Story number 1 for 2 Jan 2001

War-ravaged Colombia has been shaken by violent terrorist attacks, as its four-decade internal conflict intensifies. On Friday, the president of the peace commission of Colombia’s Congress and five other people were killed in a rebel ambush. New Tribes Mission’s Scott Ross says this is ominous. “This peace process may fall apart completely, and then that raises the risk of organizations like New Tribes and others that are trying to do some work in the country. As the violence increases, then you really have to look seriously at whether you should be in the country at all.” Ross says when things get this serious, people need to pray. “The Colombian pastors and also the Western missionaries have been marked by the guerillas as targets for them, and so we’d want to pray for their safety. And then, pray for the Colombian national believers, to be able to hold their church strong, and be able to continue.”