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The Tourism office now has its own email address and Joost Kemp,
the Dutch tourism advisor, is helping the co-op establish direct
correspondence with those of you interested in supporting the
work here, coming to visit individually or with a work/learning
delegation. The address is:
haciendacolima@hotmail.com
You can write them in Spanish, English, Spanglish, or Dutch,
or Portuguese. Drop them a line. Señor Mauricio Quijada
is the Presidente de La Cooperativa de Colima. Yanira Menjivar
es la Coordinadora de Turismo. We look forward to working more
in harmony with the co-op now that Alfalit has removed itself
from the Hacienda. We will be working there not under Alfalit's
auspices nor those of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), but on
our own, in our "off hours." We freely make this choice,
because of our commitment for the long haul, beyond any job description.
It is exciting to see the community moving into a critical stage
of increased community ownership. This is a rare opportunity not
only for us as community development workers, but also as Christians
supporting the building of God's Kin-dom, in Christ's name, as
people of Colima gain a sense of dignity and power in defining
their own future, after years of crude exploitation.
Julie writes:
I feel our job should be to inspire and encourage them to believe
in themselves and in each other, and to feel there is hope, they
can succeed, and they can treat each other with love and respect,
and be accountable. All of that. Especially to inspire them, in
the midst of all these depressing circumstances. Will they believe
our version of reality? Can they develop a common vision that
will inspire and drive them forward for the benefit of not just
individuals, but the whole co-op and whole community?
Part of the depressing and disturbing circumstances is that the
Salvadoran government continues to allow North American businesses
here to discharge toxic wastes directly into waters that flow
to the big lake by Colima, which irrigates 60 percent of the vegetables
consumed in El Salvador and that sustains the fish that provide
protein to millions nationally and abroad. The famous maxim with
which we are all so familiar is, "It is better to teach a
person how to fish than to simply give her or him a fish."
But what if your "free" enterprise system is turning
those fishing waters into what we believe to be the number one
cause of disease, deformity, and death in El Salvador? And what
if it is getting worse every day?
We are learning that development is a complex matter when it
is not part of the agenda of the banksters and the moneychangers
to lift the poor out of their state of subservience. It certainly
helps us to understand why Jesus was killed by the powers that
be. We are learning how complex a matter this is. And we pray
for the understanding to move through the network of churches
and groups seeking how to build a new kin-dom, through the growing
understanding of a much more favorable option. A threshold of
understanding will be reached and all will be transformed, through
Christ. We must believe that the extraordinary can happen.
As the most scientific American Medical Association is now proving
to its own surprise, believing and praying that healing can happen
somehow makes it so, we believe that faith can make the extraordinary
come to pass. Otherwise we collapse, give in to fear and feed
the heavy monster of death, forgetting that death has already
been conquered!
Meanwhile, in another part of the country, east of San Salvador,
our official job as PC(USA) mission personnel continues with the
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program, helping with the housing
project for earthquake victims. The houses go up quickly now.
Four new cement mixers have been donated to the project! Visit
the Web site of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on the PC(USA)
Web site (www.pcusa.org/pda)
to keep up to date on the work!
Love to all in Christ's name,
Julie and Bob
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 243
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