Elizabeth and Allejandra from the women’s focolare in Bogota write: “We went to Mocoa with Fr Juan Carlos Almario, a priest and a focolarino, to take monies to them that had been collected by the Focolare community of Colombia. We were there in the name of the entire Focolare family, to take them their love, prayers and concrete assistance, not only from the community in Colombia but also from many parts of the world that had become involved in this tragedy.” “Several priests from the Movement – pastors from Mocoa – welcomed us with much joy. Then we met the people. Every one of them had a painful story to tell us that was linked to the catastrophe, and we wept with them.”   They recalled that April 1st night, the mudslides and the “love race” that  broke out among them in reaching the victims. The priests and their bishop, Luis Maldonado, along with other parish priests, got organized to stand by the wounded in the hospitals, to welcome families in search of loved ones and to bury their dead… Then, with the help of other parishioners they set up a canteen to provide meals for people who were without water and electricity, and to share with the public workers that were involved in the relief effort. They arranged the assistance materials as they arrived, so that they could be distributed to those in need, along with surgical masks to protect from the overpowering odours. “The recount of their efforts had a strong Marian quality, silent but concrete, that reached the people through them and met many of the needs that resulted from the tragedy.” “We wanted to keep in our hearts the topic that the entire Movement is focusing on this year, and it seemed so in tune with the situation we found ourselves in: Jesus Forsaken.” In the spontaneous communion that was born, each one of us sought to see the suffering that was being experienced, seeing in it a face of the infinite suffering Jesus experienced on the Cross, which gives meaning to so much suffering.” One of the priests said, during lunch, that those hours spent with each other were like an “oases” that managed to detach him from the nightmare. “Then, together with Fr Oscar, we travelled around the places that were hit by the mudslides, some quarters completely wiped out. Others had been turned into cemeteries with houses demolished by huge boulders, with uprooted trees everywhere. The love, prayers and assistance reached all the way to Mocoa as it goes through this living hell, and it helped to uplift the victims of this tragedy somewhat. The trip also included a visit to the city of Neiva in southern Colombia: “We wanted to visit our local Focolare community and, with them, to prepare for the upcoming Mariapolis that will be held in July at an archaeological park where there are intact remains of some of the most ancient indigenous cultures.” Amidst the pain and suffering of natural distaster, the Focolare in Colombia is focused on the future. See also:News from Colombia