There is nothing like seeing first-hand and hearing testimonies of participants who’s lives have been changed by the commitment of youth and young adults to be peace builders in their communities. This past week Julio and representatives from Covenant World Relief and Development had that opportunity. Adam Edgerly and Nils Clauson arrived in Medellin and took off first-thing the next morning in the car with Julio. They drove the 8 hours up and down the mountainous Colombian countryside to visit El Bagre. Two young adults from the local church joined them for the trip.
In El Bagre they had the opportunity to meet with leaders from Be Peace Make Peace and see some of the ministry in action. The leaders developed a peace fair and invited local children and youth to participate.
The fair took place on one of the community soccer fields and consisted of different bases that they rotated through. The bases each had a theme related to wholistic peace – shalom – through didactic and recreational activities. This is just one of the many ways that Be Peace Make Peace is forming a culture of peace in El Bagre. Through the many different programs they offer, people learn that peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is flourishing, harmonious relationships with God, with self, with others and all of creation. In relationship to peace with others, one person described the following: “La paz no es un camino solitario. En la Feria por la Paz. Aprendimos que la paz se construye a través del diálogo, el entendimiento y el respeto mutuo.” (Peace is not a solitary journey. In the Peace Fair we learned that peace is built through dialogue, understanding and mutual respect.)
After the Peace Fair and during an evening together to continue worshipping God, people shared the impact that the leaders and project have had in their lives. People like Crystal started as chiildren and are now youth leaders in the project pouring in to the next generation of children.
After spending the night, they were up early and back in the car to drive another 5 hours to the town of San Marcos in Sucre. Here they spent the day with leaders and participants from the ArtPeace project. This is a project that was born out of the leadership of young adults and youth of the local Covenant Church.
The leaders are talented in the different arts and have a passion for developing skills and offering opportunities for children to learn about the peace that comes from God and transforms lives. They offer different art camps, as well as different workshops for kids in connection with the area schools and other foundations that focus on the whole well-being of the children. Recently they hosted a workshop for youth about managing emotions.
During the afternoon visit they were also introduced to women heads of households, many who are young mothers, who have received training in certain skills and entrepreneurship and have started their own micro businesses. They are doing everything from knitting clothes to sell, to producing fruit juices, and cultivating organic fertilizer. They spoke of the ways ArtPeace has helped build self-confidence and provided practical tools for them to be able to begin to have an income. One woman said that before beginning in this process she never thought she would be capable of making artisan products, let alone selling them. However, thanks to the support of the leaders, she is now doing both things.
Adam and Nils continued on to Barranquilla and Medellin to visit several other ministries and were impressed by the quality and impact of the ministries. We are grateful to walk alongside and learn from the incredible leaders here in Colombia.
