Javier Marquez

by Javier Márquez

Between February 5 and 12, 2025, Medellín was the scene of a historic meeting that marked a new chapter in this process of transformation and movement that we are experiencing in the Mosaic Conference. A team of seven people from different countries—the United States, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia—traveled to the Colombian city to meet with pastors and leaders of Christian communities in Colombia, especially from the Anabaptist Community of Medellín, Resplandece Mennonite Church (Pembroke Pines, FL, Barranquilla, Colombia, and hybrid)—ministries that are part of the Conference—and the Shalom Anabaptist Christian Church of Cartagena. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: to strengthen ties between the communities and to witness the pastoral licensing of Manuel García and Carlos Sánchez as new pastors within Mosaic Conference. 

“The Colombian churches and leaders have been involved in God’s mission for a long time, Mosaic Conference noticed it, called them, and is walking with them,” reflected Leadership Minister Marco Güete. “The meeting in Medellín was an awakening guided by the Spirit of God.” From the beginning, the atmosphere was marked by fellowship, reflection, and the desire to share. 

“I discovered that God has a plan for each of these leaders and that they are ready to walk with Mosaic,” reflected Sandra Guëte. This feeling of walking together with mutual support was reflected throughout the visit. 

The culminating moment was the pastoral licensing ceremony. Manuel García, pastor of Resplandece Mennonite, shared his emotion upon receiving his acceptance into Mosaic Conference: “The day I received the message that I was accepted to be licensed was unforgettable. I hugged my wife and cried with happiness. My mind traveled through the memories, the processes and the experiences that God allowed me to live until that moment.”

Likewise, Carlos Sánchez, pastor of the Anabaptist Community of Medellín, expressed, “Being part of Mosaico as a credentialed pastor and baptizing a small group of new brothers and sisters in the faith is an achievement for my life. It is one more step that God has affirmed in his mercy.”

In addition to these moments of joy and emotion, there was a space for community reflection led first by Ismael Conchacala Gil, a Wiwa indigenous Christian leader from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and then by Nidia Montoya, leader of the Anabaptist Community of Medellín. First, Conchacala shared a message about Luke 18 and, later, Montoya guided us in an exercise of expressing our feelings about these relationships that were emerging. In this context, the group “Walking with Mosaico” was born, which brings together Colombian pastors and leaders.

The cultural exchange was one of the most significant riches of this meeting. “The trip gave us the opportunity to connect and learn from each other while we traveled to different places in Colombia. We enjoyed delicious meals, drank good coffee, and had meaningful conversations and moments of communion. We got to know each other better,” said Mosaic Conference Leadership Minister for Mission Noel Santiago. The visits to the homes of the members of the Medellín community, the touristic activities, and the fellowship further enriched the meeting.

Sister Keila Barrero, who was accompanied by her husband Santiago Góngora, also shared about the experience lived during this meeting: “The opportunity to share with the pastors and leaders of Mosaico in various settings made this a valuable and enriching time. In addition, the welcome and attention provided made this experience a significant memory for us as a family.” These words reflect the sense of community and human warmth that characterized this historic meeting.

For many, this trip was unforgettable, not only for the cultural and spiritual context, but for the human connection that was established. “I will never forget these two and a half days together,” shared Malka Blanco.

Pastor Eliécer Virola also expressed with enthusiasm: “My experience of this meeting with Mosaic was spectacular. What God is preparing in the spiritual sphere, what God is going to do in the church, is great.” His testimony reflects the vision and hope that the group shared during their meeting in Medellin.

Thus, in this historic meeting, Walking with Mosaic was born, both as a group of leaders united by faith, and as a tangible expression of the work that God is doing in Colombia and throughout the region. As Mosaic Conference continues to grow, “Let us be attentive to the voice of the Lord, wherever He calls us to get up and go,” encouraged Noel Santiago.

Javier Márquez

Javier Márquez is Writer & Communication Coordinator for Mosaico Colombia. He is an Anabaptist Colombian pacifist and poet. He is based in Bogota, Colombia.

In the State of Morelos, Mexico, is the eternal springtime. Throughout the year the sun falls on the heads of all its inhabitants but crossing the meadows and coming down from the mountains comes a breeze that makes living in Morelos a much more bearable activity.

In this place live our friends Fernando Pérez and Rebeca Torres, pastors of many years and who served not long ago in Denver, Colorado, together with the Mennonite Church helping immigrants.

Today they have a mission there and the Mosaic Conference is strengthening ties with them while looking at ways to help and cooperate with this ministry.

For Fernando and Rebeca, it is very important to introduce themselves to the community first as neighbors and create bonds of friendship and trust before going “door to door, street to street” preaching. They say that the most important thing is to be a community, long before CREATING an Anabaptist community. That is why they have also connected with different spheres of neighborhood help.

But in parallel, two meetings for prayer and biblical reflection have also begun, one virtual and the other face-to-face. The virtual community that started in 2020 already brings together 11 people, it is called LOS ANABAPTISTAS DEL CAMINO, and it brings together, above all, brothers, and sisters with a professional profile.

The other community, the face-to-face, is with the residents of the community of Morelos. They meet on Thursdays to pray and read the Bible. It still does not have any official Anabaptist character because for Fernando and Rebeca the most important thing is the exercise of theology more than the discourse… that story is explained in due time.

But the mission does not end there, our brothers are also connected with a center to help Central American migrants in the town of Cuautla and with a group of families who are looking for those who have disappeared due to violence.

“We would like the Mosaic Conference to have in the future an accompaniment represented by volunteers who come to learn about the mission and to help, also from a cultural exchange perspective. It is also important to promote the projects, with the help of some financial resources. What we do with immigrants, for example, is often very limited by the limited capacity for action that we have” explains Fernando Pérez.

This article is translated to English by Andrés Castillo. Original article appears in Mosaic News En Español: Healthy Niños de Honduras Comparte su Comida y Colchones a Afectados Por Las Tormentas de Espanto ETA y IOTA por Javier Marquez

A few months ago I spoke with Herman Sagastume of the project Healthy Niños (“Healthy Children”). Along with getting to know about Healthy Niños, we discussed the Shalom Fund created by Mosaic Conference to deal with money shortages in communities in Honduras with which it works, in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

A Small Sprout of Light

This time I spoke with him to ask about a similar topic: the situation of these communities after Honduras received two hurricanes, ETA and IOTA, in November. The outlook is not always uplifting; but in the gloom, it has always been possible to see a small sprout of light. 

Storm of Dread

Chaos is inexplicable. First it was ETA, which, coming from the south, reached Honduras with less fury than when it passed through neighboring countries. Either way, it produced losses and grave complications like floods and minor landslides. After the never-ending rain, during the days where people had time to readjust and repair the damages, IOTA arrived as a storm of dread. It painted the landscapes with images of plains where there used to be houses, lakes where there used to be fields of crops, lines of people seeking refuge, roofs of houses floating like canoes, paths crossed by fallen tree trunks, and trees crushed by the weight of the rain or destroyed by the strong winds.

With IOTA, it is estimated that the injury count surpasses 2 million

The northern part of Honduras was the most affected, and what makes this situation worse is that the country depends on the productivity of this area for between some 60-65% of its economy. A few months ago, we narrated the difficulties which, in these countries, took the form of a sanitary crisis during the pandemic due to their shortcomings in the health system and of the distribution of money. In the same way today, complications for this hurricane arise due to the unstable infrastructure that the country possesses. 

Herman explained all of this for the knowledge of all the churches of Mosaic Conference. He has lived many years in the state of Virginia, is Honduran, and his work with Healthy Niños is objectively focused on his country of origin. He tells us that he has never before seen so much destruction in Honduras, including when hurricane Mitch passed through the country in 1998. With IOTA, it is estimated that the number of affected persons surpasses 2 million. 

The poor are the most affected

In Arepo, an area where Healthy Niños does its work with basic education and malnutrition, given that people who live there are too poor and have seen themselves forced to construct their houses in places with high risk, the danger reaches critical levels for the project.