News > Latin America

The name  is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo), who discovered the New World, called San Salvador Island(meant by Christ the Savior) in 1492. The capital city, Bogotá, is located on a high plateau of about 2,700 metres, and its population is about 10 million. It has a subtropical highland climate(14.5 C: average temperature). 

 Most cities of this country are on the Highland of the Andes Mountain Range. There are the Lowlands such as the Amazon Rainforest region, the Caribbean coastal region etc. The area is about 1.14 million km2, and the population is about 50 million.

Colombia is Latin America’s fourth largest economy measured by GDP(gross domestic product). Its GDP per capita is about $ 6,000(2015). 90% of the population is the Roman Catholic, and 5 % is the Protestant. This country became independent of Spain in 1819 under Simón Bolívar’s leadership. 

Colombia has, politically, been conflicts more than co-operation, between the conservative group and the progressive group, since the early 1950. This spurred the radical guerrilla groups into existence. In particular since the early 1960, the left guerrillas have been resisting the government force. 

They were funded by kidnapping and ransom, illegal mining, taxation, and illegal drugs, usually as a communist peasant force. However, in 2012 President Santos(2010- present) began dialogue with the guerrillas, and made a peace agreement with them(Aug., 2016). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring a more than 50 year-long-war to an end(Oct., 2016). Despite the agreement, it was rejected narrowly by referendum.

Colombia UBF is served by M. Andres and Juana Park’s house. M. Andres is planning on a new business, stopping running a grocery store. We studied the Ephesians first and second lecture, and the Galatians fifth lecture; I delivered a Sunday worship message. 

On Saturday, we had a meeting to share gracious testimonies. M. Andres Park has studied coffee much to run coffee business enough to have lots of knowledges on coffee, to the point of being “coffee doctor.” He repented that he studied coffee more than a study of the Bible; so he decided to prefer a good mission to others, realizing that for the Lord to grant him three holy blessings is to do a good mission, that the Lord has granted him; he prays that he may love the Lord more than his only daughter, and love sheep of campus like his children.

<Prayer Topics>

• To raise each ancestor of brothers and sisters.
• To deliver a powerful Sunday worship message.
• For M. Andres Park’s financial self-support.