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??????

Seeds in the hands of the farmers!

This past Thursday and Friday, July 24th and 25th, 2008, I was in Aristobolo del Valle, Misiones, Argentina with 600 farmers from all over the province of Misiones, and some from other provinces and other countries for the Seed Fair. The Seed Fair and the Seed Movement celebrated its tenth anniversary of seed exchange in Misiones. This exchange is extremely important for the entire province and country. Here’s some background….

Under the motto “seeds in the hands of the farmers”, the Seed Fair, as part of the Seed Movement, started to take form in the year 1997, in the city San Vincente, of the province Misiones. The objective of the fair, since it’s beginning, has been the exchange of genuine seeds of Misiones, without the exchange of money. Around this time, the pharmaceutical companies began the sale of transgenetic seeds, turning themselves into seed companies. These companies who create genetically modified seeds, have manipulated organisms in a laboratory in order to modify some characteristics, for example, creating resistance in their seeds to their own herbicides. These transgenetic seeds only grow with the use of the herbicides and the entire technological package that is created by the company. The companies sell their seeds at a higher price, and also require the purchase of the entire technological package. Also, when the farmers buy the seeds from these companies, they sign a contract, which prohibits the farmer to replant the seed year after year, requiring the farmer to buy new seeds year after year.

Many farmers in Misiones still purchase these seeds when they can cultivate, save, plant and exchange their own, genuine seeds for free year after year, and decide their own destiny. These transgenetic crops create political, economic, social and cultural dependency. They also create dependency on agro-chemicals, promoting monocultures in agriculture, which threatens the environment and puts food security at danger. Agricultural biodiversity is necessary for security and knowledge of food and the independence of the people!

Oración Interreligiosa Por la Nación Argentina

On June 18th, 2008, I had the opportunity, with my peers in the ELCA YAGM program, to join others in an inter-religious vigilance, in Resistencia, Argentina, in response to the current state of Argentina. Please join us in prayer….

Oración Interreligiosa Por la Nación Argentina
18 de Junio, 2008

*Padre Bueno y Misericordioso, da a nuestra pobre y limitada naturaleza tu Espíritu de Sabiduría y Amor para que sepamos construir una Nación de hermanos.

*Danos Señor, conciencia, de la responsabilidad que tenemos ante los excluidos, los marginados, los necesitados de ayuda, en el alma y en el cuerpo, las familias, los ancianos, los jóvenes, los niños y los enfermos.

*Ayúdanos Señor, para que todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad nos unamos en un trabajo constante para liberar a los que viven esclavizados por la ignorancia, la justicia y la miseria.

*Ilumina Dios Todopoderosos, a todos los dirigentes, a los medios de comunicación social, a los gremios, y a todas las entidades intermedias para que trabajen con un corazón limpio y libre de otros intereses que no sean los de promover el bien común.

*Bendice Altísimo Dios, nuestro campo, las industrias, el comercio, y todas las actividades productivas y sociales, has que no falte trabajo y pan en cada hogar y los jóvenes tengan futuro en nuestra tierra Argentina.

*Concédenos conocer los caminos más propicios para lograr el crecimiento y el progreso, que todo tu pueblo necesita en esta bendita tierra crisol de razas.

*Danos Señor, un corazón agradecido y humilde para que te alabamos y te rindamos culto permanente, con Fe y Esperanza en tu Divina Providencia que todo lo puede.

*Líbranos Dios omnipotente de todo mal, bendice nuestra Nación, conviértelo en un lugar lleno de vida y progreso, para que todas las generaciones te alaben y agradezcan por tu infinita misericordia.



Inter-religious Prayer for the Country of Argentina
June 18, 2008

*Good and Merciful Father, give our poor and limited nature your Spirit of Knowledge and Love so that we may know how to build a Nation of brothers.

* Give us, Lord, conscience, of the responsibility that we have before the excluded, the marginalized, those that need help in body and soul, families, the elderly, youth, children and the sick.

* Help us, Lord, so that we, all men and women of good will, can unite ourselves in the constant work to free those who live enslaved by ignorance, injustice and misery.

*Illumine, Omnipotent God, all of the leaders, the means of social communication, the unions, and all of the intermediary entities so that they work with a heart that is clean and free of other interests, that they not be those that promote the common good.

*Bless, Most High God, our countryside, the industries, the businesses, and all of the productive and social activities that you make so that every home is not without work or bread and that that youth have a future on our Argentine land.

*Grant us to know the more suitable ways to achieve the growth and progress, that all of the village needs, in this blessed land of the melting pot of races.

*Give us, Lord, a grateful and humble heart so that we praise you and we permanently worship you, with Faith and Hope in your Divine Providence that all is possible.

*Free us, Omnipotent God, of all bad. Bless our nation. Convert it into a place full of life and progress, so that all generations praise you and thank you for your infinite compassion.

Profetas...

“Profetas de un Futuro que No es Nuestro”

De vez en cuando, nos ayuda dar un paso atrás y contemplar el vasto panorama.
El Reino no solamente está más allá de nuestros esfuerzos, sino que trasciende nuestra visión.
Cumplimos en nuestra vida solamente una ínfima fracción
de la magnífica empresa que es la obra de Dios.
Nada de lo que hacemos es completo, lo cual es otra forma de decir
que el Reino siempre nos trasciende.
Ninguna declaración expresa todo lo que puede ser dicho.
Ninguna oración expresa totalmente nuestra Fe.
Ninguna confesión deviene en perfección.
Ningún programa lleva a cabo la misión de Cristo.
Ninguna meta o serie de objetivos incluye la totalidad.
Eso es lo que proponemos.
Plantamos las semillas que algún día brotarán.
Regamos las semillas que ya han sido plantadas,
sabiendo que contienen una promesa futura.
Echamos los cimientos que necesitarán posterior desarrollo.
Proveemos la levadura que produce efectos más allá de nuestras aptitudes.
No podemos hacer todo,
y al darnos cuenta de ello nos sentimos liberados.
Eso nos permite hacer algo y hacerlo muy bien.
Será incompleto pero es un comienzo,
un paso a lo largo del camino,
y una oportunidad para que la gracia del Señor aparezca y haga el resto.
Quizá nunca veremos los resultados finales.
Pero ahí está la diferencia entre el maestro de obras y el albañil.
Somos albañiles, no maestros de obra, ministros, pero no Mesías.
Somos los profetas de un futuro que no es el nuestro.

Por Oscar Romero


“Prophets of a Future Not Our Own”

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.


We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are the workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

By Oscar Romero

My birthday in Misiones

On Tuesday, June 24th, I celebrated my 27th birthday with the community “Dios Es Amor” (“God is Love”) in San Martin. Now I truly feel like my year working with the community of San Martin is complete because I was able to celebrate my birthday with the church. The women made hot chocolate and cake, both from scratch! It was delicious. Many of you are probably reading this, thinking, isn’t it too hot for hot chocolate. Well, we are actually in the winter season here. It is my first time celebrating my birthday in the winter. We had a beautiful, sunny day though. And about 20 children came for the celebration! I am so thankful for all of the women that took the time to make the cake and hot chocolate. I often say now that I have 20 mothers in San Martin. Unfortunately, the pastor, Mariela Pereyra, was not able to make it to the party on time because her car broke down, But, don’t worry we saved some cake for her and her daughter, Ingrid. One women, who has been a good friend and works as a teacher for the bible school, Viviana, was not able to make it. After waiting for two months, Viviana was finally able to go in for heart surgery to have two major valves removed, and have two new valves put in. I was able to visit her this past Friday, and she is doing great. She can now walk by herself. Please keep her and her family in your prayers as she continues to recover. I guess I had many birthday blessings!

May in Misiones

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the secadero cooperative in Guarani, where my friend, Luis, stands as president. This visit was a distinct, Argentine experience because the secadero is the machinery involved in the first step of the processing of the yerba mate. In this step, the yerba goes through various rounds of heat, where the yerba is dried out. At the end of the drying process, three kilos of yerba will yield one kilo.
Not only does yesterday stand out in the yerba mate history books for me, but for all of Misiones. Yesterday was the first day of striking on Route 14. The yerba mate producers on Route 14 are getting paid less than the producers on Route 12. Not only are the producers asking for equal wages to the producers on Route 12, but they are asking that all producers be paid for half of the real price that is paid by the consumer. But, I did not see many farmers in Route 14 when I passed by with Luis, because apparently, there is division among the producers as to how to get the increase in wage. Here’s some background as to why….
In 2001, when Argentina had its major economic crisis, the Instituto Nacional Yerba Mate (National Institute of Yerba Mate), or INYM, was created. The purpose of INYM was to create a table for dialogue and agreements between the different stages of production of yerba mate. The tareferos (day laborers), producers, secadores, molinos (the grinding and packaging of the yerba), the state government, and the national government are all included with various representatives of each group at the table. INYM created a national law that attempted to control and regulate the price and quality of the yerba mate. However, the table is not sitting level on four legs. Some of the legs are larger than some of the others. Even though INYM claims to have a table for dialogue, it seems that some of the voices are not being heard, or that some of the groups are not well represented at this table. On Saturday, May 24th, the producers had a meeting in the secadero and decided to begin a strike and stop all production at the secadero level until they are heard from the molinos and the government. So when I visited the secadero, I was not able to see the yerba mate in production.
Please pray for all of the producers and consumers in Argentina, that the country can see some justice in all produce prices.