Accompanier Reports

John Wallace & Ivan Herman Pure criminals and murderers— every single one of them.” The taxi driver didn’t hold back his disdain for Venezuelans. “All they want to do is steal and kill. And you…”…

Ivan Herman & John Wallace April 23, 2018 Late one afternoon, we joined 50 Colombian Presbyterians to hear Rev. Milton Mejía discuss how the concept of development has changed in the last 50 years. He…

Ivan Herman & John Wallace, April 18, 2018 Peace is a dirty word for some Colombians. Right-wing groups, including some political parties and evangelical and conservative Catholic groups, have joined in slandering the idea of…

John Wallace & Rev. Ivan Herman April 9, 2018 Four heavily armed Colombian soldiers in uniform barely glanced at us as we turned off the highway into the Zona Veredal Transitoria de Normalización (Transitional Normalization…

Cathy & Peter Surgenor March 1, 2018 No rain for the entire month we were in Urabá! (Northwestern Colombia). We had been prepared for almost daily deluges because Weather.com had predicted them. We expected jungle…

Cathy & Peter Surgenor 20 February 2018 Our week has been short but busy. We have visited three churches in three towns and eight families. In all these visits there are similarities. Each home visit…

Cathy and Peter Surgenor 20 February 2018 In the midst of a culture of violence, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia is a voice for peace and reconciliation. Individual churches provide solace for those who have…

By the grace of God, we were able to join the Pilgrimage of World Council of Churches (WCC) delegates to honor the work of two human rights workers (Mario Castaño and Hernán Bedoya) who were…

Cathy and Peter Surgenor February 15, 2018 We were in a bus whizzing back to Apartadó. A two-lane road with narrow shoulders and numerous huts nestled up to the road side. Horse drawn carts, bicycles,…

Cathy and Peter Surgenor February 6, 2018 Apartadó, Urabá, Colombia There are two stories about an iglesia in the Humanitarian Zone. Maybe elements of both stories are true. When the plantation masters were departing, they…