Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia, 2011

This year I was happy to serve on a planning committee to help organize activities for the Days of Prayer and Action campaign. In the past, most of the activities have occurred with church and advocacy groups in the United States. Many people are organizing events and offering specific prayers for peace in Colombia in these days. Tomorrow will be a National Advocacy Day for calls to the legislature to encourage change in US policy regarding Colombia.

This is the first year we really worked in a different way to promote this event among local churches in Colombia. We were blessed to have a visit from the Remanzo de Paz church in Sincelejo, Colombia here in Bogota to talk to various churches. They shared their story of displacement ten years ago, and a massacre that killed many of their loved ones. They talked about how they have come together, uniting in the perservering joy and enthusiasm so typical of the coast. They performed original songs for us that expressed their story. I heard them twice and enjoyed the music and inspiration they had to share.









It reminded me of when I was able to visit this community one year ago. I felt transformed by their hospitality, their honesty, their resilience, their beautiful and blooming land, and their hope for the future of their country. I wrote about that experience here.

"Donde está mi hijo?, Donde está mi hermano?, Donde está mi amigo que del pueblo se llevaron?. Donde está mi finca?, Donde está mi ganado?, no veo mi cultivo me siento soltario.... (Where is my son? Where is my brother? Where is my friend they took from town? Where is my farm? Where are my animals? I don't see my crops, I feel alone...)

Que reina la paz, que reina el amor, y que en nuestro pais cese el dolor. Jesús es la fuente de mi salvación, es mi esperanza. Él es mi paz. Él es mi protector. (That peace will reign, that love will reign And that the pain of this country will stop. Jesus is the source of my salvation, is my hope. He is my peace. He is my protector.)

Aquellos causantes de mi gran dolor. Jesús me dío las fuerzas para perdonar." (Those who caused my great pain...Jesus gave me the strength to forgive)

Listen to a short part of their musical program.


Friends in the north really need to know that your prayers and advocacy for the people in Colombia does make a difference. On both policy and personal levels, changes are made, and hope is reborn. Thank you for this work on behalf of Colombia.