Edith Acu&nt;a is a woman of courage, drawn by compassion and driven by faith in God. She is a pastor in the poor Bogota neighbourhood of Juan Pablo II. Murders, drug abuse, assault and theft are daily occurrences on the steep and dirty streets in her area.
Eighteen years ago she came to this hillside looking for a patch of land on which to erect a shelter with her husband Edgar and three children. Apartments in the core of the city wouldn't accept children.
Baptized in Bogota's Berna Mennonite church, Edith carried her Mennonite faith to her new barrio (neighbourhood), and began reaching out to the hurting women and children all around.
Desperate for theological training, she took evening courses at the Mennonite seminary, a 90-minute bus ride away. For fear of robbery or worse, buses and taxis would not enter her neighbourhood at night, leaving Edith to walk the last 20 minutes in the dark, alone.
"It's very hard to walk through the streets here for fear of being attacked, especially on pay day, even in day time," she said.
She completed her high school and earned a certificate in theology from the seminary. About six years ago she began a ministry to 60 children in her home. At that time Edgar was not supportive of her ministry and forbade her to work with the men of the community.
"It was impossible to invite men. He would be jealous." But she persevered.
Eventually, through God's guidance, a woman unknown to Acu[Symbol Not Transcribed]ia came forward with money to buy the building next door to her house. This one-room building with hollow-brick walls and a corrugated tin roof now serves as the Mennonite church. Painted blue, it has the hours of service and the symbol of the General Conference Mennonite Church in black.
One day an old man came to Acu[Symbol Not Transcribed]na seeking to attend the church. After he was rejected and eventually died, Edgar realized men needed the gospel too and became a believer. He joined Edith in her faith and ministry.
"The area of counselling is tremendously important," said Acu[Symbol Not Transcribed]ha speaking through an interpreter. "There is much abuse of children and women." She gets calls from women late at night. Alcohol, drugs, assassinations and violence are part of life here.
"The majority of young girls get pregnant very early," she said. "Virtually all the time you hear that one person is killed, two people are killed, three persons are killed."
Acu&nt;a is the vice-president of a ministerial for 250 barrios. In addition to her own congregation, she gives leadership to nine house churches and trains other leaders--working full time with no salary.
As of January, the church has baptized 60 people, and has a core group of 37 regular attendees. An additional 28 adults and 66 children meet in homes. Edith is praying that the Colombian Mennonite Church will get the money to buy the church and build a second floor with Sunday school rooms.--Aiden Schlichting Enns
This is the second in a series on Mennonites in Colombia.
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