Newsletters

Date: May 10th 2010

FINAL REPORT ON COLOMBIA EXPERIENCE (3.1 – 4.23.2010)
by Liz and Bill Branch
May 6, 2010

After our time in Uraba, we had nearly a week in Barranquilla before we returned to the United States. The last few days there were fruitful for several reasons: we had some time to sort things out in our minds, to spend more time with Gloria, German, Mamie and Richard, to evaluate the experience verbally with German, and to learn more about the work of documenting human rights abuses from Jerry.

What have we "accomplished"? asked German. By the traditional definition of "accomplishment", we had little to report. But the verb "to be" has acquired new meaning and increased in importance in our vocabulary. "To be" includes "to be with", "to accompany". Our "accomplishment" has been to support the IPC in standing up for the rights of the poor and displaced. In the process, we have observed the powerful witness of people who not only care for each other but care about the conditions in which others live. "Conditions" include not only housing and education but also justice and dignity.

As one friend in Colombia said, "The church is not the church unless it is supporting people in their efforts to maintain and/or regain their human rights." That's a powerful statement. The IPC is making a powerful statement in its support of rights for everyone, particularly the poor and displaced.

What are we going to do with the experience we have had in Colombia? We have begun by telling the story of the IPC and our experiences with the IPC to a few people in our families and among our friends, in our congregation, and in the PCUSA. Some seem surprised to hear that in Colombia there are many groups of actors, armed and otherwise; that the terms "war on terror" and the "war on drugs" may oversimplify a complex problem; that a "free trade agreement" may impoverish "the least of these" and enrich the powerful.

This past week we have attended the annual meeting of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team. There we had the opportunity to talk about "accompaniment" and to help some of the team members see their work as accompaniment rather than accomplishment. The PDA seeks to accompany those who have experienced disaster, especially those who are the poor and those who are displaced. The concept of being with another is a powerful idea that should pervade the work of the whole church. It is an extension of the work of the Incarnation. God was in Christ accompanying us. God in Christ continues to be our accompanier in the person of the Holy Spirit. In that we find strength and courage to live and work for "the least of these," our brothers and sisters who are among us now.

In the coming months and years, we believe God is calling us to do our best to assimilate and interpret the news coming from Colombia and to widen the community of those who are sensitive to opportunities to advocate for protection of human rights in Colombia. It may also be our role to write to the Colombian government in some instances; it will certainly be our role to write and call members of our government to encourage the reshaping of U. S. policies toward Colombia.

In our own ears will be the admonitions we heard: "No one has the right to take away the rights of another human being!" "It makes no sense to destroy in order to develop." "When we believe in individualism, we have a poor understanding of the Reformed tradition. To develop a harmony with our environment, we have to work together." "Colombian Presbyterians can help us discover together that God is a God of love, not violence, and that God is a God of justice and peace—not war."

Early in the morning on April 23, we left our brothers and sisters in Colombia. We were sad to leave: our nearly two months with the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC) has been one of the richest experiences of our lives, an experience that will shape our thoughts and lives going into the future. We eagerly await the time when we will celebrate a reunion with those from whom we have learned so much and who have loved so greatly!

A Dios sea la gloria,
Liz and Bill Branch

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