Antonio has been found

Good news!

We have learned that Antonio Ariza has been found and is alive. We will post more information as we receive it.

Thank you so much to everyone for your outreach, advocacy and prayers.

– The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Please continue to pray and act for God's children who have been disappeared in Colombia and around the world.

Disappeared

I will not sleep well tonight.

Of course I rarely sleep well, but at least I will know why tonight. 

It is hard to sleep, at least for me, when my heart aches even more than usual.

I learned last night that Antonia Ariza went missing on September 1, 2011. The information came from our partners in the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia. Antonio has been working with the church for a number of years in their ministry of accompaniment with people who have been displaced in Colombia.

Despite the ongoing and repeated threats to his life, Antonio has remained committed to the cause of peace and justice for displaced persons in Colombia. He was continuing his tireless activities as president of the Atlántico chapter of the National Association of Displaced Persons of Colombia (ANDESCOL).    

Antonio's whereabouts remain unknown. He has become one of the disappeared.

The IPC is mounting a search for him and are pressing his case to all authorities in Colombia. Presbyterians are joining in the effort. I spent a good portion of the day working with partners from the Colombia Accompaniment Program on a letter to the US Embassy in Bogota from Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The letter is at the request of the IPC and is shaped by information they provided.

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has identified action steps to take. The list was created with the assistance of Rev. Sarah Henken, Regional Liaison for the Andean Region for Presbyterian World Mission. The steps are designed to pressure the authorities in Colombia to place the highest priority possible in the search for Antonio. 

Here's an update from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship on the action steps: 

Update:

Thank you so much to everyone for your outreach in regards to the case of Antonio Ariza. We have received word from the US Embassy in Bogota today through numerous channels that they have our information and that they are working on his case.

We have also received feedback from many of our loyal grassroots supporters that they are experiencing issues with email bounce-backs from both US and Colombian addresses that we have provided you with. We apologize for this inconvenience, be assured that the addresses are correct, but their systems have a number of safeguards to prevent spam, and due to the volume of emails we have generated, some of them are being turned away by the automated systems. We have no control over this.

At this time we do not need to continue to send faxes to the US Embassy. They have received our message, and additional faxes would probably be counterproductive since they have been flooded today by our organization and our partner organizations. Please continue to fax/email the offices of Colombian officials as able.

Thank you so much—your solidarity means so much and we will continue to keep you posted about our continued advocacy for Antonio. Your prayers continue to be of great need and comfort to all in this time.

–The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

I had the privilege to meet Antonio when I was in Colombia during Holy Week and Easter of 2011. My heart breaks for him, for his family, for his friends, and for all who have been disappeared. My heart breaks that we live in a world where some people think they can simply make people with whom they disagree, people who threaten them, disappear. And not only are there people who think that - they are in position to make it happen.

May God's peace be with Antonio - with his family - with his friends - with the people of of the IPC - with all who been disappeared - with all who sleep poorly tonight as they wait and worry for loved ones.

See you along the trail. I look forward to the day I see Antonio.

Into the distance

We may only be able to view a part of the trail; it may disappear into the distance.

April 2010
Colombia 

A prayer on a day of grief

Famine stalks the Horn of Africa.
A bomb and gunfire rip Norway.
Violence wracks Malawi and Syria.
Rapes are perpetrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Atrocities are suspected in Southern Kordofan.
Human rights are denied in Madagascar, Peru, and Colombia.

Weak and vulnerable people are exploited and abused in the United States.

In places and situations that fail to make the headlines,
people are violated; God's creation is abused.
Yet we continue to trust the good news:
that peace will prevail; that good will overcome evil;
that love is stronger than death; that God will have the final word.
And so we pray:

Gracious God,
the hurts of the world are legion,
the wounds of your beloved children exceed our counting.
Our spirits sag,
our hearts ache,
we grow weary.
Pour your Holy Spirit afresh upon us:
renew us
revive us
sustain us
guide us
for the living of these days and
for the loving of one another
we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.

Missing Bags

I made it back to Louisville. There was a bit of drama in Atlanta when the 45 minute connection shrunk to 25 minutes. Fortunately the gates were close -- I was in seat 32C -- and the gate agent was very, very helpful.

According to the Delta Web page, the bag is here. So I am off to pick it up.

Since everyone except Erik got sick, myself included - although I was one of the least sick, I managed to lose weight in Colombia. Hopefully I can build on that!

In surprising places

I am catching up a bit.

It has been a good trip. Lots of meetings. But the meetings went well and plans have been made for the future of the Colombia Accompaniment Program.

The poster promoting the Peacemaking Offering was posted on a door in the Pital Presbyterian Church. Pital is the one rural church in the Presbytery of the North Coast of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia.

Always good to see the Offering promoted.

Via Blanca

Barranquilla

Via Blanca is a community of displaced persons in Colombia who are framing on land given to them by the mayor. In this pilot project, they are growing tomatoes, melons, and peppers. Members of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) visited the community, we worshiped, ate sancocho soup, and planted an aloe vera plant (known as sabila in Colombia).

More pictures are posted.

Full moon over Barranquilla

Barranquilla
31 March 2010
10:24 p.m.

Things have been quite busy. The meetings have been going well but they take attention and much time. There is good conversation, Spirit-filled dreaming, relationships being nurtured and born, possibilities explored.

I am going to post a few pictures with some brief comments to catch up a bit.

Barranquilla is in Northern Colombia on the Magdalena River and near the Caribbean Sea. It is Colombia's fourth largest city. It is in the Presbytery of the Coast (or Presbytery of the North Coast) of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia.

It has been hot and humid most days, although Monday has been the worst. Yesterday was reasonably pleasant. Today the temperature and humidity climbed.

There was a full moon on Sunday night when we arrived.

The trail heads south

So I not done a great job of writing. Or exercising. Or eating (well unless eating too much is the standard). Still not sure what is going on there.

But I do know what is going on elsewhere. The alarm clock is going to ring at 4:00 in the blessed a.m. I will roll from the bed, stagger around the Shire for a while and drive to the airport.

There, assuming that there is actually a seat for me, I will board a plane to Atlanta, where I will board a plane to Miami, where I will board a plane for Barranquilla - assuming I do not fall asleep in the airport. Sleeping on plane, good. In the airport, not so good.

There will be others with me - even in Louisville, so they should wake me up should sleep overtake me.

I will be part of a group of Presbyterians, many from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, who will meet with our partners in the Presbyterian Church in Colombia to discuss the Colombia Accompaniment Program. We will be in Barranquilla (on the Atlantic coast) and will take a couple of day trips from there. Conversations will take place at the School of Theology of the Reformed University of Colombia (I think - corrections will be made if I am incorrect).

I hope to do some blogging about the trip and post some pictures. Hopefully I will find time to post the usual type of material as well. I have a few posts ready to publish on Monday and Tuesday.

This will be my first trip to Colombia. I have been involved in promoting the Accompaniment Program. I have met individuals who came to the United States as part of our International Peacemakers Program. I helped create a resource - the cover is the image on this page. I know the names of many of the people who will be present - but we have not met. It will be good to do so.

I look forward to the experience. It will be a blessing to celebrate Holy Week (I am preaching on Good Friday) and Easter with our sisters and brothers.

To be continued . . .

p.s. only 3313 steps today - too much sitting and finishing things on the computer. The pedometer will go along.