Colombia

In Colombia, praise God for the many children and young people who have been given new opportunities through the sports clubs. Pray that they continue making good decisions and can be a positive influence in their families, schools and neighbourhoods. Lift up the local church and our partners as they support local communities in finding solutions to the challenges they face. Pray for physical and spiritual protection for those working in these areas. Pray for peace in Colombia, for an end to the conflict and violence that have characterised so much of its recent history. Pray for those who have been affected by the violence, that they might find support and restoration.

The ongoing peace process between the Colombian Government and the FARC guerrillas has reached a critical phase. Pray that its implementation would bring real peace to the areas of the country most affected by the conflict. Pray for the victims of the long-running armed conflict. There are up to 8 million victims, 6 million of whom were victims of forcible displacement. Pray for the Church to be an instrument of healing and reconciliation. Pray for the evangelical Church in Colombia whose growth has led to it having a more prominent role in national life. Pray for wise and godly leaders.

Karla Contreras is a 20 year-old student at the seminary where CMS mission associate Christopher Hays teaches. She says, “I came to the seminary to get trained in theology so that I can teach the Bible in a responsible manner. Right now, in addition to my studies, I am working in Young Life, an organisation that reaches out to youth and has a vision of presenting Jesus in a engaging way, as well as by means of developing sincere friendships. It’s work that I’m really passionate about! Since I have been here at the seminary I have realised that my heart feels pulled towards urban missions. So, when I finish my studies, I hope to keep working with Young Life for the expansion of the Kingdom of God, in order to fulfill the calling that God has on my life.” Pray for her and all such students in Colombia.

For the past four months, Tearfund’s partner Red Viva has been helping the indigenous Wayuu community deal with a crippling drought in northern Colombia. After four months, some things have not changed: there is still an extreme drought in this area. But what has changed dramatically is the smile on the faces of the children. The first time we visited, we saw sad children with very low levels of nutrition. Now, though, they are smiling and eager to play again. Some 640 children and more than 400 adults will continue receiving nutritional support through January. Please pray for rain in this area so that next year will be an easier one for the Wayuu people.

Hundreds of boys and girls in the cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena are escaping the lures of gang life, violence, drugs and crime by taking up football. Pray for the ministry of Red Viva Colombia, working with local churches and youth groups to run 30 sports clubs offering football training sessions and tournaments for seven to 15-year-olds. As well as providing a safe environment, in a country where children as young as seven have been encouraged to join gangs, the youngsters learn life-skills at the sessions, which take place outside of school hours. They also work with a personal mentor and take part in classes looking at health education, human rights, social issues, preventing violence and how to resolve conflict – all within a caring Christian setting. 

A man sentenced to 190 years behind bars for a brutal murder is now leading a prison church in Colombia. Mission partners in the area have shared that this came about through the prayers of Christian prisoners. "This man was so violent he’d served eight years in solitary confinement. But his Christian fellow prisoners prayed for him daily - they would sit outside his cell singing and praying… One night God touched this man and he believed." This had a big impact in the prison. The man eventually graduated from the SEAN theological education programme in 2005 and now helps lead the prison church. His sentence has been reduced to 19 more years for good behaviour and the SEAN programme has been welcomed in 23 out of 25 major prisons in Colombia.

So far an estimated 15,000 children have been forcibly 'recruited' into illegal armed groups. Here the girls often suffer repeated rape and the boys are forced to kill even people they know. Others are made to work the coca fields used to supply cocaine around the world. One child shared, “This happened last year while we were in school. Some flyers were passed around to recruit the children from our school. They ordered that the first ones to come must be the pastor’s daughters.” Pray for the protection of children vulnerable to being targeted in this way and for the ministry of Christians working through prayer, love and care to transform the lives of children who have suffered at the hands of these groups.

In Colombia, thousands of children live in conflict zones or communities displaced by fighting. Many of them work on the streets and are at risk of being recruited into gangs or armed groups. Vive Kids is a programme that trains local churches to work with the children at risk in their neighbourhoods, through kids’ clubs and advocacy. The response has been overwhelming and it’s hoped that in the next two years kids’ clubs will be piloted across 750 churches. Pray that God would work through the programme to transform the lives of children in Colombia.