Peace at Colombia's borders

The following is a letter from Boyce and Beth Wallace, missionaries to Colombia, received today.

Dear Friends,

We are rejoicing because the first step towards peace has been taken between Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela this afternoon. In a scheduled meeting of the Grupo de Rio, a meeting of Latin American presidents, in Santo Domingo, it was decided to openly deal with the crisis. The four presidents: Uribe of Colombia, Correa of Ecuador, Chavez of Venezuela and Ortega of Nicaragua, decided to present their disputes openly before the body. It was a heated debate with speeches for peace by other leaders.

Then in an unexpected intervention, Chavez went through a brief history of recent L:A: conflicts and revoluntary movements that have ended in peace with a minimum of blood- shed. Many of the former revolutionaries and "communists" were present representing their legitimate nations. Then he made an emotional plea for Peace! After all his war rhetoric, no one could believe what they heard. Soon after his speech, Uribe retreated from his hard line and they all got up and began hugging each other! This was happening before our eyes on Television. We could not help but cry at seeing peacemaking before our eyes.

Maybe this is a premature celebration and we pray it is not. We believe the Lord was working before our eyes on screen. Accusers and accused, insulters and insultaded all changing their positions: It was like the close of a revival service. Here were Latins solving their own problems by themselves. No doubt this meeting is going to be interpreted in many ways, positive and negative, but we rejoice and thank God for moving among these leaders and holding off what could have been an ugly war. You were praying with us. Now we want you to share in our thanksgiving to the Lord.

In this crisis, Beth and I asked ourselves what could we do as peacemakers according to the Beatitudes, and decided the only thing and the best thing we could do was pray for those who are working for a peaceful solution to this problem. It seemed so impossible at first, but was it?

Boyce and Beth

Edgar, The Ice Cream Man

I met a dear man on the street outside Cali Central Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His name is Edgar Ramirez, and with his little cart of chilly treats, he absolutely melted my heart.

Edgar has a litany of medical problems, and he has no health insurance. When I asked him how he pays for his medicine, he sweetly pointed to his ice cream cart. Seven days a week, Edgar pushes his cart through his Cali neighborhood to make enough money to pay rent on a tiny apartment he shares with his wife.

The thing about Edgar that really got to me is that he cannot imagine not working. I mean literally... he cannot understand the concept of not going out and working every single day of his life. This became apparent when I asked him what would happen to him when he is old and no longer able to work. Through my translator, I tried rephrasing the question three times, but his answer was the same no matter what the question. He would always have to work, he explained, to take care of his wife. Finally I pressed through, asking him who will take care of him and his wife when he is old and frail and unable to do this job or ANY job. God will take care of me, he said.

It's impossible to overlook the faith of Edgar and of others we met in Cali. The young Colombian woman who is transcribing the Spanish interviews for me has been taken by it, too. She herself was forced to leave Colombia with her two children two years ago after her husband -- who worked for the Colombian government -- was murdered. And after watching some of our interviews with Cali's elderly, she was moved. "These people have nothing," she said, "but their faith is so strong. It makes me stop and look at my life and examine MY faith. It puts my problems in perspective."

I hope that meeting these amazing people through our documentary will have a similar effect on you.

AN UPDATE: I first reported Edgar's story here in May 2006. Since then, I have learned that Edgar succumbed to any number of his many health problems. Had he had access to health care, perhaps he could have lived to have seen his grandchildren grow up.
(photo by Mark Mosrie)

Dreaming of Hogar Samaria

Isabel Erazo Herrera is credited with having had a vision that led to the creation of Hogar Samaria. She is a member of the Samaria CP Church, which is why the Hogar Samaria nursing home will be named after that church. Here is her story, translated from her own words.

My name is Isabel Erazo Herrera. I have 7 children. My husband died 6 years ago, and I’ve been a Christian for 30 years. I’ve been in the Cumberland Presbyterian church for 20 years. It makes me very happy to work in the Lord’s work.

I am very happy because of the sadness I had known, because I met the Lord when I had cancer. The Lord healed me of a cancer in the body. After that at the age of 42 I had a son, and at age 47 I had another daughter. That’s why I can see that the Lord healed me so quickly from the cancer.

Three years ago, I had a stroke. The Lord also healed me, because it wasn’t my time, and He wanted me to continue doing his work. I’m 66.

Since the time I met the Lord, I was born to serve in the things of God. Then I began to work in the House of the Young. (Translator's note: The House of the Young is a home for youth with drug or behavior problems.) I worked there for almost a year. There I worked with children with drug problems. I continued working with youth drug addicts in camps. I worked with them bringing youth from here, from Cali to the camps. My husband didn’t like it and didn’t agree with it. So I retired.

One time I heard on the radio that the Christian Cross Church needed someone to teach crafts. I applied, because it was for children who were sponsored children. (Translator's note: They are children that have a “godparent” or sponsor who helps them with their education. Generally they are very poor children.) I began there, and I spoke with Sister Mercedes.
I began to work. There she told me that they opened an ancianato (Director's note: An ancianato is a nursing home or home for the aging.) And I saw the necessity of us, of the Presbyterians, also having an ancianato. Then I had taken several elderly there and I told Sister Mercedes that I would like for there to be an ancianato in my church. And she told me, "Sister, pray to God, talk to Him." So that was how I began to ask God and I told Him what was said, that we should have an ancianato.

Then, once in that time, there was also there was an old servant and I took him to the town council. The town council told me that it would require much money and many other things and that it was very difficult. I was discouraged. I told all this to a Sister and she said to me, “Sister have you told the Lord?”

Then I came here (to Samaria CP Church) one day and I knelt and said to Him, “God, I want, I want to work with the elderly,” because I had already worked in another ancianato as a social worker, and then the Lord said to me, “So what are you afraid of?” And I said “God, forgive me.” And I went where Sister Nancy Cortes was and I told her that He told me to go ahead.

I didn’t say anything to the town council, but went and began to look for a house. (Translator's note: She was trying to rent a house to have the elderly there.) It was very difficult. Many people said no. For old people, no. They damage the homes and it is very difficult. They have a bad smell. I had a lot of difficulty. But I kept on.

They told me that they had a house that was very narrow, but we began there... We continued to receive blessings. Here (at the church) the women gave us a shower, because we didn’t have anything. They gave everything themselves. And they kept on giving.

We came to have 12 elderly residents. Two that they brought on Sunday. Sometimes they brought up to 6 elderly but just to spend the day. And I continued falling in love and enjoying them, more every day. And each one of them left a story in our lives because there were some that were 105 years old. And they sang “Pretty Little Doll” (Translator's note: a typical song of Colombia).

Others that said that they were going to the farm. (That’s what they called the house for the elderly.) For example, like the brother of Sister Mery, he went to the patio, where we had an azulejo (Translator's note: an azulego is a bird that sings prettily.) And I said to him look, look at your friend, and he understood and talked to himself, and he told me later Ï’m going to the farm to milk the cows. He was confused and a little disoriented. And I let him talk.

And well, each one had something. And there was another that also taught us. She was 90. She was the grandmother of Pastor Manuel Vargas and she arrived very aggressive. She had dementia. No one wanted to take care of her because she took her clothes, she went out and she lost them. When she arrived there, the first thing she did was to slap us. And they told me, "sister are you going to take this?" And I told them, "That’s the job. There could be no laughs, and it couldn’t be that way. Here it’s that we had coming sisters, and each time she hit us, it was with crossed hands." And she hit everyone that walked by.

Then the Lord and Holy Spirit enlightend me to say, "What a pity that you hit us. I love you Carmen." So it was that she learned and only lifted her hand and said, "I love you. I love you. I won’t fight." She knew that at 3 in the afternoon, the people that were caring for them would make them fresh pan de bono. (Translator's note: Pan de Bono is a traditional bread from the Cali bakery.) And she touched us on the shoulder and said, "Pan de bono, pan de bono." And we knew that she still wanted her bread.

And each one, each one was a very beautiful story, a story that we have left for ourselves.

A little girl came and we told them that we couldn't take her because she was so young, but she was a special child (Translator's note: “special child” usually refers to a child with Down’s syndrome.) She was the sister-in-law of Pastor Eduardo Campo, and I said to them, and why can’t you, you can have her there. In her house she fell a lot, and there, thanks to God, we put here with a walker and she enjoyed it so much. She was 18, but there we celebrated two birthdays with her.

We celebrated birthdays with them. I acquainted them with the Third Generation House (a program the government has for elderly with limited resources). We made them swings and they rode them. You could see their happiness when we took them to the Play Ground. Their own families helped us to take them in cars and we went for a whole day for the Youth House, to Pardo Yada. It’s a very nice and pretty site with pools fitted for the elderly, and we also invited other brothers that also liked to serve, and each one was in charge of an elderly person to take care of him there.

I feel very fortunate to see how the Hogar Samaria is growing and how it has not died but I would like to see it full of residents. That would be a dream come true. Amen.

Director's note: We asked Doña Isabel how it makes her feel to see the love, care and commitment of those from the United States who come to Colombia to help with constrtuction and who donate funds to help make Hogar Samaria a reality. Here is her response.

To me it is so beautiful, our family... that they come to work. They come to work and to teach us that they come to set this stone for the work of my Lord. (And I want) to thank them and to thank all of our brothers and sisters, that I know that our family of God is very big, and that everything that they do, they know when God pays us, oh, the joy. This joy at this time seems beautiful to me, of being with brothers and sisters that we hadn’t known, but that we already know, and the brothers and sisters that that send us something...to help us here in Colombia.

I want to say that the brothers and sisters that want to contribute or that we want to contribute, we should ask the Lord
for not our will to be done, because we alone cannot but with Him, yes, we can come to give that love, because if we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others? Then firstly, we should be commanded by God to be able to come to love those elderly. That like the people say, they are like children, and we to our children, how do we treat them? Then in the same way, we should treat them, not treat them like abandoned ones. Because that is what is being lacked in their homes all of a sudden. Because all of a sudden their family works and they don’t have anyone with whom to leave them. That’s why Hogar Samaria has been made.

Today, Hogar Samaria is not only the dream of Isabel Herrera but also the dream of many in Cali and across the United States. Please help us make the dream of this much-needed home for the aging a reality by donating to the Hogar Samaria Fund. All donations are tax-deductible, and 100% of your donations go directly toward construction. Checks should be made to Shepherd's Rest, earmarked "for Hogar Samaria Construction" and mailed to Shepherd's Rest, 605 Lake Scene Dr., Eddyville, KY 42038. Shepherd's Rest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

(Photo by Mark Mosrie, March 2006)

A Prayer for Peace in Colombia

La Oración de la Paz
Señor hazme un instrumento de tu paz
Que donde haya odio, siembre yo amor.
Que donde haya injuria, perdón.
Que donde haya duda, fé.
Que donde haya desánimo, esperanza.
Que donde haya oscuridad, luz.
Que donde haya tristeza, gozo.
Oh Divino Maestro, concédeme que yo no busque,
Ser consolado, sino consolar.
Que no busque el ser entendido, sino entender.
Que no busque el ser amado, sino amar.
Porque dando es como recibimos.
Perdonándo, es que somos perdonados.
Y muriendo, es que nacemos a la vida eterna.
-San Francisco de Asís

The Prayer of Peace
Lord make an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek,
to be consoled, as to console.
to be understood, as to understand.
to be loved, as to love.
For this in giving, that we receive.
It is pardoning, that we are pardoned.
It is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
-St. Francis of Assisi

(photo taken in Cali, Colombia by P.Richelle White)

Return to Cali

Have you ever read about people who use their free time to help others and stopped to ask yourself, "What am I doing to make the world a better place?" Come to Cali, Colombia and find the answer to that question.

October 6-20, 2007, volunteers from across the US will return to Cali to resume construction at Hogar Samaria. If you're a financial supporter of the project, it will be an amazing opportunity to see your donated dollars at work and to meet some of the people who will benefit from our efforts. And even if you've not been able to support the project financially, your life will be enriched as you work side by side with Colombians to help build something that will indeed make a difference for generations to come.

You don't have to be skilled in construction. You don't have to know how to speak Spanish. You'll be overwhelmed to discover how much you have to offer the project and how easily you will learn to communicate without using spoken words. Your two weeks in Cali will be a life-changing experience.

If you think you might be interested in joining the work team in October, please e-mail me privately for details and contact info. And as always, thanks for your support of our project. The need for funds is ongoing, and your donations are appreciated.

Car Bomb Hits Police HQ in Cali

A large car bomb has exploded in front of police headquarters in Colombia's south-west city of Cali, the first such attack in a major city for four years.

Officials said the blast, which killed one person and injured more than 30, was most likely the work of Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. But drug traffickers, paramilitaries or common criminals have not been ruled out as suspects. A $500,000 reward is being offered to catch those responsible.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Colombia's long-running civil conflict, which involves state forces, rebels and paramilitaries. Both the guerrillas and paramilitaries are heavily involved in the drugs trade.

'Treason'

The car bomb, with an estimated 80kg of explosives, was parked outside a police barracks. A passing taxi driver died in the attack and many of the wounded were police officers. The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says the authorities blame the Farc and if true, it shows the guerrillas have returned to the campaign of urban terrorism they abandoned four years ago.

The security policy of President Alvaro Uribe has managed to isolate the rebels from most of the major urban centres - yet the rebels have managed to keep a toehold in Cali.

The timing of the attack raises questions, with the second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), due to sit down this week with government officials to discuss a possible peace deal. The Farc have accused the group of treason and are seeking to win over dissident ELN guerrillas that want to keep fighting - and a high-profile display of strength may be the way to do so, our correspondent says.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6540217.stm

Published: 2007/04/10 06:35:38 GMT

© BBC MMVII

***ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM BOYCE WALLACE, AMERICAN MISSIONARY TO COLOMBIA:
The blast also impacted Cali Central C P Church some 500 meters away from the Police HQ. Although there was no structural damage to Central Church, windows were blown out, doors were damaged, almost half of the ceiling in the chapel fell and other minor mishaps. The caretakers were asleep at the time and were unhurt. This is the second time that Central Church has been affected by car bombs. The first time was when a nearby hotel was hit a few years ago. In neither case has the church been the object of a terrorist attack.

Buenaventura Fighting

Missionaries to Colombia Boyce and Beth Wallace are requesting your prayers and positive thoughts for the people of Buenaventura, Colombia.

Buenaventura -- located along the Pacific coast, 215 miles southwest of Bogota -- has long been Colombia's largest port and central exit point for the country's coffee bean export. Recently it has also become the center for drug traffic. Cocaine shipments going by water to the US are channeled through this port. In recent years, the city has experienced a violent turf war between leftist rebels, far-right paramilitaries and drug traffickers. Last year, there were about 300 homicides in the city, which has a population of 300,000.

The drug war is raging on this month, and the casualties continue to mount. On March 16th, deadly bombing rocked the coastal community. News reports indicate that the blast, which damaged buildings and stores, occurred as two policemen passed by on patrol in the center of the port city.

There are three Cumberland Presbyterian churches located in Buenaventrura, all three of which have been involved in the latest violence and have lost family members. Tragically, Euripides Morera, pastor or Rios de Agua Viva, was wounded by shrapnel from a homemade bomb, a bomb that killed his nephew.

Pastors of the other two Buenaventura congregations, Rodrigo Torres and Gilberto Arteaga, also need our prayers and support as they continue to minister to dangerous and suffering communities.

Please be mindful of the people of Buenaventura and of those who are there to provide aid and support. Remember that Colombia does not have a drug problem. Americans and Europeans have a drug problem, and that without this demand, narcoterrorism in Colombia would cease.

U.S. volunteers report progress at construction site

The group of volunteers from the U.S. are home, following two weeks of work at the construction site in Cali. The following is a progress report from group leader Sam Suddarth of Smyrna, Tennessee.

"The work on Hogar Samaria is progressing. Our 13 member group was from 5 states. We moved dirt in wheelbarrows. We dug ditches and poured concrete, twisted wire ties to put reinforced steel together. Hard work!!!

Tired and dirty, we fellowshipped with our Colombian brothers and sisters, and were treated as royalty by our hosts.


We had Holy Communion at the worksite, and stood in a circle on the newly poured foundation for a new wing and prayed. This new wing will be a two story structure with living quarters above, and a gymnasium below. (Photos coming soon!)

We visited Popayan, one of the oldest cities in Colombia, and Ramonsa, the poor area where there was a devastating fire last year. We also visited the Colegio American and it's satellite schools in Samaria, San Marcos and Renacir."

The next opportunity to travel to Cali to volunteer with the construction of Hogar Samaria will be in October 2007. If you have an interest in possibly joining the group on this trip, drop me a note and I'll send you information. Just as Sam mentions in his report, these trips offer much more than just work (though there is a lot of hard work!), but also an opportunity to visit various parts of Cali, including schools, churches and cultural sites. As someone who has been to Cali twice, I can attest that time spent with the gracious people of Cali is bound to be a life-changing experience.

Please join us in thanking to the volunteers who made the January work trip.
Ollie McClung, Glenda Riddick of Birmingham AL
Tommy Jobe of Nolensville, TN
Barry Summers of Huntingdon, TN
Sam Suddarth, Kim Glasscock of Smyrna, TN
Gloria Gregory of Nashville, TN
Obadiah Okeson, Eddie and Linda Bowen of Hodgenville, KY
Cheryl Bingemer of Jasper, IN
Tommy Tiffin, Marvin Terrell of Longview, TX

(photos by Sam Suddarth)

The Cost of Caring for Cali's Aging

Work on the script continues, and before long we will edit the video and begin distribution. Even as we work to complete the documentary, work on the construction of the nursing home in Cali, Colombia, South America continues. When there is money for supplies, the workers build. When the money runs out, construction slows. Therefore, our fundraising attention for 2007 has turned away from the documentary and toward direct funding of the construction itself.

Whether you are wrapping up your charitable giving for 2006 or looking ahead to 2007, I hope you'll consider the Hogar Samaria nursing home project in your plans. The fundraisers have absolutely no overhead costs. That means every penny or peso you donate goes directly into Hogar Samaria. And a little money can go a long way in Colombia. For example:

$3.25 will feed one Hogar Samaria nursing home resident for one day.

$25.00 will provide much-needed medical insurance for one Hogar Samaria resident for one month.

$260.00 will sponsor one Hogar Samaria resident for one month (including meals).

$2000.00 will provide basic furnishings for one room that will accommodate two residents.

$25,000.00 will provide for the building of a chapel at Hogar Samaria.

$5000.00 will provide basic furnishings for the chapel.

Currently, the most urgent need is funding for the construction of a retaining wall at the back of the Hogar Samaria property. The 20-feet high, 100-feet long wall will protect the property from washing away. The cost of the retaining wall is $25,000.00.

If you feel compelled to give financial support to the construction of this much-needed nursing home in Cali, Colombia, your donations are tax-deductible. Contact me at p.richelle@earthlink.net to find out how to direct your donations. The leaders of the project will put your money to work immediately where it is most needed.

Whether you decide to donate to Hogar Samaria or not, I hope you will share my URL with others who may be interested in the work we're doing in Cali.

Construction Update

Workers are busy putting the roof on the second building at Hogar Samaria. Next, they will build a retaining wall at the far end of the site, where the January work team from the U.S. will begin construction of the third building. Funds are needed for the retaining wall project, so we're putting out an urgent call for donations... large and small.

By the way, the existing "old house" on the property has been rehabbed and is now ready to accept a few residents. As I learn more about that, I'll post updates.

(photo by Mark Mosrie, March 2006)

Cali Fire Update

I have a little bit more information about the fire at the Ramate de Sande Invasion on the Cauca River, about 10 miles east of Cali in the neighborhood we know as San Marcos.

The fire destroyed 100-150 homes, or more accurately, "shacks." Among the shacks lost in the fire was the home of the two main leaders of a mission and small school that was recently started in this poor area by the San Marcos Church. The home where the mission and school meet was *not* burned down.

Many of you have sent money to help with relief efforts. The need is great, and if you would like to help you may send a check made out to Board of Missions. Be sure to indicate "for Cali Fire" on the memo line. Send to Board of Missions, 1978 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. Let them know you've been following this story on our web site.

Thanks for your continued support for the people of Cali.

¡Muchos gracias, Aldemar y Zobeida!

Aldemar's footage is here and is absolutely everything I'd hoped for.

Try to imagine what it must be like to take direction through a series of e-mails sent to your wife from a client in another country... a client who manages to butcher your language in her determined effort to convey to you exactly what she needs you to shoot and exactly how she needs you to shoot it.

But thanks to their patience -- and the helpful intervention of missionary Boyce Wallace -- Aldemar and Zobeida were able to pull it off beautifully. (¡Lo hicimos!) And the documentary will be so much more emotive and evocative as a result of their fine work.
(photo by Mark Mosrie)

A Plea for Aid in Cali, Colombia

On both of my visits to Cali, I was fortunate enough to get to spend some time in the Colegio Americano in San Marcos. San Marcos is an impoverished barrio in Cali. A teacher at the school told me that unemployment in this particular neighborhood is at about 80%. "It's not that the people don't want to work," she explained. "It's just that there are no jobs."

San Marcos is an invasion zone. That is, it's an area of land on the outskirts of a city where displaced families have rushed in and built crude shacks. Typically, Colombia's displaced are people who have fled from their homes in the mountains to Colombia's urban areas in order to escape guerilla violence. Former missionary to Colombia John Lovelace says that the poorest of the poor live in these invasion zones.

The news from Cali this week comes from our friend Boyce Wallace, who -- along with his wife Beth -- has been a missionary to Colombia for 43 years. Boyce writes: "There was a terrible fire in an invasion zone where San Marcos has a mission and a small school. Around 100 houses were burned down. They were wooden shacks and people lost everything. We are trying to get organized to offer relief."

If you would like to help the people of San Marcos, make your check to Boyce Wallace. Earmark the donation "for San Marcos" and send it to John Lovelace, 814 Crestwood Drive, Evansville, IN 47715. John will deposit your donation directly into Boyce's account so that he can begin to put the money to use immediately. Please drop me an e-mail to let me know the amount of your donation so that we can let Boyce know the money is coming.

Thanks for your continued support of our friends in Cali, Colombia.

(About the photo: Students in a San Marcos classroom show off their English language skills during our visit in September 2005. Photo by Sam Suddarth.)

The Newest Member of our Documentary Team

The call went out for a freelance videographer in Cali who could help us obtain some additional footage for the documentary. Today I learned that Aldemar Osorio has accepted that call. I could not be more excited!

Aldemar and his wife Zobeida met with us while we were in Cali and gave us some archive footage, taken in some of Cali's most dangerous barrios. It was the kind of footage we had dreamed of shooting but that we just could not safely do while we were there.

Now Aldemar is going back out on the streets to shoot some specific scenes to help us better tell the story of the crisis that faces Cali's elderly. We are pleased to count him as the newest member of our production team and just wanted to take a moment to introduce him to you.

Aldemar has done a lot of freelance work for US television networks, including the History Channel. He's a real pro and a welcome addition to our team. Gracias, Aldemar.

This photograph is of Aldemar, taken during our visit in March 2006. I wanted to get a shot of him, and as I was straightening him up a little bit, Mark snapped this. I thought it might be nice to share a playful moment from our time in Cali. The people there were so good to us and such gracious and accommodating hosts. That should not be lost among the telling of some of the difficult stories we'll be sharing with you over the coming weeks.
(Photo by Mark Mosrie)

Cali's Elderly

To highlight the magnitude of the crisis facing Cali's elderly, I wanted to share with you some info from Colombia's National Department of Statistics.

Cali has a population of just over 2.5 million people. Of those, 400,000 are of age 65 or older. Fully one fourth of these elderly live below Colombia's poverty level. That's 100,000 elderly people living below poverty in Cali.

Many of Cali's elderly are among the country's displaced. "Displaced" is the term for a refugee who has fled from one part of the country to another due to violence, political unrest, poverty or other hardship. The number of displaced in Cali who are over age 65 is estimated at 2000. In actuality, that number is likely much higher, as it is difficult to get the displaced to register with the government. They fear being sent back to the place from which they have fled.

100,000 elderly living below poverty.
2,000 elderly displaced.
What can we do to help?

The average cost of caring for an elderly person in Cali is US$3000/year. Upon completion, the Hogar Samaria facililty will be able to tend to the needs of many of Cali's elderly, offering live-in care at the facility for those who need round-the-clock housing and care. It will also offer a daycare program at the facility for those who only need care and attention part-time.

Search your heart and discover what you have to offer Cali's elderly. Perhaps you can give of your time and join the work group from the US to help with construction. Perhaps you can give of your talents and offer help with the documentary project. Perhaps you can give financially to the video project or to the construction project itself.

I welcome every opportunity to discuss the work being done with Cali's elderly. Feel free to contact me with questions about the project and with offers to support the project at any level.

Thanks for your interest and continued support.
(Photo by P.Richelle White)

Don Alberto, The Teacher

We spent one morning in the home of Alberto Moreno. His modest apartment consists of a tiny living room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, dimly lit and sparcely furnished. The kitchen appliances are old -- like props for a movie, set in the 1950s.

As we walk through the apartment, I notice something about Don Alberto that you may have noticed about your parents or grandparents who are near his age. That is, he saves everything. I mean everything. There are neat little stacks of things like breadwrappers, styrofoam meat trays and cardboard cookie boxes. In every little nook, there are tidy stacks of things he just cannot throw out. And though they seem to almost overtake the room, I imagine how empty the space would be without them.

And then I see it... the one thing that almost seems to sum up the life of this beloved teacher: his books. Along the back wall of the kitchen, there are hundreds and hundreds of books. Many appear to be books he taught from during his years at the Colegio Americano. They fill the shelves and even overflow them into cardboard boxes in the living room closet. As I scan the titles, I imagine the young Alberto Moreno who used to read them. And I sense that having them with him here makes this tiny apartment feel like home.

The life that came before his time in this apartment was full and rich. As a young boy, Don Alberto went to elementary in the San Nicolás barrio of Cali. The neighborhood did not have offer secondary education, so after Don Alberto completed elementary school, his mother took him to find a school where he could continue his studies. They went to a union mission in their neighborhood, which was in the process of creating the first Colegio Americano in Cali. The missionaries, Don Carlos Charman and Mr. Walter Louis, admitted Don Alberto, and he become one of the school's first ten or fifteen students. Tuition at that time was one peso. After graduating high school at the Colegio Americano, Don Moreno became a teacher and carried out 21 years of service there.

It's sad to me that a man who spent his young life teaching other people's children and serving his community should live out his last days alone in this apartment. Don Alberto never married. Instead, he cared for his own aging mother until she passed away. But he was already 70 when his mother died, and so much of life had passed him by. He has no family. He has outlived all of his friends, except for one, me mentions -- Don José Fajardo, who now lives in the United States. But he has a very good friend, a former student, who looks after him as best as she and her husband can.

Don Alberto's health is failing, but he would like to live independently as long as he can. When Hogar Samaria is ready, he will have a room there to fill with his precious books. He says he knows he will have a better standard of life there.

I asked him, "If not for the Hogar Samaria, where would you go?"
"Well, frankly," he answers, "I don't know."
(photo by Mark Mosrie)

Get Your Hands Dirty

Don't just sit there. Do something. Organizers are planning to take a work group from the U.S. to Cali in early 2007 to help with the construction of Hogar Samaria. The dates are January 20-February 4, 2007. It's an amazing experience and one I wish for every single person I know. It's hard to convey how greatly my life was enriched and how deeply my heart was moved by my first trip to Cali. To learn more about the work trip, contact Sam Suddarth at sam@thegraceteam.org.

If you're unable to travel with the work team down to South America in January, perhaps you would consider making a monetary donation to the Hogar Samaria construction fund. E-mail me at p.richelle@earthlink.net to find out how to direct your tax-deductible donation.

Search deep within your heart and discover what you have to offer Colombia's aging. Whether it's a gift of your time and talent as a member of the work team or a gift of funds to support the documentary project, your contribution will directly effect the lives of many.
(photo by Mark Mosrie)

Meet Maria.

Maria was a difficult interview. Difficult because she tended to talk about whatever she wanted to talk about, ignoring my questions. And even more difficult because her life story is so tragic.

During Colombia's Great Violence, Maria and her husband lived on a mountain near Cali, along with their seven young children. Her husband was murdered by guerillas, his body eaten by vultures. Fearing the safety of her children, Maria took her family and fled down the mountain. They were many days without food or water. Maria tells the story of one particular night when she and the children were sleeping outside in the rain. She was awakened by a voice calling her name. At first she thought it was her husband's voice, but she knew it could not be. The voice called to her to wake up. She did, and she discovered that the river had flooded its banks and that she and her children were in danger of being swept away. So she gathered her children and moved on to higher ground. She swears that the voice that saved them was the voice of God.

But Maria's story takes a twist, as before she and her children were able to escape the mountain, all seven kids died of starvation or hypothermia. What a terrible thing for a mother to endure... watching helplessly as her children died slow and painful deaths! She is haunted by the memories still. As she recounts the story, her hands clinch tightly and she contorts her face in agony. She is quite possibly the most angry and emotionally scarred person I have ever met.

In her old age, she depends on the kindness and generosity of others to survive. The Cali Central Cumberland Presbyterian Church pays for her to stay in a nursing home. And when Hogar Samaria is ready, Maria will have a place to live out her final years. She says that without the church, she doesn't know where she would live or where she would die.
(photo by Mark Mosrie)

Hope for Cali

Sunday was very intense. I spent the entire day screening interviews. Over the weeks that now separate me from my time in Colombia, the impact of the people I'd met and the emotional stories they'd revealed to me had begun to fade. It has now been renewed and strengthened tenfold! It was difficult to watch the interviews one right after another... several days of shooting condensed into one long day of viewing.

I ended the evening by screening some footage we shot at Colegio Americano in the San Marcos barrio, where the children sang for us and performed traditional dances. They waved little paper flags... ours and theirs. Moments like these give us hope for Colombia's future.

The transcription of the Spanish-language interviews began tonight. Translation into English will follow shortly. At this point, we are on target for debuting the documentary in September. To help offset production costs, you're invited to send your tax-deductible donations to Shepherd's Rest, 605 Lake Scene Dr., Eddyville, KY 42038. Earmark donation for Hogar Samaria Video.
(photo by P.Richelle White)

Hogar Samaria Video Project

Production of the Hogar Samaria Video has begun! We shot 15 hours of miniDV in Cali, Colombia in March, using my new Panasonic DVX-100B. I can hardly wait to start writing the script! But first, every interview has to be transcribed and translated. Many of the interviews are in Spanish, and those will need to be translated into English before I can start working. Some of the interviews are in English, and those need to be translated to Spanish for the Spanish-language version I will also be producing. Right now the target is to begin editing in June. I'll keep you posted!

In the meantime, we still have a cash flow shortage. Your tax-deductible donations will help fund the production of this documentary, which in turn will help fund the construction of a much-needed nursing home in Cali. If you feel led to support this project, please send your donation to Shepherd's Rest, 605 Lake Scene Dr., Eddyville, KY 42038. Earmark donation for Hogar Samaria Video.
(photo by P.Richelle White)