I wish I had a blog during my missionary days!
From December 1995 through November 1997 I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I served along the northern coast of Colombia. For some time now I have wanted a place to organize my memories and experiences, and share them. A full-blown web-site is something I just don't have time for. I have some 700+ pages of journal entries and such that are just begging to be turned into something.
Colombia is an amazing place! I saw things there that I could never have experienced anywhere else. Each region of the country has its own unique flavor and culture. In some cases, very nearly their own separate language. No matter where you are, though, one thread ties the whole culture together - the latino spirit. They are a people generous beyond my comprehension. They willingly made great sacrifices simply to show hospitality. Only their best was to offered, even if they had no interest in our preaching. To a gringo accustomed to having neighbors he's never met, the openness of the coastal culture was like jumping into an ice-cold lake. It woke me up! I saw people who were utterly destitute yet completely happy. People you've only just met greet you like an old friend. I really miss that. I try to bring a little of it back into the States with me. I also saw the ugly side - war and poverty to an extent I had never witnessed. Acts of terrorism. Government corruption. Some people had completely given up on the concept of morality and decency. In the midst of tremendous crime and degeneracy stands a core of families and individuals who will gladly give up their lives before they surrender their values. I days to come I will post the stories of some of these people. In circumstances that most of us would find unbearable, they flourish. There is a spirit of greatness in these people.
I left Colombia with a great feeling of appreciation and pride for my own nation - for all that we have here in the United States. I also brought home with me a great love for the people of Colombia. I learned more from them in two years than I could have learned in a decade from my own countrymen. We Americans may have a lot, but we also take a lot of things for granted. Too often we fail to appreciate that which is of true value. I also witnessed a great deal of arrogance in many American tourists while there. We need to humble ourselves and rememmber that we are all God's children. I can tell you first hand that the people of Colombia truly take after their Father.
