A letter from Cesar Carhuachin in Colombia
July 2013
Greetings from Barranquilla, Colombia:
Representatives of the Presbytery of the Coast, the Latin America Council of Churches, the Diakonia National Program of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, Lutheran World Relief, and two NGOs
After some weeks of trying to manage the hot and humid weather in Barranquilla, I have decided to live with it. It is some kind of accommodation to my particular mission field. Together with this personal confession, I want to tell you that I finally found a place to live during my time of service here in Barranquilla! It is on the first floor of a small family building. José Pernett, the Vice-President of the University, lives on the second floor, and it is located just two blocks from the school. So I will walk daily but not too far! Thank God!
As a part of my daily life here I applied for my Foreign Identification Card (Cedula de Extranjería). Since it is required for doing anything here (like exchanging money, purchasing things, renting an apartment, and so on), I need to have it, and I will receive it next week.
My duties at the School of Theology during this semester are threefold, as I was informed by the Rev. Adelaida Jimenez, Director of the Theology Program: (1) to teach four courses, Old Testament I, OT Elective (Exegesis of Jonah), Hermeneutics, and Systematic Theology I; (2) to tutor two senior students so they can graduate; and (3) to participate in an investigation group called OIDHPAZ (Human Rights and Peace Observatory). This mean a full weekly agenda of about 48 hour work. Something new that I learned about Colombia this week is about the number of work hours to be considered a full-time employee: you have to work at least 48 hours weekly. The labor law in Colombia is different from the U.S., Argentina and Perú (my birth country). Additional to this, I will speak at the opening conference this semester on July 30. I titled it “Ministerial Vocation and Theology. A Relation Between Vocation, Context and Ministry.” See the flyer at http://unireformada.edu.co/images/conferencia-apertura.pdf.
Board of Directors of Finca Alemania (Cooperative of Small Farmers)
The weekend of July 6-7 I went to Saint Onofre in the Department of Sucre (Colombia is divided by departments and not by states like U.S.A.) with Rev. Jairo Barriga, Rev. Milton Mejía, and Deacon Germán Zarate. There I attended two days of important meetings: (1) a business meeting between the Board of Directors of Finca Alemania (Cooperative of Small Farmers) and representatives from the Presbytery of the Coast of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, the Latin American Council of Churches, the Diakonia National Program of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, the Lutheran World Relief, and two NGOs; (2) the Assembly of Finca Alemania.
These two-day meetings gave me a huge understanding of the difficult situation of Finca Alemania and the people there. The Cooperative members are systematically suffering theft (of their animals, harvest and poultry wire) and destruction of part of their crops. It looks like somebody or one group of people is trying to disturb them in order to get them to leave that area of 556 hectares. The situation is complex: (1) it includes the Cooperative members and their land, but the greed of powerful groups for that land also; (2) it includes the people that these greedy powerful groups are using to remove the members of the Cooperative from that area. Our global partner, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, is faithfully accompanying, supporting and advocating for Finca Alemania. There are two approaches to this situation: (1) to bring it to court with a lawyer provided by one of the NGOs—which is happening right now—and (2) to declare a Peace Land, which means an area where nobody is allowed to bring arms (because one of the members was murdered in the past). I got a broader understanding of the complex situation of this displaced community, which involves issues such as land, structural violence and delinquency. In the midst of this situation the members of Finca Alemania are fighting to survive, to live in peace. Their efforts are a strong message of hope in the midst of violence and terror. For more details about Finca Alemania, please visit this link of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Colombia Accompaniment Program, dated 05/19/2013: http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7245/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1245498
Dr. Sara Ortega from Lee University (Tenn.) speaking about "Women>Typologies: From the Old Testament Women to the Baptized Women in The Middle Age and the Contemporary Christian Women"
In general my immersion in the Colombian reality has began. Particularly this is true also about my immersion in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church and of the Reformed University of Colombia in Barranquilla. There are about nine Presbyterian churches in the Presbytery of the Coast (where the Reformed University is located). Also I learned about a pastor in Cartagena, Rev. Angelica Munera, who travels four hours each week (round trip) to Barranquilla to teach at the school. I found that a strong message of dedication to the teaching ministry.
This week, on July 23-24, the university hosted two guest speakers from Lee University (Tenn.), Dr. Sara Ortega and Dr. Shady Hernandez (candidate). Dr. Ortega spoke about “Women Typologies: From the Old Testament Women to the Baptized Women of the Middle Age and the Contemporary Christian Women” and Dr. Hermandez spoke about “A Hope-Focused Multicultural Practice.” The Reformed University of Colombia and the American School (also Presbyterian) receive several guest speakers as a part of their partnerships with several U.S. institutions, like Lee University (Tenn.), Lakeland College (Wis.), McCormick Theological Seminary (Ill.) and others. This year Lakeland College sent about seven students to attend the Spanish Summer Program of the Reformed University and Lee University sent two professors to provide some conferences and workshops. I learned that the Reformed University has strong partners and is open to having new partners.
I want to ask your prayer support for this semester. I have several responsibilities at the school as I mentioned before. I am praying: (1) that I will not just teach, but inspire the students to follow Jesus Christ and to serve his Church and the neighbors with dedication and faithfully; and (2) that I will not just accompany senior students in accomplishing their graduation requirements, but encourage them to go wherever they understand that Jesus is calling them. This is in my heart as a pair of the main purposes in my life, to Glorify God and my call to Make disciples of Christ.
Also I ask your prayers for Finca Alemania as they are addressing incitement and problems with the support of the right people (lawyer, NGOs and churches). Finca Alemania's people deserve to live in peace, prospering, enjoying their land and overcoming the past 16 years of struggles, violence and human rights abuses by paramilitary groups and organized criminal groups.
I invite you to like my Facebook page Cesar Carhuachín in Colombia, where I post weekly news about the mission work in Colombia. You can email me at cesar.carhuachin@pcusa.org (or use the "Write to" link below) and check my page at the World Mission website, https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/rev-cesar-carhuachin/. If you want to join my mission support team through your prayers, correspondence and financial commitment, you are welcome. Thanks for your interest and for considering joining me in the God's mission in Colombia.
Grace and peace.
César
2013 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, Colombia, p. 30
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