Machismo

Each week we've been here in Colombia, we've had unique experiences which have given us the opportunity to understand the various facets of ministry and life here. Our first week in El Tres we spent a lot of time at the church, getting to know the pastor and his family and enjoying time with the kids at the Compassion project. Our second week, in Curralao, we spent a lot of time out in the town, making pastoral house calls to various members of the church. This past week in Carepa, we had significantly more down time than the previous two weeks, however, we did have the opportunity to dialogue about the politics and life here in Colombia.

We spoke with a regional facilitator for the Compassion project for several hours today, which was one of the most insightful conversations we’ve had thus far. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this guy is a kindred spirit, one who views the world through a lens not too different from my own.

He’s a feminist living in a machismo culture. He earns major points for that. He recognizes the limitations of the culture he lives in and he’s working to set things right so women can enjoy equal rights. He hopes that his work with the Compassion projects is one step in the right direction, empowering the girls who attend as well as the women who teach at the projects. Each day he goes to work, he thinks about how he can continue working toward social justice, thinking about his wife and daughter as motivation. He mentioned that this attitude carries over into his home life where he strives to co-parent with his wife and he even cooks dinner 4 nights a week. At this point in the conversation I wished I were more fluent in Spanish so that I could express to him how much I admire what he is doing at work and at home. I also wanted to tell him that his egalitarian approach to home life is something I hope for in my marriage someday, but I didn’t know how to say it without being awkward.

From there, our conversation became a mosaic of topics, ranging from music to politics to tattoos. He brought up homosexuality and wanted to hear our opinion about the matter, but we were interrupted by lunch and were unable to continue. I would love to have heard his insight on that subject.

One of my biggest struggles while here in Colombia is trying to suppress my judgement against the machismo culture. It’s hard. But having conversations like the one with this man, shows me that there is hope thanks to the few who are working to change the system.