Posts Tagged ‘Luke 17:5’

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Luke 17:5

I recently returned from spending a few weeks in Colombia.  I was invited by the bishop, and worked in three Episcopal parishes in Bogota and Medellin.  It was an extraordinary experience and I am still thinking and praying about everything I was privileged to see and do, and remembering especially some of the wonderful, generous people I met.  The people of Colombia have lived through decades of violence.  Terrorized by guerilla groups like the FARC, and suffering through the murderous days of Pablo Escobar and narco-terrorism.  What is less well known is that Colombia has the world’s highest number of internally displaced people – more even than Syria.  These are Colombian men, women and children who over the past 30 years have been forcibly driven from their homes by armed groups, and who have become refugees in their own land.  Eight million of them – many now living in poverty in the outlying barrios, which cling to the mountainsides of the great cities.

I spent much of my time living in one such barrio in Bogota.  It was a tough place to be, but the great blessing I received was to meet and talk with men and women, who in the midst of great suffering and hardship, radiated a profound faith and trust in God.