Our delegation in Barranquilla on Sunday Morning
Left to Right; Drake Watson, Richard Williams (PCUSA Mission Worker), me, Bethany Furkin, Leila Abdul-Karim, Maria Arroyo, and Charlie Summers.
After Bethany and I treated our church guests to lunch at Piko Riko, our delegation met up again at the Colegio Americano de Barranquilla, a Presbyterian School which serves students from Kindergarten - High School. It is a wonderful institution that has an enrollment of 2,000 students and is very modern as we toured the grounds. Afterward we met with representatives from the Reformed Synod of the IPC as they told us of their mission and ministry throughout Colombia, especially in the south with indigenous people. We had a very good meeting and they expressed their intent to help and support the PCUSA in any way possible.
That evening we had a farewell party at the home of Rev. Vilma Yanez Ogaza, the pastor of the Ninth Presbyterian Church and the current Moderator of the North Coast Presbytery. Staff from the Presbytery, Synod and Universidad Reformada with their families attended and we had great food, drink and plenty of Cumbia dancing!
Partying Barranquilla Style!
The next morning we woke EARLY and flew to Bogota, the capital city of Colombia to visit Central Presbytery. Bogota is a very pretty city and is nearly 9,000 ft. above sea level, making it the third-highest capitol in the world. As opposed to Barranquilla it was much cooler (70-75 degrees) and has a population of 7.3 million. We rode a van from the Bogota airport to our hotel, Hotel Caviar and met with the staff of Central Presbytery for lunch at a great restaurant named Sopas de Mama y Postres de la Abuela. Afterward we were given a tour of the city where we saw and visited points of interest.
View of Bogota from the north
The Legislative Building in the Plaza de Bolivar
After the tour, we visited the Colegio Americano de Bogota where we met with the staff and pastors of Central Presbytery and staff of the Colegio. We had a great discussion about the history of the presbytery and the school as well as the challenges of presbytery. The highlight was the folklore dancers and the trick played on us by Marta Munoz (Moderator of the Presbytery) who secretly asked the dancers to have us dance after a great dinner. How could we say "no?"
Folklore dancers at Dinner
Our delegation with the dancers
(NOTE: All photos in this post are from Bethany Furkin of PNS)
That ended our short time in this great city. We had a FABULOUS time in Barranquilla and I wish we had more than 24 hours in Bogota. The people were very warm and inviting. I ask that you definitely keep our brothers and sisters in the Colombian churches in your prayers as they face various challenges. But as they tell us, it is only God that keeps them going. Before I leave this earth I want to visit again!
If you are interested in what is happening in Colombia, here are a few links:
http://www.calledtocolombia.org - This is the blog of Mamie Broadhurst and Richard Williams, our two mission workers in Colombia. You can also follow our other mission worker Alice Winters at http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/wintersa.htm. I encourage you to link these to your blog and read regularly!
http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/colombia/ - This is our national church's site on Colombia. There is also a link for financial giving for projects and mission.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcusa_colombia/ - If you have an interest in Colombia, you can contact others who share the same passion. This group comprises of presbyteries, synods and other individuals who work together to support the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia (IPC).
http://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/colombia - This is the website for the Colombia Accompaniment Program. Gives you much more information!
Next post will be on another GREAT visit - Venezuela!
I strictly recommend not to wait until you get big sum of cash to buy all you need! You can just take the home loans or just credit loan and feel free
Posted by: AlexanderKRISTIN25 | July 03, 2010 at 12:57 AM