Piojo, Colombia

The program of diaconia in the Presbiterio de la Costa Norte (the Presbytery of the Northern Cost) in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC) is involved with helping displaced families in Colombia. One project that the diaconia program is supporting is a new farm that has been started by several displaced families from different parts of the country. As an accompanier to the IPC, I joined several members of the diaconia program on a visit to the community in Piojo.
German talked to the male farmers, who had made the trek to the municipality center, in a theological and sociological manner. First, he talked about the importance or prayer, and unity in the community through pray, as a way to build hope and trust among one another. He asked us top stand in a circle and join hands. We passed the energy around the circle squeezing the hands of those next to us. He then talked about two essential prayers that the farmers needed to pray for: 1) rain and 2) a title of the land in Piojo. The reason that we were visiting the farmers was to deliver food because they were starving from the drought. Without the rain, their crops were not growing. We prayed for rain. German then talked about the hopes and prayers that the group had to make the land legally theirs. The community is in the process with the government for ownership of the land, however, it has not been completed, so prayers are still needed.
The farmers were told that they would only receive six weeks of food from the diaconia program. They should not depend on this food. Yet, there was an understanding that they were starving, so food was delivered. A serious prayer for rain was said and felt. I prayed a steady prayer for the next 24 hours that it rain. (I also emailed friends, asking for prayers for rain in Piojo.) The great news is that the next day it rained HARD! And the rain continued steadily for the next several days. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
Later, German talked about how the group needed to work together and described different roles people can take in a group – some positive roles and many negative roles. He did an excellent job of helping guide them in thinking about how they want to work as a group. After they finished the discussion in the circle, they began to distribute the food among the thirteen families. The men worked together, measuring and weighing the food. They paid attention to make sure all the families had an equal distribution of food.
As the men were working in a casual manner, I used the opportunity to ask them a question. They had earlier told me that they only had corn and rice planted in their farms. I highly doubted that. Just as I had experienced with previous work with farmers, it seemed that maybe the men were not valuing their farm enough. So, I decided to ask them, “What are you growing?” At first they responded, “Rice and corn.” I asked them if there was anything else growing, and I ended up with quite a long list:
Yucca (Yuca)
Maiz (Corn)
Arroz (Rice)
Frijol (Beans)
Name (Name fruit)
Patilla (Watermelon)
Melon (Cantalope)
Guyama (Guyama fruit)
Tomate (Tomato)
Aji (Garlic)
Mayillgo (Another type of corn)
Aguacate (Avacado)
Mango
Ciruela (Plum)

So, it seems that there is more than just corn and rice growing …

Please pray for the farmers as they work the land and work with the government for ownership of the land.

Kim goes to Barranquilla, Colombia to do accompaniment with the Presbyterian Churches of the U.S.A. and Colombia

Christine Caton and Kim Kavazanjian in Barranquilla, Colombia


My time here in Colombia has been wonderful so far. The people that I have encountered have been so warm and welcoming that I feel like I have lived here in Barranquilla for years already. It is quite an intense and amazing experience.
When I stepped through customs to the gate in the Colombian airport, Christine Caton and German Zarate greeted me with open arms. Christine and I will be accompanying together until June 30th. She has been in Barranquilla since May 1st. German is the Director of the Diaconia Program of the Presbytery of Barranquilla and Coordinator of the Acccompaniment Program in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC). The minute I was in their company, I knew that I was going to have a great time in Barranquilla.
I have experienced amazing hospitality from people. I am loving the time that I get to spend with Christine. We have only spent a week together, but I feel like I have known her for years. We are staying on the grounds of the Reformed University, which is the seminary, as well as a school for other subjects, and it is also the grounds for the Presbytery of Barranquilla. Christine and I each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and we share a kitchen that is about the size of a closet. We have been using the kitchen – we make coffee at breakfast and we cook dinner every night. In the afternoon, we go to the seminary cafeteria and get an amazing meal for about $2.50 per person!
I have been able to share life with the Colombian youth. The other night I went out dancing. I danced the salsa, merengue, and I learned the vallanato. If you don’t know already, I love to dance! So I really enjoyed my night of dancing.
German is already exposing us to much of the reality of the “least of these” in Colombia. We have talked with both indigenous people, whose communities are disappearing, and with displaced people, who are also dealing with an extremely difficult reality.

Here are some of thoughts that have been shared with me this week that I would like to share with you:

~An indigenous person asks us from the West, that we return to the way we were; back to Nature, back to Mother Earth, back to the light, back to the water; a return to spirituality instead of materialism.

~An indigenous person tells us, “We never cut big trees. Energy goes from body to body; we hug the trees.”

~An indigenous person explains, “Riches are not measured in money or hamburgers. We need to go back to the earth. Colombia is rich in diversity – cultures, languages, music. They connect us with nature.”

~German passes on to us the knowledge of an indigenous person, who once told him, “Personal Security is:
1) How are you with yourself? Are you happy? What do you not like about yourself? What are you going to do about it? What are you willing to change.
2) What is around you? What are you doing? What is your relationship with yourself and are you satisfied.
3) What is around you that is bothering you? What are those things that you are willing to transform?”



What are we willing to transform??????