Why not work for peace?

Every year, Colombian pastors and local church members get together in Cachipay, about 1 hour away from Bogota, for the Colombian Mennonite Church Assembly. Amanda suggested I go to see how the church interacts on a national level and better understand the dynamics and issues the Mennonite church struggles with here in Colombia. Amanda and I got up before the crack of dawn to get a headstart, and arrived here to have lunch.

I retrieved a steamy bowl of ajiaco - a traditional Bogotano soup with corn, chicken and thick cream - and sat down beside a bubbly pastor from the Coast, entering into what appeared a one-sided conversation about the dangers of drinking.

As people began getting up from the table, the topic turned to presentations and 'oh, so why are you in Colombia?' I explained a bit about SEED and its emphasis on education, serving and advocacy. Thinking out loud, she remarked 'why don't they send one to our church? We could use a SEEDer, we need help with our activities too, you know!' Her pushy approach to the subject did not put me at ease.

I tried to explain the purposes on the program, especially about supporting peace processes, relating local experiences to big-picture issues and the importance of education, learning about the context before jumping into activities in the church. She reacted quite bluntly: 'I just can't do this peace work you talk about.' What can I say to that?

It turns out she was displaced by armed guerrilla members as a young child and witnessed images that no one wishes on others...friends being murdered, having to flee with her brother in the pitch-dark...not knowing if they would kill her or spare her life.

After she shared these horribly real memories, I started thinking: What are other reasons or excuses people have to not work for peace, healthy communities?

...maybe because of horrific things they have lived, they are afraid of the consequences.
...maybe because they think peace is just the absence of war.
...maybe they're disillusioned with peace and think there's no point.
...maybe because they think we're in the end times and this world is going to hell anyways.
...maybe it takes too much time. Or too much effort.
...maybe some people have money and can pay their way out of conflicts or war.
…why else?



It's easy to get discouraged, especially in a context where people sometimes struggle to put food on the table or find bus fare to get to work. Intense domestic conflicts or violence is common in Modelia, and single mothers is the norm. But why should I continue?

I could answer many ways, but what keeps me going is seeing peoples' gifts in the community. We are God's creation and He has given us talents to contribute to our communities, our churches, our country.