Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/Aug/87

Contributor - Marti Van Hoeve

Title - Reformed Church of America Study Tour to Latin America

Topic - Missions

A group of twenty people from the Reformed Church in America went on a study tour to Mexico and Nicaragua from May 4 to May 16, 1987.

Our delegation contained people from every corner of our church. One delegate from each particular synod, one from the Black Council, one from the Hispanic Council and two missionaries from Chiapas, Mexico. I was the only Canadian representative.

This tour was sponsored by our R.C.A., organized and conducted by the Center for Global Service and Education. Augsburg College, Minneapolis, U.S.A.

The objective of the trip were to study:

- the reasons for poverty in Mexico and Central America;

- the role of Christian based communities in the region;

- the continuing confrontation between the United States and Nicaragua.

We were staying in so-called guest houses in Cuernavaca, Mexico and in Managua, Nicaragua. These houses were operated by the Center for Global Service and Education. The lodging was adequate but not fancy. In Nicaragua there are shortages of almost everything due to the war which ravages that country. Foods are rationed i.e. rice, flour, sugar. Still, we were fed quite well. Some fruits and vegetables were very scarce.

When we asked the people in Mexico and Nicaragua "What do we tell our people back home?", the answer was always "Just tell the truth." But what is truth? Is a two week study tour sufficient to tell "the truth"? I think not.

A little knowledge often is quite a dangerous thing. I asked the Lord for his guidance and wisdom to help me be a worthwhile ambassador for my Lord, my church and my country. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me as to what to tell the folks back home.

We met people from all walks of life - churches (Protestant, and Roman Catholic) government, education, business organizations and common folk.

At a base community we met the Hooker family, below. The whole family is active in the Sandinista government. The older children took part in the education movement. In the years 1980, 1981, they stayed with the people in the villages to teach them to read and write. Now most of them have government jobs. They started in the Sandinista Youth Movement.

The currency is the cordoba, the rate of exchange of which is 4,200 cordobas per 1 American Dollar. Here Dan Spencer. leader of our tour, counts a stack of cordobas.

We had 26 interviews and lectures. We are just beginning to perceive a small fraction of the problems and conflicts there. Many conflicts are so complex and deeply rooted in history. Four and a half centuries of Spanish Dictatorship have left this part of the world in deep poverty.

The Spanish left behind an authoritarian view of human relationships. You can find this in the homes, schools, government and business; autocratic leaders who leave little room for pluralism. There is a general reluctance to think independently, to take initiatives.

For centuries there was exploitation of all resources, human and natural. There is an abuse of power and corruption in all layers of society. The USA government, the developed and rich countries, and the multi-national companies were often blamed for the poverty and all their woes. This was more evident in Mexico than in Nicaragua.

The consensus of the group strongly opposed the American Governments' position in Central America and in particular, the aid to the Contras. As a Canadian citizen, I was and I am not so emotionally involved in the politics as my American companions.

"Canada believes strongly that the countries of Mexico and Central America must be free to seek their own solutions without interference from any outside source." Department of External Affairs

In Nicaragua we saw quite often the Canadian Maple Leaf displayed next to projects financed by Canada (hydro, water, agriculture, health) and Canadian volunteers work on these projects. Nicaraguans knowledge of Canada is restricted to the cold climate, however, they appreciate the help Canada is giving them.

The Role of the Christian-based Communities

85% of Latin America is Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally been conservative in its views. Historically, government, the Roman Catholic church and the military have worked closely together.

In 1968, the first conference of Latin American Bishops at Medellin in Columbia called for changes to those economic and political systems which had become "mechanisms of oppression". The Bishops clearly put Latin America Catholicism on a new footing by identifying the Church with the poor. The Bishops would "promote, guide and accompany the Christian Based Communities" (CEB's). We visited one CEB in Mexico and two in Nicaragua.

In homes, small groups of people came together regularly. They do hymn singing, bible reading and discussion. God is the enemy of oppression. God's truth is God's love.

1/3 of Nicaragua's population is under 25 years of age. This is a youthful society and most of the people are in favour of the revolution. The Nicaraguan Revolution was in 1979 when the Sandinistas, after many years of rebellion, ousted the Somoza government from power.

These 5 young people are between the ages of 23 and 29 years. They are the Managers of a huge farm complex of 100,000 acres. This is a mixed Dairy Project called "Heroes of Pancasan" in the town of Muy Muy.

Theirs was a model farm, made up of part State, part cooperative and part private farms. These young people all had a two year agricultural education. They did quite a bit of research. Holstein cows were crossed with Brahmas and they were planning to cross them with brown Swiss (more hardier for soil and climate). At the moment all 200 cows were milked by hand.

They had a new Canadian milking machine, however it could not be hooked up until the water system was installed. They were still working on that. A volunteer American veterinarian is visiting them off and on to assist them with artificial insemination.

These young people talked about their goals and frustrations. There main problems were to introduce the workers to new technology. It is hard to change a cowboy into a modern farm technologist.

At the same farm we stood on the spot where the farmhouse had been. A couple of weeks previous the project had been attacked by Contras. The house was burned. Fortunately, the other farm buildings could be saved.

You may recall from recent news the death of Benjamin Linder. He was a 27 year old Engineer from Portland, Oregon. He was the first American Civilian killed by Nicaraguan Contras along with two militiamen while working on a hydro electric plant for the government.

Military confrontation will not bring peace to Nicaragua; it only brings destruction and death. Our only hope for a settlement is by negotiation.

Rev. Greg Mast, Minister of Social Witness RCA will plan more study tours in the future. It is hoped that Canadians will take an active interest in these tours. Other people who attended the tour plan on publishing their material in the U.S. in the near future.

This study tour has done something for my soul. Most of all it has generated a tenderness in my heart for the Nicaraguan and Mexican people. They are so lovely, so sweet.

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