I AM WITH GOD

SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Shindlar "Sherene" Cuffy, whom relatives believe has been lured into a cult, may have been renamed Rainbow. That was the view of her mother who cited a voice note circulating on social media suspected to be from the people responsible for Cuffy’s mysterious disappearance. The voice, Shondel Shallow said, sounds remarkably like her missing daughter’s.

"I don’t know where they got that name from. The voice is sounding like hers but, as if she is being forced. I feel she is still in the country unless she left illegally by boat. I am praying and hoping for a miracle to happen," said the worried mother.

The mother was referring to a Vimeo voice note of six minutes and 48 seconds titled Sherene’s (Rainbow’s) Choice. The audio was posted on December 7 by what appeared to be a "religious" group titled Still Small Voice in which a girl says she decided "to leave a very oppressive and abusive environment, to follow God’s plan for her life."

A woman with a distinctly foreign accent introduced the girl and prompted her to "go ahead and speak that message for me." The woman is referred to by Vimeo users as Mother Clare.

The girl expressed her love for her friends and family and promised to "continuously keep you in my prayers".

"Remember me always whenever it rains or when you see animals or toys anywhere. Your faith is small now but, if the Lord can grant me a miracle then he can do so for you too," she said.

"Get right with God, please. Give your life to God. Time is running out, family of mine. I need you to regain your salvation."

Cuffy attends the Marabella North Secondary School and lives at Rosehill Street, Claxton Bay.

On November 26, she and her mother walked to Southern Main Road, Claxton Bay, where she left in an AD wagon to go to school. She did not show up for classes and that was the last time anyone saw the form five student.

On Christmas Eve, while tidying Cuffy’s bedroom, Shallow found a handwritten letter from her daughter which said the Lord sent her on a mission and she must obey. In a similar fashion, the voice note said: "I was a normal girl in a world which I thought was normal. But that changed when I gave my life to Jesus. I can’t explain to you in details about what the Lord wants me to do and how I am even close to achieving it."

When the Lord calls, she said, there is no saying no or going back.

Sniffling she said: "Looking for me is actually wasting your time and calling the police is wasting your time. I am going on a mission and I am not coming back. I don’t want to come back.

She promised to further her education and do the Lord’s work. "I am going to further my education wherever he takes me, and I will become something in this life or in heaven. I will come and visit when I am older if the Lord grants it."

After her speech, the woman with the foreign accent said: "Amen. Thank you, sweetheart. That is a tear-jerker for sure, I hope they understand. I really hope they let you live your life. It is very hard to say goodbye especially to people who you love."

Police from the Anti Kidnapping Unit yesterday said the authenticity of the audio had not been established but vowed to investigate all leads to bring closure to the family.

Spiritual Baptist Archbishop Patrick Brown, commenting on the possibility Cuffy was following a cult, said if this was the case, the girl had been given wrong advice.

"That is madness. There is a lot of stupidness going on with people forming all kinds of groups," said Brown, head of the St Ann's Church of the Spiritual Metaphysics in McBean, Couva.

"In the long run, they will realise something is wrong. These things cannot be taken lightly at all. The family should pray that things will be alright and that she can return," Brown said.