Join the ELCA on one of two immersion trips to Colombia and Indonesia to see God’s work firsthand.
The Indonesia trip, October 3-16, will offer you the opportunity to experience theological education projects, healing HIV/AIDS programs, gender justice in a women’s crisis center, and young ministries. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country, yet it is home to over 6 million Lutherans. This advanced country, rich in history and culture, still wrestles with gender-based violence, religious persecution, health concerns and disaster recovery. When a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the island of Sulawesi in 2018, Lutheran Disaster Response was there providing relief. When voices called out gender injustice and violence, the ELCA stood behind the Women’s Crisis Center Sopou Damei, which offers women counseling and support and provides training and educaiton on domestic violence and gender justice. When seminaries needed specialized training programs, the ELCA sent professors. When our siblings in Christ reach out, the ELCA is there to walk beside them.
The Colombia trip, October 12-19, will allow you to expereince development projects in vulnerable communities and with refugess, stories of church sustainability and empowerment, a Lutheran school, and the church’ s involvement in the national peace and reconciliation process. The Lutheran churches of Latin America and the Caribbean have heard the cry of the poor. A minority denomination in an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic region, these churches have responded to that cry with a holistic ministry that serves the community and blends word and sacrament with advocacy and ministry in education, hunan rights, migrant relief, gender and economic justice and opposition to human trafficking. The Colombian civil war was one of the longest running in world history, lasting from 1964 until a peace agreement was signed in 2016. It left more than 600,000 people dead and displaced nearly 1 in 10 Colombians. The war was fueled by social inequality, and Colombia remains one of the most inequitable countries in the world. The pandemic worsened the situation: currently 39% of the population lives in poverty, with rates even higher in rural areas and among Indigenous groups, Afro-Colombians, migrants and victims of conflict. This is the climate in which the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de Colombia or IELCO) shares the gospel of Christ. Made up of 21 congregations and nearly 2,000 members, the church serves its communities through development and outreach projects, evangelism programs and schools. IELCO also plays a vital role in the national peace dialogue process, promoting understanding between different groups and conflicting parties.
For more information about these two immersion trips, including itineraries, cost and registration, click on the links below.
