Jim's Peacemaking

Dear friends, Whether you are new to my updates and newsletter or you have been a subscriber or supporter for a long time, greetings from our new home in Chicago. A big change for Lyn and I this year was our move here in December to a rented apartment from our rural farm home of 27 years at Plow Creek Fellowship near Tiskilwa, IL. An important part of my peacemaking efforts has been this an nual reporting of my activities of the last year and a forward projection, with openness to the Lord’s leading, of my hopes and plans, along with a budget for the coming year. This exercise, I have found, is good for me as it lends perspective to my work and also holds me accountable to all of you who are praying and supporting the work and me financially. I’ll begin with some recent photos and commentary: This is one of five presentations to 300 Elkhart high school students in Indiana this April. The teacher noted, “This fueled a half hour of really powerful discussion.” Some of students response...

Dear friends, I asked for you to pray in the last letter and to say it simply, God answered far beyond our expectations. 1. In El Salvador, a moderate leftist candidate was elected, 51% to 48%. And a good friend in Colombia who was watching the election wrote, “I think this new president has real potential to be a government that is really for the people.” 2. When I went to give the five presentations to the Proviso West High School, the teacher was so fearful he would lose his job if my presentation even hinted anything about religion that I was ready to say, “Oh, let's just forget it.” But when we went to check with the principal, she assured us there would be no problem and said “This kind of presentation is an important p art of giving the kids a good education.” In asking the students what they thought of CPT afterwards, they were 90% very positive. One senior is seriously considering CPT as part of her future. 3. I got an email from the Presbyterian director that contained th...

Hello friends, I have a prayer list for you. 1. El Salvador is in the midst of an important election today. Pray that God’s will be done. That whatever the out come that people would have dialogue with each other and not resort to the gun to resolve their differences. 2. Tomorrow I plan to give 6 presentations in the Proviso West High School in Chicago. Students are involved in gangs and probably some carry guns when not in school. Pray that we all could be open to what the Lord wants to say to and through each of us to bring his peace, justice, and joy . 3. I have made an application and had an interview to volunteer in the Colombian Presbyterian accompaniment program. I felt very good about the interview and feel their program would fit me very well. The Presbyterians have been waiting 2 weeks to talk to CPT before they can move ahead with my application. Pray CPT would respond soon and if not that I would have patience. 4. I am going through a crisis in my life and will be se...

--by Stewart Vriesinga "I thought you were dead! I had orders to kill you! I knew you were a good man –a man of integrity — and I couldn't carry out those orders, but I thought another one of my colleagues would!" –a demobilized paramilitary Reverend Salvador Alcántara, from Garzal township of Simití municipality in the southern Bolívar province, is a remarkable, exemplary and inspirational man. He is a husband, father, grandfather, pastor of a local church, farmer, president of the Garzal town council, and vice-president of ASPROAS – Association of Alternative Producers of Simití. That he is able to take on all these tasks and do them well has earned him the respect of both the larger community of Simití and his own smaller community of Garzal. His interpretation of his pastoral duties has led him to become involved in his community's struggle to stay on their lands in the face of constant threats of forced mass displacement. The much-heralded achievements of the Ur...

Dear friends "Would you like to hear how we are reducing violence in the war zones of the world?" I asked Justin as he walked by my booth, and we started what turned out to be a very warm conversation. "No, I have been in the military for 15 years; I have seen too much of that already," Justin responded. "WOW, you have been through a lot. Part of my calling is to pray for people; I will put you on my prayer list," I answered. Justin responded, "Well, that is awful nice of you, thank you very much." "What do you do any way?" I asked. He answered, "I take care of my grandmother. Being in the military all those years, I saved my money. I live real simply, don't spend very much; her and I are the only ones left in our family, so we just have each other. . . Sorry I don't want to sign up for your letters, I just have seen too much already. I am sorry I gave all those years to military service, I am just trying to heal."...

The big move is Lyn and I are planning a move to Chicago by November, to be closer to our three children and four grandchildren, and so Lyn does not have a two hour drive to and from work and can more easily commute to Minneapolis to support her mother 95 and aunt 89. We will be part of Living Water Mennonite Church , where the Lord has given us many friends recent years. I have never lived in the city. In my head this seems clearly the right thing to do, though I find it emotionally challenging when I think about leaving Plow Creek community and rural life and moving to the all the noise, cement, and people of the city. We will be in Rogers Park, six blocks from Lake Michigan, which is consoling. I will continue my peace work with the support of the church there. I welcome your prayers for this transition.The unity between Lyn and I on this has been a bonus gift. "David, how is it going in the Fellowship of Reconciliation booth?" He responded, "I am finding it a real ch...

Dear Friends, Imagine being told that the home you built, or were born in, or lived in all your life is no longer legally yours and that you must leave. Further imagine that all of your relatives and neighbors are being told the same thing, and that failure to leave will result in death. This is what is happening to the communities of Garzal. These people are now being pressured by a former owner to abandon their farms. This former owner, a cocaine producer, is using paramilitaries to threaten them. Their leader, Salvador, who is a Pentecostal pastor and their school teacher, has asked us to accompany them in their struggle to get land titles and resist expulsion from land on which they grow cacao (chocolate), bananas, and yucca. These crops are their livelihood. So, as a way of supporting them, a CPT delegation spent three days in Garzal. We followed this with a public witness action to raise awareness of the plight of these people. It was finalized with a letter that we signe...

Dear Friend, “There must have been 40 or 50 soldiers from the Colombian Army who came through here. They accused Jorge, my son, of being an informer for the guerrillas. I was so scared. They took his picture and asked him a lot of accusing questions. I was afraid to let him go fishing like he often does. They were all around the house. I was afraid that if there was a confrontation with the guerrillas, bullets might hit any one of my children.” “They asked our first and last names and checked them, with lots of others from the community, against their list of supposed guerrilla sympathizers. We are not guerrilla sympathizers, but there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise. They have guns, so I don’t argue with them. Someone must be singling us out. I was so scared that I called Pierre of CPT to let you all know about it. Then I was scared that they might be listening in on the call. Pierre said it is was ok and wondered why the army keeps using these fear and intimidation ta...

Dear Friend, Land mines are one of our biggest problems here. You know how children are. You tell them to stay on the path, but it is so hard for them to realize the danger and obey. Just for them to go to help find some firewood or go to school, it is so dangerous. One was badly injured and we took him to the hospital in San Pablo, and they said they could not treat him there. Then we had to take him to Bucaramanga, all at our expense. There doesn't seem to be any help from the government," shared one of the farmers. Delcy, from the Vice President's Office of Human Rights, answered, "If they cannot treat a person in San Pablo, they are responsible for transporting him to where he can be treated. I will have that looked into." Another farmer shared, "The Army treats us like dirt. They have check points on the paths to our fields, and they stop us and accuse us of being guerrillas and detain us for hours at a time. They entice our children with candy and then...