It is clever, isn’t it?

The enduring inability of foreigners to spell (and pronounce) the name of their country has led to a marketing campaign, with everything from t-shirts to coffee cups, reminding us to get our vowels right.

And if that strategy proves to be unsuccessful, there is always the fallback Bart Simpson option:

But it is not just vowels. There are also the accents that keep visitors to Colombia on their (grammatical) toes.

For me learning accents was part of mastering New Testament Greek in six intensive weeks with DA Carson, more than 40 years ago. He even wrote a book on the subject which all students purchased. It impressed on me the importance of getting accents right—something I’ve not really thought about again until my Langham life drew me to Latin America. We have two Amésteguis on our Global Leadership Team, while on a visit to Colombia earlier this month I visited Ibagué and Medellín (and also transited through Bogotá).

There was so much to enjoy…

the cities

The visits to these two cities had different purposes. In Ibagué (i-baa-gay) I spent time with the newest member of our Global Leadership Team, Dionisio Orjuela, in his ‘home-place’. The purpose was all about meeting his family, connecting with his church, eating his food—and seeing the sights in his beautiful part of the world.

The Spanish built a central square in every city. It was rimmed by the central institutions in public life. In Bogotá, for example, there is this vast space with the Palace of Justice (on the north edge); the National Capitol (on the south); the Catholic Cathedral (on the east); and the local City Hall (on the west).

The Plaza de Bolívar in Ibagué is smaller and more intimate, featuring trees and flowers— with the cathedral (above), the town hall and a university among those institutions around the edge.

And let’s not forget the cafe named in honour of my Tongan daughter, Kava … 🙂

I was given the option of flying to Medellín via Bogotá, in larger commercial planes, or flying direct from Ibagué in an airborne bloated pencil. Unbeknown to me, Dionisio and Janeth had chosen the latter option. After hearing how their pencil was treated by the elements, let’s just say I made a wise choice…

It also meant that I could enjoy that 60min drive from Medellín airport (at 2000+ meters, an uncannily similar height at which we grew up in the Himalayas) down into the valley that encloses the city of Medellín.

As mentioned, the time in Medellín had a different purpose. It was work-work-work! Apart from the final night when we went to a restaurant, this view was my only experience of the city, not far from the front door of the apartment where I was staying. Beautiful, eh?

the mountains

Yes, this Himalayan lad felt at home in Andean land.

the music

On arrival in Medellín, I was able to see a little of the Chicago Bears season-opener before rebuilding my sanctification in time for the Welcome event around an evening meal. I was instructed to sit next to Andrés (Jaramillo) who would translate for me. Within a minute I discover Andrés is a concert pianist (as was my Dad) and that he, as a Colombian living in California, was going to be offering a little concert later that evening (including Rachmaninoff)—and then be joined by others for a bigger concert midweek. Right on cue, one of the ‘others’ came across to chat with him. It was Santiago Benavides, a Colombian based in Toronto, who I recognised from his visits as the guest artist at a couple of Langham USA’s Vision Weekend a decade ago. He has featured on one of my spotify playlists ever since.

The music—and even more, these musicians—was one of the highlights of the week.

It was all so eclectic. For example, here is a little piece by JS Bach from the midweek concert—with Andrés on the piano and Carla on the oboe (ahh yes, the instrument Barby played at a high level, including in the eminent Delhi Symphony Orchestra!).

Then there were the songs of worship, both during that evening concert and as we started each day. The energy, the rhythm, the joy—with Santiago (on the guitar), Andrés, Carla and their team leading the way. It is infectious. I did well to restrict myself to just three examples here…

the non-negotiables

Across Latin America, the Langham Preaching ministry is guided by two “non-negotiables”.

The first is that every encounter with the Word of God commences with ‘Praying the Word’. This is done in different ways—with repetitive, contemplative and creative elements to the fore. For example, Alex Chiang led this time when Nehemiah 8.1-8 was the focal passage. He had different people join him in the reading, and then had us join in the responses which the people in the passage were making to the Word—including verse 6: “they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground”. That is what we all did.

The idea with Praying the Word is to linger a little longer in the Word—and not rush too quickly to the preaching or teaching of it. They even shut the front doors so that there could be no coming and going during this time!

It is interesting to note that two of the resources used to train people in Praying the Word are written by fellow New Zealander, and good friend, Geoff New. His books were on sale, keeping rather good company on the book-table, it must be said!

The other non-negotiable is ‘el brazo’, or the hug—immediately after Praying the Word. I loved my Dad’s hugs. I guess they made me an instinctive hug-ger as well. Grandchildren seem to enjoy my trademark ‘seat-belt hugs’! However, in returning to NZ after a decade away, I noticed how unwelcome even a loose hug can be. To invade someone’s personal space in this way, without some indication of permission to do so, is unacceptable.

As you can see, Latin Americans are not too concerned about such matters…

the football

My visit was during one of the international ‘windows’ with football. Qualifying for the next World Cup was underway. While in Ibagué, Colombia had a disappointing draw with Peru—but then, when we were in Medellín, they were up against the might of Argentina (to whom they had lost in extra time in the final of Copa América just a few weeks earlier).

The (somewhat) waning star for the Colombian team is James Rodríguez, who grew up in Ibagué. We drove past the little neighbourhood ground where he played as a child and I even had a meal of waffles from the chain of little restaurants which he owns.

Providentially—although I am not sure whether the providence was sourced in divine sovereignty or human responsibility—there was a space in the programme where we could watch the Argentina game. I’m kicking myself. I had this 30sec clip of the commentator going totally crazy while the only action on the pitch is a player waiting to throw the ball in from the sideline! Classic. Such passion over nothing…but I deleted it by mistake.

the family

Let me just take you back to Ibagué for a minute.

I was pleased to meet Dionisio and Janeth, together with their children Juan Esteban and Sarita. During the pandemic years, I invited each of our Langham Preaching staff across the world to an Advent Conversation—a 60min slot during those first weeks of December. It was an effort to stay connected and supportive when so much of life was isolated. I would give a person a few questions to spark our sharing together. Then I would take a little devotional before gathering everything together in prayer.

However Dionisio did things a little differently. He brought his whole family into the conversation! On one occasion, he even had Sarita join us on Zoom from Spain, where she was studying. I was so touched by this response from him and it created a bond with their family.

One of the highlights was meeting Dionisio’s father, who is turning 105 years of age on the 9th October. Remarkable. He is still living in sparse conditions in the family home which he built. It was a joy to hold his hand and pray for him—and an even greater joy to have him pray for me/us. There are photos, but it feels too personal a moment to publish them here…

the walls

It is mission month in our church and later this morning Barby and I are being interviewed. One of the questions relates to the contrasting way the people of God engage in mission—’here’ compared with ‘over there’. One of the reflections I will offer is that ‘here’ we tend to look to minimise the differences between us and the surrounding society, with the key being to mix in and demonstrate our relevance to society (a bit like being salt, I guess). However, ‘over there’, again and again, I find the instinct is a different one. It is the attraction that can come with maximising the difference, intentionally living a distinctive life with distinction (a bit like being light, I guess).

All this came to mind when I was in the Orjuela home in Ibagué. It is rare to see biblical texts adorn the homes of ‘Western’ Christians, isn’t it? Afterall we are trying to blend in and minimise the differences! Remember? Not so this home. What is written on their walls is integral to their witness for Jesus.

the gift

Back to Medellín. I had been invited to participate in a celebration of two anniversaries.

Firstly, the 25th year of the escuelita—the small groups, or communities, which provide the primary setting for the transformation of preachers in the Langham Preaching ministry worldwide. The escuelita was born in Colombia under the leadership of Jorge and Gail Atiencia, who are moving towards retirement. They live in Cuenca (Ecuador). I extended the map above to include it. Jorge had a period of time on our Global Leadership Team. This seemed the ideal occasion in which to express our thanks to them both. So we did—presenting them with this Kiwi picture, which Barby found online—and to which we added a caption: “an escuelita in the garden”.

Secondly, the 80th year of the seminary which hosted us and with which Langham Preaching enjoys such a vibrant partnership: the Fundacion Universitaria Seminario Biblico de Colombia (FUSBC). It was incredible to witness such a dynamic collaboration between formal and non-formal options in training and formation. The president of the seminary (Luis Eduardo Ramírez Suárez) was at the heart of the serving, the hosting and the organisation of the week. And, as I found across this country in the different service settings (airlines, restaurants etc), the people in Colombia do hospitality so very well.

the teaching

Along with some preaching, they selected four teaching sessions for me to contribute. I was grateful that they chose some of my favourite interactive topics, but never have I prepared them for 200 people, or even remotely close to that number—with teaching through translation adding another challenge.

First up, in groups of 15, we imagined the Bible to be like a house with many rooms—and each room identified by a different genre. “Imagine you are stuck in one room. What would be your understanding of the Word of God? What response would it draw from you?”

Another session was about building a theology of preaching in a collaborative way. It is a profound exercise, surprising people with how much can be achieved in just 60 minutes.

This time it was groups of eight, with each one working through the various areas of theology (God, Christ, Spirit, Church, Bible etc) and asking two questions: (a) WHAT—name a big truth in this area (Un gran verdad); and (b) SO WHAT—describe the impact on a preacher (Impacto en el predicador).

Sheets of paper, one for each area, were posted all around the room—and one by one, group by group, people added their ideas. Gradually, a theology takes shape—with the concluding plea being not so much to hold these convictions, but to be held by these convictions as preachers.

I also offered a case study on leadership from Nehemiah 5 and a session on The Four Chairs—an interactive way to tell, understand and live in the biblical story (see photo below).

the work

Colombia is one of the pioneering countries in the Langham Preaching ministry—and they are still pioneering. It was helpful to watch and listen and learn from them over these days.

nice chatting

Paul

PS: On my way home, here is the view from a restaurant atop a hotel just down the road from where I was staying in-transit—in Queens, New York City.