Global Mission Fellows: God’s People in Colombia

God’s People in Colombia
By Joy Eva Bohol

On May 2013, I was blessed to see the real Colombia. I had taken a one-hour flight and a four-hour bus ride from the capital, viewing the prosperous city life in Bogotá to the quiet rural indigenous Zenú community in Córdoba.

The roads going to the community are not yet developed, so the terrain was rough and muddy due to rain. Locals use motorcycles or donkeys as the preferred modes of transportation. While there, I felt that I was also back in the Philippines since so many areas are very similar to this (although we use the carabaos and cows instead of donkeys).

I was so amused at the sight of children sitting atop of a donkey. I felt transported back to the Biblical time when people used donkeys as their mode of transportation. To be honest, it was the first time I’d seen a real donkey.

I noticed that there were water gallons on the donkey. I asked one of the host organizers about it. “They use them to fetch water for drinking, cooking, and all household needs. Until now, we don’t have water pipes available for the entire community, which is why they need to travel far to get water.”

Here, the water is stagnant. It accommodates the entire Zenú community and aside from being the source of basic water, it is also where people fish. Water is scarce in this area, which is very opposite from what we experience in the city (talk about Hunger Games!).

Political corruption is prevalent in Colombia. In this indigenous community, politicians are quite obvious to identify: they have big houses with complete utilities.

The main livelihood of the Zenús is farming. But some of them tend hectares of land they don’t own. Literacy is low in this community. Most of the children study only until elementary or high school and the rest of their lives is spent in farms and raising their own families, marrying very young.

What is your dream?
CEPALC (CENTRO Popular para America Latina de Comunicación) held a five-day workshop series on Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy among the Zenús in primary and high schools as well as partner women organizations.

I was tasked to talk about spiritual health. I asked the kids and the youth about their dreams in life. Most of them said they want to graduate from high school and get married. I asked them again about their dreams, but I got the same response. “Graduate from high school…get married…”

Poverty has limited their desire to do more – or so they think. They think that money is equivalent to success. Although that’s how the world runs, that is not the only road to a better life. There is so much potential in these young people they haven’t even discovered yet.

Identifying with God’s People
I still haven’t really figured out why in this area they lack the encouragement to be more than what they are now. Perhaps it is the system that disheartens them to move forward. If this mentality continues, I can’t imagine achieving a better future if we have a generation raised without hope. These young people may be poor financially, but they are very rich in so many other aspects – and it has to start from within them!

During a workshop, I shared my own similar life experiences among the children, youth and women in Córdoba, about being the first Asian volunteer from a developing country. “We can still dream big,” one woman said.

Jesus has given each of His children the power of the Holy Spirit to testify of His kingdom. The good news: we are given power to live now in ways that are consistent with the values of God’s kingdom. We are called to prepare the way for God’s reign of gracious love, social justice, human reconciliation and peace in our world. (The Upper Room Ministries, June 8, 2014)

My trip to Córdoba has reminded me that sharing a part of my life story could be an instrument of peace, justice, and love — through IDENTIFYING WITH GOD’S PEOPLE.