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Showing posts from 2015

Hinchazón en la rRodilla

 Hinchazón en la Rodilla Hola amigos, Me di cuenta de la hinchazón en la rodilla por algún tipo de picada. Obvio que  era algo serio, así que fui al hospital y recibí una inyección. Me dijeron que lo mantuviera en el aire así que empecé usando pantalones cortos. Ayudó por poco tiempo. Pero entonces empezó a hincharse de nuevo. Cada vez que los colombianos lo veían casi todo el mundo comentaba, "los antibióticos no funcionan: usted tendrá que ver a un sobandero" (curandero). Entonces nos fuimos como  equipo para un barrio donde los paramilitares estaban abusando de la gente. Allí  llevamos a cabo una manifestación de protesta. Hubo 6 u 8 hombres allí que nos observaban, por lo que algunos de nosotros fuimos a hablar con ellos. Un de ellos notó mi picadura y remarcó "usted tendrá que ver a un sobandero." Entonces él dijo: "Oh, conozco  uno, tengo un coche y yo estaría dispuesto a llevarte a verlo." Ya que no conocíamos al tipo, estábamos rec

Llamada telefónica de las FARC

Hola amigos,                                                                              Llamada telefónica de las FARC  “Hola, este es el Comandante Morales de las FARC. Estamos tomándonos su finca”. Las FARC es el grupo guerrillero más grande de Colombia. Ante esto, José y María con su hijo Jorge salieron rápidamente con solo su ropa en sus espaldas.” José estaba llorando ya que renunciaba a su sueño de una finca para poder proveerle un futuro a su hijo “, María intervino mientras me contaban su historia. José añadió lo siguiente: ”María estaba preñada de nuestro siguiente hijo .La finca comprendía unas hectáreas de café y mucho ganado .Habíamos contratado 20 empleados. Las FARC dijeron que querían reclutar a nuestro hijo de 8 años. Jorge, porque habían notado que era buen trabajador y por tanto sería  un buen soldado”.  “Las FARC nos encontraron en el pueblo de donde tratamos de escapar. Las FARC enviaron cuatro tipos a su escuela y  dijeron a la escuela que los habíamos

A Pito Bite & a Traditional Healer

Hello, Friends,                                     A Pito Bite & a Traditional Healer I noticed swelling on my knee from some kind of bite. It was obvious something serious so I went to the hospital and got a shot.  They told me to keep it in the air so I began wearing shorts. It helped for a little while. But then it started to swell again. Whenever the Colombians saw it most everyone remarked, “antibiotics will never work: you will have to see a sobandero” (traditional healer). We then went as a team to a neighborhood where the Paramilitaries were abusing the people. There we held a protest demonstration. There were 6 or 8 guys there watching us, so some of us went over to talk to them.  One fellow noticed my bite and remarked “you will have to see a sobandero.” Then he said, “Oh, I know one, I have a car and I would be willing to take you to see him.” Since we did not know the guy we were leery of accepting his offer. So we had a team meeting on the spot to try to dec

A FARC Phone Call

Hello friends,                       A FARC Phone Call “Hello, this is Commander Morales of the FARC. We are taking over your farm.” The FARC is the largest guerrilla group in Colombia. At this Jose and Maria with their son Jorge left quickly with just the clothes on their backs. “Jose was crying as he gave up his dream of the farm to provide a future for his son,” Maria chimed in as they told me their story.  Jose added the following: “Maria was pregnant with our next child. The farm consisted of acres of coffee, and many cattle. We had 20 hired employees. The FARC said they wanted to recruit our 8 year old son Jorge because they noticed he was such a good worker and therefore would make a good soldier.  “The FARC found us in the town where we tried to escape. The FARC then sent four guys to his school and told the school they were sent by us to pick him up. Neighbors told us this was happening, so we called the police, the police went there, and then the four guys left. Than
Pray for Critical Colombia Peace Talks  Dear friends, Colombian Peace talks are in a very critical point right now. You can help by praying.  Here is where things stand: The FARC the largest guerrilla group declared a unilateral cease fire on July 20. That is very good. However the government refuses to do the same, Santos the President has said that if they do, the FARC will regroup and reinforce themselves as has happened in the past. Another issue: Santos says the guerrillas who have done atrocities should be imprisoned. FARC says, only if all others like the Colombian military and paramilitaries who have committed atrocities are also imprisoned. Probably the Colombian military is strongly pressuring Santos to keep them out of prison. Colombian peace talks in Havana Cuba They have agreed on some very important points. One is how to include the guerillas in the political process. The UN and other countries are getting involved to help broker an agreement. Santos sa

Making Peace with Isis.

 Dear friend,                           Making Peace with Isis.                                                            First I want to say I do not condone what Isis is doing. It is more than very wrong. The following is to help us understand what created Isis, what makes people join them and to find a good solution. Is doing the same old thing using bombs working?  It seems it clearly is not bringing peace, but mushrooming creating more deaths and hate toward the USA . What if Isis was bombing your town and killed your son, mother or brother? Then suppose a group formed to fight and stop that killing. Would you join them? Inevitably when we use drones to kill leaders many daughters, mothers or brothers are killed or injured. Therefore are we not encouraging relatives to join them?  Here are bombing results. Several years ago our US military provided health care, shelter, food, and jobs for the Iraqi people. They did this in caring ways as a part of our mil

Nigerian Peacework by a good friend

Widows From the Violence: Finding Healing in Mutual Support by Peggy Faw Gish Naomi & Hope among the most vulnerable of the victims of Boko Haram, are the women in Nigeria who have not only lost their homes and family possessions, but also their husbands, and have to find a way to care for themselves and their children alone.  In my three months among them, I have met a number of such women, but three, I have come to know more personally. Naomi  One-year-old “Hope” crawls around on the floor of the reception area at the headquarters of EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, or the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) in Jos.  She has a quick smile and inquisitive face.  Every time she heads toward the door to the outside steps, Naomi, her mother, gets up and catches her just in time.  Naomi was working as a secretary at the former headquarters near Mubi, when Boko Haram attacked there on October 29, 2014. She and her daughters, Blessing (18) and Hope (1) fled with throngs of othe

Colombia! Peace is Drawing Near!

Colombia!  Peace is Drawing Near!  I am very encouraged as I sense significant progress is happening in the talks in Cuba between the FARC and the Colombia government.  I sense Peace is coming to Colombia.  Alleluia! Here are some reasons why.   The reconciliation between perpetrators and victims that is happening in the peace talks. These are very similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that happened in South Africa to bring reconciliation there. The process is getting campesinos farms that they lost during the war back into their hands. What happened is they often had to sell their land very cheaply and quickly to escape the violence.  Returning the land is a very difficult and tricky thing but it is beginning to happen. In a recent in-depth article in the Chicago Tribune ( Page 1 ,  Page 2 ,  Page 3 ) many victims were interviewed, they all said they wanted to forgive and get on with ending the war.  Each of these are really importan