Newsletters

Date: June 30th 2009

More Than Corn and Rice
by Kim Kavazanjian
June 24, 2009

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 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 Piojó.

German, the diaconia coordinator, 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 of prayer, and unity in the community through prayer, as a way to build hope and trust among one another. He asked us to 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 Piojó. 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.< br />
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 would rain. (I also emailed friends, asking for prayers for rain in Piojó.) 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:
Yuca (Yucca)
Maiz (Corn)
Arroz (Rice)
Frijol (Beans)
Ñame (Ñame root)
Patilla (Watermelon)
Melon (Cantaloupe)
Ahuyama (Squash)
Tomate (Tomato)
Aji (Peppers)
Mayillgo (Another type of corn)
Aguacate (Avocado)
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.