Latin America in the news

I am tempted to give away my political bent here, but will probably go PC in order to get to my real point. I just happened to look out my window today in San José to see a black limousine with U.S. flags flying on the front with an entourage of police and security units in tow. It was U.S. VP Joe Biden on his way to a meeting with president Oscar Arias for whom I have much respect. I was glad to see Biden here, perhaps, just perhaps, it will mean that the U.S. administration will now give Latin America the respect it deserves. When we lived  in Venezuela, I watched as the U.S. administration continued to ignore not only that country, but the region as a whole. The Bush administration, while understandably concerned about other regions, visibly turned its back on Latin America. I am hoping and praying that this doesn’t happen this time around again. Biden’s visit to Costa Rica at the very least communicates to the region that the U.S. has not forgotten it’s neighbors. Unfortunately the Church is not above criticism. It has been well publicized that in the 1910 Edinburgh Mission’s Conference Latin America was virtually off the table and considered an evangelized region. I guess a good question would be, what do we mean by “evangelized?” Do we mean people who are converted to a form of Christianity? Or do we mean people who have come into a relationship with God and are walking in this reconciliation both in its horizontal and vertical forms? I do not believe Latin America needs the Western Church. But I do belief that, as people concerned with bringing hope to all, we must develop an interdependent relationship built upon trust and fellowship around Jesus. It is out of this relationship where we will see the needs of each other and hopefully be prepared to respond to those needs with love and humility.