Joyful Visits

A Letter from César Carhuachín, serving in Colombia

Fall 2023

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Hi dear brothers and sisters in the U.S.A.,

Greetings from Mission Haven in Decatur, GA, where Dania and I have been staying since February 17 when I began my Interpretation Ministry. Dania and I have been traveling by car to visit churches in several states. These visits gave us the opportunity to worship, receive nurture and refresh our spiritual lives.

On the weekend of June 10-11, we drove north to visit Westminster Presbyterian Church in Madison, WI. While driving, near Chattanooga TN, we had a car incident. Something resembling a brick flew out from under a trailer, hit my windshield and shattered the windshield on the driver’s side. That trailer was passing us on the right-hand side of the car. My wife and I were frightened because nothing like that had ever happened to us before. Thanks be to God that no one was hurt. I was able to make an appointment by phone to replace the windshield in Madison. Thanks be to God that we had no problem driving from there with the windshield in that condition. It was replaced satisfactorily. The following Sunday morning, I preached a sermon entitled “Faith and Mercy in Our World” based on Matthew 9:9-13 and 18-26. Following the service, I presented a PowerPoint presentation about God’s mission in Colombia. The response of the congregation to the sermon was great. A member of the congregation asked for a copy of the sermon from the pastor Rev. Anderson which I emailed him. The PowerPoint presentation was also well received and was followed by a stimulating question-and-answer period. We thank God that Westminster Presbyterian Church in Madison, WI is partnering with God’s mission in Colombia.

On July 5-7, we assisted Christ Presbyterian Church in Canton, OH in holding a Spanish camp at Camp Wakonda in Sherrodsville, OH. Dania taught a class and I prepared and preached a short sermon. I was impressed by the vision of Rev. Wallace and Rev. George in organizing this Spanish camp. They and others led three different groups on the same day, with the Spanish group being one of them. This last group wasn’t for Hispanic children, but for children who are learning Spanish in school. Rev. Wallace and his wife speak Spanish fluently. This experience was a happy learning experience for Dania and me. We experienced the love for God, respect for other cultures and the good spirit that pervaded the camp. Five interns from overseas, four from Mexico and one from Asia helped lead the camp. These five young interns had the opportunity to visit the United States and spent two months (Wakonda Camp is busy in the summer) conducting worship, leading prayer time, organizing sports and so on. Let us pray for Wakonda Camp, Christ Presbyterian Church and its almost 50 years of camp ministry nurturing children in faith and Christian discipleship.

Right after this experience we traveled west to Chicago, IL. We spent the weekend of July 8-9 at Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church. I preached a sermon entitled “Children and the Kingdom of God” based on Matthew 11:16-19 & 25-30. After the worship service, we went to a restaurant for a fellowship lunch with a group of people involved in global missions. I was hosted by Ann Legg, a member of the mission committee who is very involved in God’s mission in Latin America, including Colombia. I really appreciate her passion and work for peace and justice. I thank to Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church for its support of God’s mission in Colombia.

Our last church visit in July took place on Thursday, July 27. We drove to Tower Hill First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, NJ. The mission committee prepared a dinner at the church, and I made a PowerPoint presentation about God’s mission in Colombia. It was a great time of sharing about how the Presbyterian Church of Colombia is working to fulfill her mission in a context of violence. We had many questions regarding how safe Colombia is. Colombia has been working for several years to achieve peace agreements. In 2016 there was a peace agreement signed between the government and the FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces). And, although the government is still working to implement those agreements, it is involved right now in other peace conversations with the ELN (National Liberation Army). One of our Presbyterian pastors is a member of that conversation table. Rev. Adelaida Jimenez was named by the Colombian government for that work. Please pray for peace in Colombia, and that violence be eradicated from all parts of the society, such as family, schools, churches, society and government.

I want to ask your prayers for these last months of my Interpretation Ministry. In these weeks, we will be visiting some relatives, and going for our annual physicals. If you haven’t yet signed up to receive my mission connection letters, please do so at: presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/rev-c-sar-carhuach-n/.

Thank you for your church’s and individual partnerships with God’s mission in Colombia.

Grace and peace!

Please read this important message from Director of World Mission Rev. Mienda Uriarte

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25: 34-36

Dear friends,

Great things are happening in World Mission! As you know from the letters you’ve been receiving, our mission co-workers are at the forefront of showing us what Matthew 25 looks like in the U.S. and in the wider world. They are addressing issues related to eradicating systemic poverty, building congregational vitality and dismantling structural racism. Together with our partners, mission co-workers are engaged in life-transforming ministries in 80 countries around the world. Here are just a few examples:

As an education consultant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, José Jones assists the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) education department in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans to strengthen the church’s primary and secondary education programs for more than 350 schools.

Based in Manila, Rev. Cathy Chang works closely with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and other partners in ministry to engage programs and networks across Asia that advocate for people vulnerable to forced migration and human trafficking.

Nadia Ayoub works alongside our Greek partners as they faithfully hold to the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Nadia serves with Perichoresis, a ministry of the Evangelical Church of Greece that provides housing and support to refugees; most of whom have come to Greece from Arabic-speaking countries.

Joseph Russ strengthens and supports a network of partners working in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address migration issues in the Northern Triangle. Based on the needs people on the ground identify, Joseph empowers U.S. congregations to engage in advocacy related to Central America and immigration reform.

Revs. Drs. Noah Park and Esther Shin serve as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). ETSC graduates work toward revitalizing congregational ministries in Egypt and work with refugee and peace ministries in various countries in the Middle East.

Please consider giving an extra gift this year to support our mission co-workers as they walk alongside our partners and help shape a more life-giving, equitable and hopeful world!

Prayerfully,

Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Director of World Mission
Presbyterian Mission Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give online, visit https://bit.ly/23MC-YE.
Honorary gifts can be made by checking the box and writing the mission co-worker’s name in the comment field online.