment and is fully compliant with health standards. A freezer has the capacity to store three tonnes of product.
     Flor Viva hopes to sell the product to restaurants, hospitals, schools, and even the military, since the military is a major consumer of juice and fruit. Raul smiles at the thought of the Colombian military enjoying his life-giving fruit juice and chuckles, "Wouldn't that be a delicious irony?"