Missionary Gas

Not far from the Seminary an evangelical pastor was shot dead 5 years ago. Bullets entered his head, heart and stomach. Last week, as part of a reconciliation process his killer confessed before his widow to the murder. The Judge asked him about the motives for the murder. The pastor had spoken out against a gang involved in drugs and crime in his area. He had reported their activities to the local Fiscal. What no one knew until the confession was that the order to put the pastor "off the map" came from not from the gang, but from the Fiscal. A widow was left, homeless, with 6 young boys. Over 48 hours last weekend, 19 people were murdered in Medellín. If you think you have problems, come to Colombia, or Mexico, or Venezuela. And don´t forget that ancient, but reliable, prescription, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts you" (Is. 26:3). Photo: Life's great in Colombia, most of the time

I left our flat early on Sunday morning and saw a wild looking youth urinating into the Seminary grounds. At a safe distance away the Seminary gardener looked on, worried. There had been a coming-of-age birthday in the narrow house-filled alleyway next door to th e Seminary. Music played all night, such that earplugs, shut windows and a pillow over my head were ineffective in allowing any sleep. The police came twice and decided to corral in the drunks and leave them to it. When the music stopped at 6 am, they fought amongst themselves. A gun was involved at some point. The Seminary is situated in hardly the best part of the city. It's the kind of area where you need to be street-wise and not walk around with a laptop bag over your sho ulder. Thankfully two evangelical churches, the children's library and the sewing room, witness to the gospel. But pray for more conversions. And pray for our friend in Lima, Donnie Smith, who is to h

One privilege of missionary work is living in a different culture. After a 37 hour journey to get to Colombia, we've just spent 2 days in a hotel restarting our Latino existence. Here a duck nests in the open, feet away from the hotel's main door; long-legged birds dive-bomb Olwen when she walks into their territory and you can hire your own tennis ball-boy for £1.50 an hour. On Good Friday an open air mass was celebrated in the hotel grounds and 200 of the faithful visited the 14 Stations of the Cross chanting their Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Missionaries are sometimes accused of destroying native cultures. The duck, long-legged birds and ball-boys needn't worry. But I'm afraid the priest had better watch out. Ancient Rome couldn't halt the message brought by missionaries: there was something supernaturally powerful in it. This week we start to teach that message. Thanks for your interest, support and love during our furlough.