Expressions of my Age

 You’re always growing and learning about yourself, or at least I hope that I am. And coming to a new setting, context, country, and culture has highlighted several things about me that I had not thought about in a while.

The first thing that hit me after being here a bit, was how people view me based on how old I look. I’ve always looked younger than I am, and it’s always bugged me. People have always told me, “one day you’ll be happy you look younger.” And my typical response, “well I’m still waiting for that.”

Celebrating my birthday in Bogotá,
How old do I look?

I know, I know, I shouldn’t complain about this, I can just imagine everyone rolling their eyes as they read this. But it does bug me, and I’ve noticed it more in my first few months here. The reason this bothers me, is because when people think I’m several years younger than I am, I feel like they sometimes treat me differently. They look at me with incredulity and disbelief when I share what I’ve done, what experiences I’ve had. In shock they utter, “but you’re how old?” and after a while that gets tiring.

I think I’ve noticed this more in Colombia, because back home I had been in my role as youth pastor long enough that a lot of people knew me and what I was doing. They had gotten over their surprise that a young woman was a youth pastor. And now I feel like I’m sort of going through that again, meeting people and then watching them get over their surprise of my age.

So many people have asked me if I’m with an exchange program, or in the MCC two year program Seed. And I smile and say no, I’m a regular 3 year service worker. Yes, I was a youth pastor in Canada, and no I’m no longer in my early twenties. 

Another thing I’m relearning, or learning in a new way about me is how expressive I am. I’ve had several people tell me that I’m a very expressive person, and it’s true. This isn’t new to me, but it is something I’ve struggled with accepting in the past.

What I’m feeling is fairly easy to see in my facial expressions and body language. My excitement can be big, my laugh is loud, if I’m tired my eyes give it away, and when I’m not feeling well it shows. I’m quite expressive, without trying to be, I just am. And though I know there’s nothing wrong with that, there are times when I wish I wasn’t.

Expressively enjoying a park in Bogotá

Sometimes I wish I was better at hiding my feelings, I wish others couldn’t read me so easily. I’ve struggled with thinking this in Canada too, but now in Colombia I find myself going through this self-reflection again.

Maybe it’s because the Canadian culture is a bit more closed, and people don’t ask you so many things. Here it’s more acceptable to ask people, sometimes who you barely know, what Canadians would consider rather personal questions. It’s different and something that takes a bit getting used to. My reactions and responses to questions, sometimes share more than I would prefer.

But being expressive is part of who I am, and I don’t want to change that. Still, it’s a work in progress in accepting that at times and how that impacts my interactions and relationships in this culture. Oh the joys of learning about yourself ;)

Pan y Paz, Truth and Reconciliation

Some of the pan at church

Last weekend a lot was going on in my world. Here in Colombia the Mennonite Churches were celebrating Pan y Paz, Bread and Peace. In the MWC world, it was Peace Sunday. And In BC it was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) event in Vancouver. Three different events, for most people completely separate, but for me they share many links.

Let me start with the TRC. If you haven’t heard about the TRC in Canada, here’s an introduction. I’d heard about this event coming to BC years ago. MCBC, my provincial church, has been preparing for it for quite some time, and I know numerous people who participated. I really wanted to participate, but plans changed and being in Bogotá does not lend itself to participating in Vancouver events.

I found a live stream online, and I thought I could watch some of it while working, but that was not a good plan. The small part I watched was so impactful, hearing people share of such deep and profound pain, I couldn’t listen to it while being in that setting. I’m glad the public record of everything that was shared is available online, so that I and anyone else who wasn’t able to be there can still see it.

Truth and Reconciliation. Hearing the painful truth of what has happened, so that we can work for reconciliation. Building relationships that acknowledge the hurt that has gone before, yet still have hope for the future.

This was going on in BC, and it was heavy on my mind, my heart and in my prayers here in Colombia. I’ve heard several people hear express that perhaps something similar to the TRC could help work for healing in the conflicts that have and continue to go on in Colombia. I still have much to learn about the complex context of Colombia, but it is clear that truth and reconciliation are needed in many ways.

Yet I am continually amazed at the Anabaptist churches, that I have come to know here, and the way they live out their faith in the Lord by sharing a holistic gospel. A gospel, a good news, that has its foundation in Christ alone, but doesn’t stay as only head knowledge, as only something felt personally. No, it is expressed by the hands and feet of the church, the people who are the church.

In the past year the MWC Peace Commission created a poster that says “Peace is gospel.” Peace is good news. I believe that peace is central, foundational, and integral to the gospel message of Jesus Christ, not an added-on theology that you can take or leave, but inseparable from who Jesus is. 

Heading to the concert.

And I’ve seen that lived out here in the Anabaptist churches, and got to experience it again with Pan y Paz. On Saturday, September 21, I spent the morning with two other MCCers in Soacha, the municipality just South of Bogotá. There we joined a Mennonite program called Creciendo Juntos (Growing Together) and their Pan y Paz celebrations. Creciendo Juntos is one of several Anabaptist programs and churches in Soacha. It is in a marginalized neighbourhood, with houses built on unstable hillsides because there is nowhere else to go, and displacement being the main cause most live there.

Creciendo Juntos works with the children of this community, and there are a lot. We saw many smiling faces. To celebrate Pan y Paz there were workshops, games, picking up garbage together, lunch, and a concert of local teens presenting their own rap songs. The reality these kids face every day is unlike any I have ever experienced. The stories and realities the staff of Creciendo Juntos encounter is challenging to say the least. Yet their smiles and joy show the presence of hope.

Group activity in Soacha

Getting ready for the concert.

The paper cranes for each person

Hope was also brought home to me in the worship service on Sunday morning at the Berna Mennonite Church. The sanctuary was filled with paper cranes, symbols of peace. In the middle of the sanctuary stood two tables, one filled with a paper crane for each person, and the other filled with bread we had brought with us.

Pan y Paz. Bread and Peace. Jesus is the source of our peace, and to have peace among each other, everyone needs to have enough to live, everyone needs bread. This is justice; that everyone has enough.

Worship Service at Berna

In the worship service we shared this bread with each other, making sure that everyone received bread. And after the service was done, in small groups people took the rest of bread out to the community around the church, and shared it with whoever they met.

Pan y Paz. Bread and Peace. Truth and Reconciliation. These were very different events, occurring in completely different parts of the world, in different languages. Yet to me the threads that tie them together are strong.

I see people coming together, listening and sharing from the heart, from the core of who they are. I see people living out the call to peace that is the gospel. Not just knowing and believing it, but living and walking with others. Humbling themselves to listen and walk the path of reconciliation and healing. Humbling themselves to share from what they have until we all have enough.

Problems and pain still abound, but there is hope. Our God is a great God. I am continually filled with awe at the ways the Holy Spirit is at work in the church and that gives me hope for pan y paz and truth and reconciliation.

Worshipping with the congregation

Messages and prayers of peace the congregation wrote.

With my paper crane

Worshipping together on the Sunday of Pan y Paz

The best and the worst

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” –Charles Dickens

So it may seem rather exaggerated to begin a post with a Dickens quote, a very well know Dickens quote (though I have read that entire book!). But it sums up for me rather well how the month of August has gone.

I may not be the most consistent blogger, but I have blogged at least once a month, every month in 2013, but not in August. I didn't forget; I chose not to.

August was a month of highs and of lows. Several good friends from the MCC/MWC team were traveling, I was alone in my apartment and I was feeling rather more homesick than normal.

In my family, August is a big birthday month, first my brother’s and then mine 15 days later. We always celebrate each person’s birthday. Not extravagantly, but by being together and doing something special for that person.

This was my first birthday in Colombia, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I knew it would be different, and that’s ok, but part of me worried that it would be lonely. I didn't want it to be a big deal, but I wanted to celebrate somehow. But I wasn't sure how to share that with others.

So let’s just say that I had some very low days. I knew they would pass, and they did, but it was a very hard time.

One of the beautiful views in Boyacá

But August was also the best of times! There were good moments throughout, and the second half of the month was a lot better. I got to go with another MCCer to visit a Colombian MCCer’s home and family farm in the department of Boyacá. It was a wonderful weekend where I took far too many photos. I just loved walking and hiking in the mountains so much!

Then my birthday came, and it was great. The weekend before some of my friends from church planned something for me, which was stupendous! I enjoyed myself so much with them, and can’t describe how much I appreciated that they celebrated with me. On the day of my birthday (a Monday) we celebrated at the office too, with lunch and a cake. I got to spend time with friends in the evening and got several phone calls.

Feeling more at home in this beautiful city of Bogotá

This description makes the month seem rather normal, and in many ways it was. And that’s part of the beauty of it. I feel more and more like my life here is normal. There are still countless ways that I’m adjusting and will continue to adjust, but it feels so good to have normalcy; to have found a church community where I feel at home; to have made Colombian friends I can share and do things with; to feel comfortable in my neighbourhood and my home.

I wanted to share honestly, about how my life is going, and that includes that some days last month, I just can’t describe how incredibly sad and low I felt. And that’s part of life, here or anywhere. Life is the hard and the good, the best and the worst. And so I give thanks that life is also full of joys and happiness. I give thanks for the community I have found here, through MCC and MWC, and also beyond in the church and in Bogotá. Words fail me to express how touched and blessed I feel for this gift of community, for the gift of all these relationships that I have. 

Culture Shock

Culture Shock (noun)

Dictionary.com - a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.

Google - The feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

Almost from when I arrived people started asking me about “culture shock.” I don’t really like that question, because I find it hard to answer. At least I did, because the answer isn’t yes or no, it’s not just one sentence. To answer this question I need to think, reflect, and process what I have and am experiencing. And this means my answer, or at least parts of it, will change and grow as I do.

Hiking up to Monserrate (10,341 ft - 3,152 m)

This was also a hard question to answer, because when you first arrive somewhere, everything is exciting and new. There’s always more to discover. I was getting to know Bogotá, a new job, new co-workers, I was traveling to other parts of Colombia and beyond, and I moved into my own apartment and all the adventures that entailed. This time is also called the “honey moon stage.”

So, as you have probably guessed, I’ve been thinking about this for a while and am no longer in the ‘honey moon stage.’ That isn’t to say that I don’t find living in Bogotá exciting and enjoyable, but that I’m feeling more moments of culture shock, aka disorientation to unfamiliar things. And obviously there are many unfamiliar things.

I think I feel this most in social settings. I love getting to know people, going out and experiencing life here. Yet at the same time, whenever I’m with people, there always seems to be another awkward moment, and more questions, always rolling around in my brain. What’s the right greeting in this setting? What are they talking about? How am I supposed to act right now? Is that a joke, a compliment? What’s normal?  It’s trying to laugh at jokes when you don’t understand everything, and smile and nod at appropriate times when you’re not really catching what’s being said.

People are really gracious, and understand that Spanish isn’t my first language, and that I’m learning about Colombian life, but I get tired. It starts to feel cumbersome to be the one always asking, “What does that word mean?” To be the one that always needs every joke explained, and to have the doubts floating around as I wonder if I’m unknowingly offending someone. You don’t realize all the little unspoken things that everyone ‘just knows,’ until you’re in a new place and feel like you don’t know anything.

Even your personality changes a bit in another language, because you share your personality by how you express yourself. I’m no comedian but I have a sense of humour, sometimes sarcastic, and I enjoy some good one liners and word play. But in Spanish that completely changes. Most of the jokes I try to make fail miserably or fall flat. My vocabulary is greatly diminished, and at times I get frustrated with the inability to express myself the way I want, the way I can in English.

Hiking on the MCC retreat

All of this could sound rather negative, and yes there are moments when it gets me down. Yet, I am still so thankful for the many positive things in my life here. The MCC and MWC community that I get to be a part of is an incredible blessing. I’m making new friends (yay!), and getting to go out and experience different parts of Bogotá and other parts of Colombia. And even though my limitations in Spanish can frustrate me endlessly, I do think that my Spanish has improved since I arrived.

Culture shock is another step in living in and getting used to a new place. It’s not always easy, but I also know I’m not alone as I walk through it.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope it helps explain how I’m processing things right now.  I’d love to hear from you too! Have you experienced culture shock? What was it like for you?

Lessons in Salsa and Humility

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to dance, more specifically to swing dance. In Abbotsford I’d been going dancing for years! I’m not that great, but it’s fun and I just enjoy it so incredibly much. Unfortunately, as expected I can’t find any swing dancing in Bogota, but salsa is everywhere. So I decided I want to learn salsa. Fun!

I've gone salsa dancing a couple times in BC, but I know I have a lot to learn, so I looked for classes to take. The host family I was staying with took me to salsa lessons for beginners very close to where I live. I've gone several times with a colleague from the office. It’s been fun, great aerobic exercise and a very humbling experience.

Humbling, you ask? Well yes. With swing dancing I had passed the beginner stage a while ago. I knew there was still a lot that I didn't know, but I was at a comfortable middle level. The instructor in these salsa classes is very exact in what he wants. It’s not just memorizing some steps, but everything about how you move your body. I know this is the best way to learn a dance, to get it all from the beginning, and he teaches a much better foundation than most lessons I've seen in North America.

But it’s so frustrating! Just when I think I’m getting something, he shows me I’m not stepping forward properly. ‘Point your foot,’ ‘don’t step so hard,’ ‘smoother,’  ‘posture: pull your shoulders back,’ ‘stop jumping,’ etc. I can feel swing movements coming out, without trying. So I need to start from the beginning with salsa.

I keep telling myself that I know this is good to learn, I want to learn this, but it requires a lot of patience. I one of the last classes a little discouraged. Will I ever get all these small things down? I can go dancing without them, but I want to dance well! And to dance well I need to practice and learn this stuff. And that’s why I’m going to go again. I know the instructor will correct me on the same little things, countless times, but that’s what I need if I want to learn it.

And yesterday I got to practice salsa with a different teacher, and it was a great time! I started to feel like I’m getting it a bit more J

So here is where I can transition my story into some sort of life lesson or teaching moment, right? I have been teaching and sharing in church settings for a long time, so…

Let’s just say that salsa is an obvious example of lessons in humility I’m having in learning and getting used to a new city, a new country, a new culture. What I've learned before can help me pick up new things here, but I still need to go back to the beginning in a lot of ways. Especially to learn the small intricacies that makes a good foundation for a new way of doing things.

Random update: My apartment has had repairs made! All the bills are paid and internet has been installed. And I have new furniture, including a bed and couches. The apartment finally feels more like a home. I finally finished the blanket I was crocheting! Can you believe this is the first blanket I’ve ever crocheted and finished? It’s really warm and I am very happy to use it in cold Bogotá J

Just Different

My super great kitchen! 

It’s hard to believe it’s already June. Wow. Almost 6 months since I made the decision to come to Colombia. 4 months and 3 days since I moved to Bogotá. 3 weeks since I moved into my own apartment.

When I think about, well everything, I have no complaints. I lack nothing that is necessary. I am very blessed and thankful for all that has been provided for me.

That said, were I to write a glowing report about my life right now, with a rosy perfect glow on each aspect, it would not be true. This is not to complain, or whine, but just trying to realistically describe how I’m feeling at this moment.

The YABs committee

This past week I returned from a Young Anabaptists’ Committee meeting in Akron, PA. It was an amazing time with my friends on this committee, and wonderful with the other MWC people who were meeting at the same time. I enjoyed being back in North America (went swing dancing!) and connecting with these dear people from all over the world.

Always love my maté

Still there were some things that were a little weird, not bad just different. This was my last meeting as the North American representative on the YABs committee. I knew that was coming, and I feel like this move to South America was the right thing to do. But it was still hard to step back from something that I’ve been so involved in for the past 4 years. And coming home to Bogotá was also, well, different. After every meeting I’ve ever had with MWC I’ve always gone home to BC, to friends and family who were waiting for me, to my church family always excited to hear about my trip and experiences and to my youth group who wanted to know how it was. And this time it was different. I came home to a MCC community who care, and I’m really thankful for, yet still it just felt so different.

My living room, which now has a table and chairs! And the blanket I'm making :)

In my head I know I have so much to be thankful for. Yet this past weekend it was harder to feel that. I just felt sort of down. Thankfully some friends went furniture shopping with me and I finally got a table and chairs (no more awkward meals over a tiny end table)! It helped a lot to go out and do stuff with them. And I did have time to rest this weekend, which was great after not getting too much sleep during our meetings in Akron.

This week has its own busyness to it. The rental agency didn't pay last month’s gas bill so on Saturday I received a message that the bill is overdue and they will shut it off at any moment. This means that I got to get up early (for me) and go wait in line to pay it off as soon as possible (thankfully it all went well this morning). The owners of the apartment also still have to fix stuff in the apartment, so someone’s supposed to come over Thursday morning to do that. And there’s the whole issue of not having internet yet, which I really miss. I don’t like talking in the phone on Spanish, because it’s a lot harder for me to understand. But it’s what needs to be done. Hopefully the calls will have positive results.

That’s an update on how I’ve been. Everything’s ok, I’m just still getting used to many things that are just different.

The first magnet on the fridge, something to keep remembering.

All by myself…

The past month was rather crazy, hence only one blog. But let me rectify that today! What’s the news? This past weekend, on Saturday May 11 to be exact, the big transition happened… I moved into my new apartment in Bogotá!

It was a really full day. I started by calling a taxi and moving the rest of my personal belongings from my host family’s place to the new apartment. I got the keys for the apartment on April 30, so I had been slowly bringing stuff over, but the majority still needed to be moved. After I got my stuff inside the day really got going.

Several co-workers and friends from the MCC/MWC office came over to help me set up. Some had already helped me clean, and move in some heavier stuff. On Saturday, they came for a “curtain hanging” party! Everyone said it was time attending this kind of party. My new apartment has great big windows, but nothing to cover them. It was also missing lines to hang laundry, and there was a bed frame in pieces that needed to be put together. So that’s what we worked on. It was fun to do this with friends, and everything worked! I am the first to admit that I have no idea how to do this on my own.

Beautiful curtains!

I’ve always relied on my dad, brother and other friends for help with “handy” things around the house or at the church where I worked. So I know basically nothing about any of this stuff that was needed to get done and I really appreciated my friends’ help. Two people went with me to a local hardware store and helped me buy what was needed. Others brought tools with them, or extra chairs to use in my very empty apartment. The guys were great at drilling in the curtain rod hangers, and even showed me how to do it, so that I installed one of the hangers!

This blog wouldn’t be very interesting if I missed saying that the day was not without its hiccups along the way.

Putting the bed frame together we realized one of the bolts wasn’t the right fit, so after a return trip to the hardware store it was finally put together. That meant I had my single mattress and my single bed frame all ready to go, except… the mattress is about 4 inches longer than the bedframe! No one was expecting this. Both the frame and the mattress came from the MCC office, so we all assumed they would fit. Haha, not quite. So for now I’m sleeping with the mattress on the ground resting on some wooden boards with the bed frame sitting on its side.

My bedroom

While others were working on the curtains and laundry lines, some of us started working on breaking the styrofoam, from the new fridge that had been delivered earlier in the week, into small pieces that would fit down the garbage chute. The only info I’d been given about garbage was put it in the chute, so we did. But (you knew this was coming) we didn’t make it small enough and jammed the chute! This was an embarrassing moment, that included me calling the lady below me, who does the administration for the building. I ended up going into her apartment, and from her chute pulling out every bag we had put in. At least it all came out! She also showed me where to put big bags of garbage downstairs and was pretty nice about it.

The wall that now is lacking tiles...

While we had the problem of the chute filling up, some tiles on a wall decided to start falling off. The space to hang up laundry lines was on two walls covered in ceramic tiles. When holes were drilled into the grout half of the tiles on the upper part of the wall started to move! While I was looking at this they started to fall off. So I quickly threw my hands up to hold them in place while a friend started taking them down. My hands weren’t big enough to cover all the tiles and three fell before we were ready, but he caught 2 and I managed to catch the third while basically hugging the wall to keep the others in place. It’s hard to describe in writing, but I feel like it would have looked really funny if we had caught it on video. It worked out ok because we got all the tiles off intact, so the rental agency can send someone to put them back up, and I shouldn’t be responsible for buying new ones.

So after all this, and a great pizza lunch, I was alone in my new apartment. I will have a roommate, but she won’t be living here until September, so I have four months on my own. This is actually the first time I’ve lived completely on my own, so in some ways I wonder if this will be a bigger adjustment than what I’ve faced so far coming to Colombia. I’m all by myself here. But on the other hand I’m not. I have a great community here with MCC and MWC, great new friends who jumped in to lend a hand when I needed help.

The view of the mountains from my room

I must say that so far so good. I’ve had comfortable nights, and been warm enough with the three blankets on my bed. I’m still figuring the shower and the hot water out, one cold shower so far, but the next was better. :) This place has a really big kitchen which makes me so happy, but it’ll be even better when I get a table and chairs (hopefully when I get back from a meeting, aka early June) so I can sit and eat comfortably! And the thing I’m missing the most right now is internet. I really miss connecting with people online in the evenings. Hopefully that will be worked out sooner than later so I can Skype with all you great people who know me!

The Jungle Book!

The road to church

I have officially been in Colombia for over 2 months! Crazy! It doesn’t seem like that long, yet at the same time it also feels longer in some ways. I’d like to write about some experiences over semana santa (Holy Week… aka Easter), and also how life is going in general after being here 2 months. But first, my ‘adventure’ while I was in Chocó!

The Sunday when I was there we all split up into small groups of 2-3 to visit different Mennonite Brethren churches. I went to one that was in a very small community about 1.5 hours away in moto-taxi from Istmina, where we were staying. We left around 7:30am to get there for the 9am service. There were 4 of us, the pastor of the church, Pastor Nelson from Bogota, Carolina an MCCer serving in Chocó, and I. We squished into the moto-taxi and were off.

Flat tire #1

About an hour into our trip (I had no watch on so I’m guessing) we got a flat tire. So we stopped, put on the spare, and continued. About 100m down the road the spare went flat. When we looked at it, the tire had come off the rim and the inner tube had a huge gash in it. There was no saving this tire. Then our driver, Carolina and the pastor all got on their cell phones, trying to find a way to get us to the church. We ended up waiting on this dirt road for half an hour.

Flat Tire #2

You could hear the sounds of a mine in the distance, working on one of the countless rivers in Chocó. Our only visitors were a truck and a dirt bike that drove by without stopping at all. Then another dirt bike stopped and they were friends of the driver and trying to help him out, but there was nothing they could do. Finally the pastor got ahold of someone at the church, and they were going to send some people to pick us up on dirt bikes and take us to the church. So the four of us started walking to meet the guys who were coming to get us on dirt bikes.

Waiting with Carolina and the pastor

Walking

It was a really beautiful place. The green jungle was all around us, it wasn’t raining, and with a few clouds in the sky the sun didn’t seem too strong. After we walked over the top of a hill close to the taxi, we didn’t see any signs of any other people for our entire walk. No noises of cars, or dirt bikes, just birds and bugs buzzing around. I never imagined that part of my trip with the delegation to Chocó would end up being walking with this small group through the jungle.

After about 20 minutes of walking the first dirt bike reached us. It was decided that both Pastor Nelson and I would go on it. So I got to be the third person on the bike, sitting on the metal rack. Keep in mind that this is with me wearing a skirt! Thankfully I had shorts on underneath! We drove like this for a few minutes, then 2 bikes passed us to get the other 2, and then a third bike came and stopped. I switched bikes, so there would only be 2 of us on a bike. Then I was doubled like this for another 15-20 minutes or so until we got to the church. We drove through several creeks and rivers, and it was really good I was wearing sandals. At one point, my feet on the foot bars were completely submerged in the river! So it wasn’t just small creeks we drove through.

One of the rivers we rode through

Later on, others asked me if I was scared, and I could honestly answer, that no I wasn’t. Since I was a kid my family has had dirt bikes and I loved getting doubled for a ride by my brother, dad, uncle or cousin. For me the biggest difference was that I wasn’t adequately dressed for dirt biking. Normally I’d wear long pants, long sleeves and helmet in case you fall. Here I had my legs and arms exposed and no helmet. I knew that if we were to fall on the gravel it would really hurt, but I trusted the driver knew what he was doing, and he did, so we didn’t fall.

After all this we arrived at the church. Pastor Nelson was somewhere else getting changed, so I walked in on my own as my driver disappeared. I was greeted by this wonderful lady who was super nice and led me to a seat in the front row. Eventually Pastor Nelson and Carolina joined me, but it took them awhile to get there.

Pastor Nelson preaching

The church service was great! It was super loud music, and their passion was incredible. They sang and clapped their hands and praised God. The kids were seated close to the front and were dancing and jumping around. It was such a blessing to be a part of! Pastor Nelson was their guest speaker and he gave a passionate sermon that was very interesting, and I was actually able to follow! After the worship service they gave us a great lunch of cheese soup and we spent some time walking around their community and hearing their stories.

This MB church is the only church in the small community of under 400 people. And even though not everyone is a member of the church, they all participate in some way and want to help the church, because the church cares and helps the community. Last year when they were building a new church building everyone from the community came to help, and some non-church members were even saying that they (as in all of them together) should be doing a better job! They took ownership of the project and wanted to serve this church that means so much to this community. We heard other stories that were very impactful, but I’m not sure how much I should share here in a public space.

Getting back was another adventure, since our taxi didn’t come with us all the way, it couldn’t take us back. Thankfully, one of the 3 vehicles in the community was driving back to Istmina and he loaded up all the passengers he could take, I think around 12-13 in one jeep!

Visiting after the church service

As you can tell nothing bad happened on this trip, we just had to make some changes to transportation, but it all worked out ok. Later on that day, when we were back in Istmina, I learned more about the context of where we were, and learned how great God’s protection of us was. The road we were traveling on went past several mines, and mines are protected by paramilitary groups, who don’t necessarily want outsiders there. Pastor Nelson and I are obviously outsiders. However, we were traveling with an MCCer and a local pastor, both of whom are well known in the area, and it’s much better and safer to travel with locals. There’s also the fact that we were in the jungle for a while with no vehicle, and there are wild animals around. And again, God protected us, we never saw any animals.

For me this did feel like an adventure. It’s the first time I walked through the jungle! But more than that, it was a witness to God’s protection. While I am so thankful for this protection, I am now also more aware of the dangers and struggles that the people here face every day. Yet in the midst of this they worship with joy and hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, who is here! He is here with them, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to join with these brothers and sisters for this Sunday. And who knows, maybe there’ll be another opportunity to go back to Chocó soon!

Incarnational Living

Once again two weeks have passed since I wrote, and a lot has happened! I wanted to share about some other parts of Colombia that I have gotten to visit, and mostly about the people there and the incredible ways they are living out their faith.

Part of what MCC does in Colombia is host learning tours, helping people from other parts of the world understand, learn more about, and support the people in Colombia, their joys and their struggles. I was blessed to accompany a learning tour of MB pastors and leaders from Canada who came here to connect with Colombian MB pastors.

This is the walk some people have to their house in Cazucá

My first day with them we went to Cazucá, a neighbourhood in the municipality of Soacha, just south of Bogotá. We visited an MB church there, which is also running a school. It was amazing to hear the testimony of the pastoral couple working there. This is a neighbourhood, where 90% of the people there have been displaced from other parts of the country. (Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced people in the world.) For those who can’t afford to live in Bogotá, they’ve gone to the outskirts of the city. This is a neighbourhood of houses built on the side of the hill, which was empty land before. Walking through the neighbourhood, we saw where a landslide had destroyed many homes before, and where other homes where slowly falling. The people of Cazucá face many challenges; including living the midst of a violent context, yet still there is hope. The MB church has grown in 10 years, and the pastoral couple and the 2 MCCers living with them, are the only Mennonites working in Cazucá who also live there. What a testimony, what incarnational living.

Hearing about the Chocó region by the Atrato river.

I also got to visit Anabaptists in the Chocó region of Colombia. There are 10 MB churches there and the first was started by North American missionaries. However, these churches have not received visitors from MB churches in the North America in over 20 years. So it was a big deal for this delegation of MB pastors and leaders from Canada to visit. And the Mennonites of Chocó welcomed us with open arms. Their hospitality was tremendous.

The Chocó region is one of the poorest in Colombia. They have poor infrastructure and no water system.  It’s one of the wettest places on earth, lots of rivers, and lots of humidity, which makes it super-hot. The people there are primarily Afro-Colombian, and the music and church services were lively and full of energy! There is a lot mining going on here, and also continued violence and threats of violence from armed groups. Guerilla groups, para-military, and the Colombian army are all present. On the drive to the city where we stayed we went through territory controlled by each of these groups.

Yet in the midst of these challenges and struggles the churches enthusiastically welcomed us, with many smiles, hugs, and kisses on the cheek (the typical Colombian greeting). They were excited to share with us their ministries and how they were living out a holistic gospel in their communities. Every church we heard of was striving to minister to the needs of the people around them, spiritual and physical. They asked for our prayers, and shared their joy to have relationship with us, to know that they are not alone. It was very powerful to hear of how these churches are living out their faith in the midst of this difficult context.

Pastors and church leaders from Chocó

We were in Chocó for 5 days, and 4 nights, and a lot happened! There were some adventures, and a lot of amazing people. I’ll some more about this soon, as this post is already long enough!