Report from Colombia

Presbyterian mission co-worker (and Witherspooner) Alice Winters has just sent this brief note which suggests something of the anguished conflict going on there (in which the U.S. has a large role, of course). And at the same time, she is involved in the opening of a new Reformed University, and all the red tape that goes with it.

Ecumenical Press International has carried a story this confirms this account from Alice Winters.

I need to do a newsletter, but haven't had time. This past Sunday, the 146th anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, we had a special service of thanks to God for the formal recognition of the Colombian Reformed University (formerly the Presbyterian Theological Seminary). This recognition has also required a great deal of additional work to comply with all the new institutional requirements in terms of admissions, programs of study, evaluations, etc. And on top of it all, my computer died! (I'm writing you on a brand new one -- not something that was in my budget right now!)

As for the situation of the country as a whole, we are in a vicious circle of violence, and many Colombians are fearful for the future. When negotiations broke off with the guerrilla, the violence here escalated to a new level. A few weeks ago over 100 people were massacred in a church where they had taken refuge. Last week an entire town was kidnapped. And those are just two of the most visible cases. Yesterday 31 people lost their lives around the country in political violence.

You undoubtedly saw on television what took place while our new president was being sworn in today. But more than that, the police found and broke up several other conspiracies that would have affected the ceremony even more seriously. But the new president is a "hard liner" who has promised to crack down on the guerrillas. He wants to beef up the army to ten times its present force and has already threatened to call up the reserves (all men who have served in the army in the last five to ten years). This means even more violence, and most Colombians feel you can't fight violence with violence and achieve peace.

So we will really need your prayers in the weeks and months ahead. The violence tends to be centered in the southern and central parts of the country, so here in Barranquilla we do not feel we are in any immediate danger.

Incidentally, I am leaving tomorrow for Mexico where I will teach in a master's program in biblical studies, and from there I will go to Virginia for a week. My 84-year-old mother is not doing well, and this may be my last visit with her. I will be back in Colombia on August 26.

Blessings on you... Alice Winters

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An index of our reports from

BECOMING NEIGHBORS:
An Invitation
to Global Discipleship

A Witherspoon conference
on global mission and justice

September 16 - 19, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky

Check out our report from the Conference
on
Terror, Torture,
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