wfn.org | Re: Colombian Mennonite eager to get Anabaptist network up and flyin

[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC:  Colombian Mennonite visionary eager to get worldwide Anabaptist network up and flying
DATE:   June 24, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

AKRON, Pa. -- Colombian Mennonite Ricardo Esquivia has never
been squeamish about living out his faith -- even when it has put him
in grave physical danger.

Perhaps because of his own strong faith, the persecutions he has
experienced AND the outpouring of Christian love he has also received
from Mennonites worldwide in his time of need, Esquivia has a vision.

He quests after a loose worldwide network of Anabaptist congregations
exchanging Christian love, knowledge and faith across cultural and
linguistic boundaries -- advocating for one another and sharing one
another's pains and difficulties.

Indeed the recent Mennonite World Conference in Calcutta officially
endorsed Esquivia's idea.  But now the idea needs wings.  As director
of Justapaz, a Mennonite peace organization in Colombia, Esquivia is
ready to help get the network flying.  So is Maarten van der Werf,
staffperson for the European Mennonite Peace Committee, who is
working part time on it from Zwolle, Netherlands.  As a first step,
Esquivia and van der Werf want to get the idea out and circulating. 

One small exchange that has already taken place between Justapaz and
South Christian Street Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Pa., serves as
an example.  The two groups exchanged stories, photos and letters.

A challenge they both face that brings them together is violence in
their society and neighborhoods.  Maurice, an 11-year-old from the
Lancaster church, told the story of how he non-violently confronted --
and ended up becoming friends with -- a student who had been
bullying him.   Juan, a fourth-grader in a small Mennonite school in
Colombia, shared with the Lancaster church the story of how he put
his mediation training (received through Justapaz) to work in his own
family.  Juan's mother and father were constantly fighting.  Juan, then
10, sat them down and led them through a mediation session.  With
Juan's guidance, his parents talked together for three hours.

The idea behind the network, Esquivia says, is to nurture such seeds,
wherever they are.   He is captivated by the idea of seeds, and hopes
Mennonites worldwide can envision the tree within the seed, can
"taste" the flavor and "smell" the aroma of its delicious fruit. 
Relationships such as that between Justapaz and South Christian Street
Mennonite Church are just little shoots needing nurturing, he says. 
Their mutual exchange breaks feelings of isolation and opens minds to
the existence of the larger worldwide church.

Esquivia hopes the network will be firmly rooted in Christian worship
and prayer, and will branch out to deal with the daily challenges of
Anabaptists in all kinds of settings.  Four major challenges he sees the
network dealing with are violence, unemployment, racial and ethnic
harmony and international economic relationships.

What are some practical possibilities?  Esquivia is full of ideas. 
Deforested land can be purchased for $10 U.S. per hectare (about 2.5
acres) in Colombia.  Might churches in the North want to buy some
land and, with the help of local Christians, convert it into a healthy
ecological system that also produces income?  Esquivia envisions
butterfly farms or silkworm raising.

But the network is not just about advocacy or economics, Esquivia
emphasizes.  It is first and foremost a spiritual network. "God hears us
through our feelings, not through whatever language we speak.  And
God's language is love," Esquivia says with fervor.

"The key is to transcend the physical distance separating us by using
God's language, the language of love," he says. "That is why the
network is, above all, a prayer network to link Christians through the
work of the Holy Spirit."

To register your congregation as part of the Anabaptist Peace and
Justice Network, send the following information to Judy Zimmerman
Herr, co-director of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Peace
Office:

name of national church/conference;

name of local church/congregation;

name of contact person and postal address and, if available, telephone
number, fax number and e-mail address.

Contact Zimmerman Herr at MCC, 21 South 12th Street, Akron, Pa.,
17501; phone (717) 859-1151; fax (717) 859-2171; e-mail
<jzh@mcc.org>.

Congregations may also send a prayer request for the network to
Zimmerman Herr.  To do so, describe the situation in no more than 75
words, summarize the prayer request in one sentence and provide the
congregation's name and location.

                                  -30-

Emily Will, MCC Communications

20june1997

Photos available:   (1) Ricardo Esquivia (MCC photo by Mark Will);
(2) Justapaz mediation training with school children in Cachipay,
Colombia (Photo by Frank Albrecht)TOPIC:  Work teams experience rich cross-cultural exchange, addit
alongside Guatemalan K'ekchi' this fall 
DATE:   June 24, 1997
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

A joint release of MCC and Eastern Mennonite Missions

AKRON, Pa. -- Larry Lehman's home congregation in Chambersburg,
Pa., had such a rich experience this spring when they went to
Guatemala to work alongside K'ekchi' Mennonites in building a study
center that they hope to return this fall.

Although 10 work groups from the United States and Central America
have been or will be assisting with the construction this spring and
summer, additional groups are still needed for this fall.

Groups can anticipate physical labor and enjoyable exchange with
K'ekchi' work teams.

"When I was home a few weeks ago a number of the group members
still talked about their experience of working in Guatemala.  No one
knew Spanish or K'ekchi' but they found ways to communicate and
had a great time relating with the K'ekchi's," relates Lehman, an
Eastern Mennonite Missions worker who is coordinating the project
from Carcha, Guatemala.

"They had fun comparing their strength," Lehman says.  "A couple of
big North American guys would hold a sledge hammer by the end of
the handle with arm fully extended and slowly lower the hammer till it
touched their nose.  The K'ekchi's couldn't even hold out their arm
straight while holding the hammer.  Then the gringos' eyes got big
when they tried to lift the loads of firewood that the K'ekchi's had
carted in from a couple of kilometers away.  They could hardly stand
up under the loads."

The study center will provide K'ekchi' Mennonites a place to offer
both primary and secondary education to their children, as well as
vocational training and Bible study.  It will also be used as a general
church center.  The K'ekchi' hope that by having local educational
opportunities, their children will remain in their communities and
retain their culture.

Despite the K'ekchi' Mennonites' material poverty -- they may be the
poorest of all Mennonites worldwide -- they are contributing both
funding and muscle power to the project.  A K'ekchi' team works
alongside each team from another country.       

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) hopes to recruit at least four
work groups of six to 10 persons each for October through December
19.  MCC is also searching for a construction coordinator -- ideally
someone who knows how to speak Spanish and maybe even K'ekchi'!
-- for late September through December 19.  To learn more, contact
Pauline Martin at: phone (717) 859-1151; fax (717) 859-2171; or e-
mail <pmm@mcc.org>.

                                  -30-
esw20june1997