Lomalinda, Colombia, South America

I grew up for my early years in a place called Lomalinda, in the rolling plains of the Meta province in central Colombia. Google Maps image at 3 degrees, 18', 17.17" North 73 degrees, 21' 43.65" West.

Lomalinda means "beautiful hill" in Spanish, and the name fit.

The land was donated to the government for the use of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) by a Colombian army officer who owned the ranch land in that area. Settled in 1964 by a group of a dozen or so SIL workers including my parents, Lomalinda grew to a population of around 300 during the height of its use. It served as the center of operations for SIL in Colombia for thirty years, a time in which much was accomplished to analyze the languages of the indigenous peoples of that country.

I and my siblings attended Lomalinda School with 100 or so other kids there on the base.

In 1974, our house burned down in a common range fire stoked by high, hot winds. We lost everything and yet lacked nothing. The only things we really miss from that house are all the pictures.

My family lived in and out of Lomalinda until 1975 when we moved back to the U.S.

In 1994, due to the growing instability in the area created by militant rebels, SIL personnel were moved out permanently.

• News article about conditions at the time
• Article about the kidnapping of Ray Rising, my former next-door neighbor.
• And another one in Christianity Today.

Lomalinda is now home to Colombian residents along with a couple SIL families who now live and work independently there. Many of the buildings lie in ruins.

SIL continues work in Colombia, but not from Lomalinda.

Pictures

Somewhat recent photos of Lomalinda shared on the mklife.com web site (you must be a registered site user to view).

Several good shots by Rick Aschmann. (scroll down to see the pics)

Several pages of photos from Matthew Carroll.

A pictorial write-up on the Evangel, a Short-Take-Off-and-Landing plane I flew in as a child.

A pictorial write-up on the Helio Courier, another STOL plane I flew in as a child.