DARKNESS IN LETICIA
November,2001
“A DARK NIGHT OF ALL DARK NIGHTS AND THEN A LIGHT!”
“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world
lieth in wickedness” I John 5:19 (KJV). Really, the
whole world is a mission field. Leticia, Colombia, on
the Amazon at the confluence of the three-sisters
frontiers is a third world city, though it has a
modern airport, a hospital and a university. But
violence breaks out in Los Angeles and in Oklahoma
City and In Manhattan, New York City—and in Leticia,
Colombia! It has a population of only 30,000, but
when the city power fails, it is a dark place.
Personally, I am seriously inconvenienced with power
failures not being able to send faxes, make important
telephone calls, or dispatch urgent internet messages.
I am not receiving financial reports from the states,
nor letters from the family, nor am I able to
communicate with critical business affairs around the
world. Yes it’s an unsafe place when thieves take
advantage of the darkness. Lately I’ve had to utilize
two to four vigilantes and both of our watchdogs to
provide safety on the premises of the Casa Grande.
And there is also the brief time in which we can pump
water from the well into the large storage tank. And
of course the refrigerators and deep freeze thaw out.
Jean started to make a birthday cake but her beater
quite in just 10 seconds.
However, the evil side of city-wide power outages gets
a lot more serious than our personal grievances. Tons
of fish needing refrigeration have spoiled. Grocery
items in the larger supermarkets are spoiling. Worse
yet, hospitals and schools cannot get enough purified
water. Besides, they cannot afford to keep their
private backup generators running continually. Price
of groceries will be escalating. Leticia is reaching
the critical stage.
On Thursday the 22nd of November—Thanksgiving Day in
the United States—the riot broke out. Over 500
businessmen mobbed the Plaza de la Engería—the
four-story Electric Office Building on the
International Avenue. The manager had tried to escape
via airline, but the mob discovered his plan and
surrounded the aircraft. Four policemen were
hospitalized with bloodied faces, and over 50 large
plate glass windows were broken out of the four-story
building. Over 3½ million U.S. dollars had gone
“under the table” which was dedicated for the purchase
of a new diesel light plant for Leticia.
Yours for the OUTREACH AMAZON,
Erwin and Jean Bourne
|