MANAGUA, Nicaragua (ABP) — Representatives of the Central American Parliament recently awarded a medal to Baptist World Alliance vice president Gustavo Parajón to honor his work for peace during the 1979 war between Nicaragua's revolutionary government and Contra guerrillas.
A medical doctor, Parajón served as an American Baptist missionary in Nicaragua from 1964 to 2003.
The Central American Parliament is a regional political forum that promotes democracy and human rights in Central America. Member states are Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.
The presentation took place Oct. 17 at First Baptist Church of Managua, where Parajón is senior pastor. The ceremony was the first time parliament convened in a Protestant church in the region. In a departure from protocol, the Nicaraguan national anthem was sung not by Nicaragua's military choir but by the choir of First Baptist Church, directed by Parajón's wife.
Diplomats and villagers attended the ceremony. But especially notable were the attendees from Nueva Guinea, a region severely affected by the conflict. The group included many who had served in a local peace commission, as well as “Comandante Gallo,” a famous Contra leader during the war.
In 1967, Parajón founded a vaccination and community development program that trains local health promoters to treat and prevent common illnesses in 25 rural communities. In 1972 he founded a council of evangelical churches in Nicaragua, which helped victims of a severe earthquake in Managua that killed more than 10,000 people. The Nicaraguan Council of Evangelical Churches now has 45 different member denominations partnered in emergency relief and community development.
In 2002, during the celebration of its 150th anniversary, the City of Managua awarded Parajón its Sesquicentennial Medallion as one of the city's outstanding citizens. The Baptist World Alliance, at a meeting in Mexico City in July, gave Parajón its 2006 Human Rights Award for his peacemaking ministry.
John Sundquist, former executive director of International Ministries for American Baptists, said Parajón “truly reflects what it means to engage the gospel in the transformation of society and the empowerment of the poor.”
Parajón's son, David, and daughter-in-law became American Baptist missionaries to Nicaragua in 2001.
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— Hannah Elliott contributed to this story.