A letter from Cesar Carhuachin in Colombia
August 2013
Greetings from Barranquilla, Colombia:
I begin this letter thanking you for your partnership in God's mission in Colombia. Your prayer support, your emails and notes, plus your financial support, are making a big difference in my mission work here in Barranquilla, Colombia.
a flood that I saw here in Barranquilla
The weather in the Coast of Colombia continues to surprise me. Last week I saw how the rain inundates an avenue in Barranquilla, causing a partial paralysis of the traffic in that area and some damage to cars, houses and businesses. My first picture shows you an avenue after 10 minutes of rain. You can see the volume of water and some waves as well on one of the main avenues. However, what calls my attention more than that (because I saw similar inundations like this in Buenos Aires years ago) is the fact of how quickly water levels drop. The reasons of these two realities are: (a) the way the city of Barranquilla was built—it does not have drains and gutters—and (b) their streets are inclined toward the sea. So, after a flow, which is often with the rain here, the water levels quickly drop toward the sea through these streets. So this is the geographical context in which I am working with the Presbyterian Church of Colombia.
One of the top issues in Colombia is the reality of the internal armed conflict between several guerrillas groups and the government militia for almost 50 years. Currently there are Peace Conversations meetings in Cuba between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Although they are still in progress, some concepts are clear. First, the land is a part of the agenda. Any agreement has to include lands restitution somehow. Second, the victims, for which the FARC have accepted some responsibility. And, third, justice. The Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos says that the government wants peace with a maximum of justice for the victims.
Preaching at the Fifth Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla on August Sunday 11
It is clear to me that these issues are part of any Peace Conversation in a country where internal armed conflict is a cruel reality. And when that country is intentionally looking to change that reality. In Colombia, if the Peace Conversations are going to be successful, then the Government and the FARC need to confess their responsibility in the internal armed conflict. On the other side, they have to sign an agreement saying that the FARC abandon their arms and the government will implement, by law, some channels to incorporate the FARC into the full society. The congress and the society need to be part of this agreement. It's hard to achieve a real peace in a country with almost 50 year of internal armed conflict. Please pray for our partner, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, which is working with several ecumenical partners and civil organizations supporting and advocating and ministering to the displaced communities, working for their dignity and for reconciliation. Today there are more that 5 million displaced people as the result of this internal armed conflict. This is the socio-political context of the place where I am mission co-working in Colombia.
The second Sunday of August I preached a sermon titled “About Spirituality and Faith” at the Fifth Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla. The people received the message very well and liked it, as they shared with me after the service. This congregation was founded by the Presbyterian theologian Richard Shaull several decades ago. Today it is being pastored by Rev. Milciades Pua, who is the President of the Presbyterian University. A nice surprise for me that Sunday was to see two companions in the Presbyterian Accompaniment Program at the service, Lora Burge and Sergio Centeno. And also two students from the school who came to visit the church that Sunday.
preaching at the 157 the anniversary of the Presbytery of the Coast on August Sunday 11.
Also on Sunday, August 11 (the same Sunday), in the afternoon, the Presbytery of the Coast celebrated its 157-year anniversary. It was a beautiful worship service, with great youth participation and a Thanksgiving time for the life of the Presbytery. I preached at that service a sermon titled “Promise to Abram Yesterday to be a Church of Hope Today.” The people liked the sermon; I received a request for a copy of my sermon from some people. Please pray for the Presbytery of the Coast and their ministry in this part of the country and for the Rev. Jairo Barriga, Executive Presbyter of that presbytery.
In the past weeks I have had a couple of meetings with the Rev. Diego Higuita, who is the General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, to talk about the existing projects of the congregations of the PCC in their three presbyteries. It has called my attention to the number of locations where they have social ministries and programs—26 locations in total. Praise God for this testimony of love and service in the name of Jesus Christ. Our partner here is working for the transformation of lives, families and the society. The purpose of these meetings is to collect information to pass on to several churches in the United States that want to support the ministries of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia.
If you need to contact me, please use my email cesar.carhuachin@pcusa.org. I post weekly news about my mission work in Colombia on my Facebook page Cesar Carhuachín in Colombia. "Like it" if you want to read these. Also, I invite you to write comments if you feel like it on my page at the World Mission website https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/rev-cesar-carhuachin/. Feel free to pass this information to others interested in the mission work in Colombia.
If your church is not a partner congregation with God's mission in Colombia, I invite you to consider it. You can pray for us, send correspondence, and support us financially. Check my page at the World Mission for information about it.
Grace and peace.
César Carhuachîn
2013 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, Colombia, p. 30
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