It started when Maria’s mother was k*dnapped and taken to Canada before somehow convincing her parents to give marital consent. Maria would end up being one of 11 children who were moved over and over from different Amish and Mennonite settlements. Maria’s father was a wannabe cult leader and stirred up trouble wherever he went. Homemade preaching tapes sent out to the world would attract predat*rs into Maria’s home. One of them being a Russian man named Sergey, a cult leader himself. At 15, Maria’s parents willingly gave her to Sergey to marry off to another man. At 16 she was alone, hidden in a swampy woodland without electricity or running water, struggling to survive with a newborn. Watch our follow up LIVE with Maria: https://youtu.be/_UvW-aukRWU?si=miGxZYFUb43tkYfB Find Maria on Social Media! Substack: https://myworldprism.substack.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/myworld_prism Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel! https://www.youtube.com/@CultstoConsciousnessClips Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast. Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here! https://cults-to-consciousness-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Venmo @sheliseann Find us on Social media! Instagram @cultstoconsciousness https://www.instagram.com/cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann https://www.instagram.com/sheliseann/ Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon https://twitter.com/cultstocon Chapter Marks 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:11 What motivated Maria to tell her story 00:09:11 How Maria's parents got involved 00:12:29 How Maria's family became Mennonite 00:16:37 Not fitting in with church communities 00:24:55 Growing up in a community with the Amish 00:30:06 The Russians 00:35:57 Schooling and education 00:39:48 Parentification 00:50:30 Maria is forced to get married 01:05:05 How Maria ended up leaving 01:18:41 How Maria navigates relationships now 01:24:49 What brings Maria joy now 01:26:43 Linda, listen **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. This podcast provides a platform for guests to share their personal experiences and opinions. The views expressed are solely those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or producers. Any allegations discussed are unverified and represent personal accounts only. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. The podcast assumes no legal responsibility for statements made by guests.**