Third Quarter 2018

Church in Heredia completely indigenous

The church in the city of Heredia, Costa Rica, is completely indigenous today, and this is a remarkable result of the partnering of the Bammel church with missionaries Carlos and Roxana Ulate during the last ten years.

According to Wikipedia, “indigenous churches are churches suited to the local culture and led by local Christians.” Churches that are planted with this goal in mind soon become self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing. This is exactly what the Heredia church is today. The locals have organized themselves in the different operative areas of the church. There is a fully developed body of “deacons” in charge of the finances, another one in charge of the facilities, and still another one in charge of benevolence. The ones in charge of facilities deserve special recognition. Back in 2015, having committed themselves to the Lord, they designed a plan by which local members were encouraged to contribute with an amount each month to create a fund to rebuild the facilities. Also, one of them, who is an architect, drew up the plans for the new building that includes an auditorium for 150 people. With the projected design in hand, they made a special effort to obtain the necessary permissions from different public offices. Regulations for church buildings are very strict in Costa Rica. The Lord has blessed their plans because during the last three years they have raised the amount of 28 thousand dollars, which is roughly a fifth of the total cost of the project. They are now in the position to borrow the rest of the necessary funds from local banks, a loan for which the local church has enough income to pay back. These and other exciting developments within the church in Heredia give us the confidence to state that this is a completely indigenous church.

The fact that the Heredia church is completely indigenous is remarkable because in most churches in Latin America where a US supported worker is supposed to be an evangelist, he usually ends up assuming a mixture of roles that include the functions of a shepherd, a pulpit minister, and a deacon. This worker and his family usually exhibit a paternalistic attitude that lead the locals to depend on their presence and their support, which stifles the development of local leaders. This approach to mission work produces what missiologists call “terminal” churches, in other words, churches that are not self-propagating. We are excited about the fact that the church in Heredia does not depend on the presence of missionaries Carlos and Roxana Ulate, to the point that they are now into their fifth year of the planting process of a second church in San Rafael de Heredia (see pictures below). The churches in Heredia and San Rafael have been planted in such a way that they now exhibit the traits of what missiologists call “germinal” churches, in other words, they have the potential to propagate themselves, and this is a remarkable result that the Lord has made possible throuh this partnering with Carlos and Roxana.

The Lord's support through your generous giving during the last nine years has been valuable for these missionaries to be able to finish the planting of the church in Heredia and a the same time carry on with the planting process of the church in San Rafael. Because of the Spirit guiding the Bammel church in partnering with Carlos and Roxana, these missionaries have been able to provide the type of leadership and teaching that these two congregations need to become strong in the Lord, and at the same time avoid becoming paternal figures. The Bammel church has been providing financial support and spiritual oversight to Carlos and Roxana during the last ten years. This support has been complemented with spiritual oversight through the annual visits of Geoff and Sherry Casella, who usually take an elder couple with them. In the last three years, this elder couple have been Marty and Terry Davis.

Let us praise the Lord God for the church in Heredia, Costa Rica, being completely indigenous. Let us praise Him for having allowed us to partner with Carlos and Roxana to achieve this remarkable result. Let us encourage ourselves with the fact that through us the Lord has blessed others in Costa Rica and Central America, with salvation in Jesus and with the blessings of love, peace, and joy in the personal lives and in the families of many in that country.

San Rafael attendance to worship services during the months of August and September 2018

Our Female Leaders in Heredia

The above picture presents the ladies that keep this church moving with their leadership, faithfulness, evangelism, and creativity. They all have different gifts, which they exploit for the Lord's glory.

Second Quarter, 2018

Juan Carlos and Family Finished Their Stay in Costa Rica

Juan Carlos García and family finished their six month stay in Costa Rica. They were here as a result of cooperation between the local church and the Baxter Institute in Honduras. This school requires from their students a six month internship in the mission field as part of their course program. Back in December 2017, the church leaders had discussed the possibilities with the congregation and then took a vote and a decision was made to support and mentor Juan Carlos García Valle and his family for the period from January to June, 2018. Local brethren moved fast to secure a place for the family. They also made sure that the home was furnished and equipped. Local members donated pieces of furniture and kitchen appliances and soon Juan Carlos and family were here fully supported by this church. This is great news because it means that now the church has experience supporting a full-time preacher. Juan Carlos and Heidy helped the church by providing leadership, insight, Bible teaching, and a lot of encouragement to families and groups which they ministered to on a regular basis. It was great to have them here, and the local church is seriously considering the idea of hiring them for good once they finish their training at Baxter in Honduras.

Speaking Engagement in Honduras

I was invited by the Baxter Institute in Honduras to be one of their speakers at their annual workshop. Roxana and I were there for five days teaching to a crowd of Central American church leaders. I was in charge of a lecture, a three days workshop, part of a discussion panel, and preached on Sunday morning to a combined worship service of Tegucigalpa churches. Other lecturers from Texas and Mexico were there too. The local church here funded Juan Carlos to go with us. Rocky and Alice, friends from Texas, joined us too. It was a great opportunity to share our approach to mission work, what really makes a church grow, the true role of an evangelist (work himself out of the job), etc. Baxter Institute had a surprise for me. The President of the Institute presented me with a certificate of recognition for the work I did in Honduras many years ago, and the work done in Hatillo and Heredia. I was able to fellowship with brother Howard Norton. He asked me if I would be interested in helping as editor of La Voz Eterna. I told him he could count on me until I retire from my half tenure as college professor at Universidad Nacional.

This is what God is doing in San Rafael

This report concerns the new planting out of Heredia, called the church of Christ in San Rafael.

The church in San Rafael has been taught about the meaning of true love that we as Christians are supposed to demonstrate, a love that is without pretense, practical and manifested through the works of service that we can offer each other.

God has guided the teaching of his word in this congregation, to move from the theoretical to the practical. On Sunday, March 11, we experienced a turn in the dynamics of Sunday worship; The preaching began with a discussion in which members had the opportunity to talk about their difficult situations, whether emotional, spiritual or material, in order that the rest of us could be made aware about the needs of others and thus support ourselves in prayer and follow-up, carrying the strong, the burdens and the struggles of the weak, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

On Sunday, March 11 (photos attached), this practice bore its fruit. Some of our brothers and sisters (some 22 people attended) externalized their different needs and others had the opportunity to express their love in a practical way; committing to pray in a specific way, and assisting with benevolence and even with a sincere "God bless you".

This is when Eugenio was baptized

The Costa Rica Mission

The Heredia church is a group of people in whom the fruit of the Spirit is very evident. The love, the joy, and the peace in their lives create an environment where visitors receive inspiration and encouragement to follow Christ. Just last week, Ligia, a writer and therapist, decided to study the Bible with us, because she wants to know more about the Lord. She also made a decision to attend all services and she seems very determined. Ligia was invited by Michael Monge, my son in law.

Maybe this is the place to also share the news about the blessing received by Michael, and my daughter Raquel. Their beautiful baby Lucas was born on November 10, 2017.

Lucas, Raquel, and Michael

The Facilities Committee has continued to develop the New Building Project. They have made advances with the blue prints, the permissions, and the fund-raising. They already have close to 30,000 dollars collected from the local membership. Architect Freddy Astorga has produced the video below to get us excited.

The Baxter Institute in Honduras approached the church in Heredia with a request for cooperation with the training of one of their students. As you already know, this school requires from their students a six month internship in the mission field as part of their course program. The church leaders discussed the possibilities with the congregation and then took a vote and a decision was made to support and mentor Juan Carlos García Valle and his family for the period from January to June, 2018. Juan Carlos, his wife, and a five year old daughter will be with us during those six months and they will give us a hand with the work in Heredia and San Rafael.

Juan Carlos García Valle and family

The church in San Rafael continues to operate as an independent congregation North of Heredia. We are excited about the fact that people are hungry for the Word of God. They keep coming to worship and study with us. The love is very obvious and we look forward to move the meeting place into the downtown area of San Rafael. Please see pictures below of December meetings of this church.

San Rafael's Sunday School December 3, 2017

San Rafael's church Meeting, October 22nd, 2017

Third Quarter 2017

Roxana and I have made a special effort to fill every night with at least one home Bible Study. In the last four weeks, we have managed to make it to four homes every week. In those homes, there are people who are members of the church and others who are not. This has resulted in new visitors coming on Sunday morning to Heredia, and Sunday night to San Rafael. On the first Sunday of October, there were six new visitors in Heredia and two in San Rafael! Other members of the church go with us to the bible studies too, because they want to learn how to lead others to the Lord. Other encounters with church members include needed counseling sessions with people who are hurting with personal problems.

The church in San Rafael has been strengthened by the decision of one couple to get married.  Henry and Juana got married. I was in charge of the wedding ceremony. It has been good for the church because of the example it sets. This decision was made after several weeks of Bible Study with them. The church in San Rafael is a stable house church with 15 to 20 people attending every week. Given the somewhat remote location of my home, it is remarkable that most members make it to the services in spite of having to take a bus under the rain.

The church in Heredia continues to improve its meeting place. The auditorium that was enlarged is more comfortable and it has a better appearance. Two of the Sunday School classes have to meet in a nearby park though, because they were left without a classroom. The Facilities Committee continues to raise the needed money for a second floor where new classrooms and other facilities will be added. They already have an amount of 24 thousand dollars raised! They hope to be able to start reconstruction in January of 2018.

San Rafael church, October 1st, 2017

Henry and Juana get married

Second Quarter 2017

The Lord is blessing the efforts made by the Bammel church in Costa Rica. Thanks to the support and oversight from Bammel, evangelists Carlos and Roxana Ulate continue to train local leadership for two churches in the province of Heredia. The approach to missionary work that the Bammel church wisely supports is proving to be the right one. Six more people were added to the Lord's body in the last five months. This approach is the right one because the people baptized were not evangelized directly by Carlos and Roxana. They were evangelized by members who are being trained to do so (see pictures below). This is a good sign that the local leadership is being equipped to continue to provide direction to relieve Carlos and Roxana, so that they can move on to start new congregations.

The pressure on the size of the auditorium at the Heredia church has been temporarily relieved. The Facilities Committee agreed to get one wall knocked down. By the way, this is the second time in three years that a wall had to be knocked down to accommodate a growing congregation. The kitchen, the babies classroom, and the pre-teenagers classroom were given up though. Now, during the Sunday School hour, the babies meet under a protruding shade on the west side of the building, and the pre-teenagers meet under a tree in a nearby park. They decided that the kitchen is not really necessary.

This how crowded it looked in the former auditorium size.

This is what the enlarged auditorium looks like when empty...

... and this what it looks like when half-filled...

Lucy was baptized (her husband Luis did the work, with the help of Geovanny, evangelist from Nicaragua).

Susy was baptized (Victor and Aura did the faithful work).

Susy's husband, Eugenio, was baptized about three months later (Victor and Aura continued to reach out to the couple)...

Karolina was baptized (Mery Torrentes studied with her)...

... Mónica was baptized (through the efforts of Kenneth and Darling...)

... and finally, Eduardo was also baptized (by Kenneth too)...

The San Rafael church continues to meet...

Latest Developments in Costa Rica

"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,
 and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2.42)

The Lord has blessed us with several conversions in the last five months. All of them have been the result of the work done by members of this congregation (not the evangelist). Didier and Ericka worked with Abismael and Jimena, resulting in the baptism of this young couple. Carlos and Mery worked with Alberto and Mileidy, resulting in their baptism too. And Kenneth and Darling worked with Gerald who was baptized recently. These workers are now in the process of grounding in the faith their recent converts.

Alberto being baptized
by Didier Rojas

Other members are busy working with others to lead them to the Lord. Roberto and Noris are working with a family of five to bring them to the Lord too (Ademar, Roxan, Raquel, Mariela and Christofer). Victor and Aura are working with Eugenio and Alberto. Mery and Mileidy hold a weekly meeting with girls who are not members of the church. Roxana and I are working with two families too. I am sure there are others I don't know of who are doing their work to bring people to the Lord. God willing, very soon we will see more conversions.

It's exciting to see couples and individual members of the church assuming the challenge of making disciples on their own. We are convinced that this is the result of the Lord working in their individual lives. They have learned to become what Jesus calls true disciples. They are motivated by the Lord who lives in their hearts. Their work is not the result of pressure from a "church program" with goals set by humans who seek satisfaction in such goals. Satisfaction is already in their hearts as a result of treasuring up their condition as children of God.

Youth Group Leaders

During the year 2016 the teaching was focused on helping members develop a rich prayer life, become true disciples, and understand the transformation expected in our lives as a result of Jesus' influence. We have experienced growth in numbers that we can not accommodate. I am afraid some losses we have had are due to the lack of conditions for meeting. Hopefully, this year the facilities committee will come up with a viable solution.

The church in San Rafael de Heredia continues to meet on Sunday at 6 pm. This church lost three dear families during the year 2016. One family of five moved to another city. Two families of three each left us in spite of our efforts reaching out to them. We are a little bit at a loss trying to understand what happened. We do not lose heart and please continue to pray to the Lord that he will want to make it happen in San Rafael.

Ericka, Ximena (new convert), and Juana

Update on Costa Rica

Luis in baptismal clothes

The Lord is adding to the church in the city of Heredia those who are being saved. Just last Sunday, Luis Vargas put on Christ in baptism. Our association with him starts about two years ago. The church doesn't have a parking lot, so he would be the one those homeless men who watched vehicles while we worshiped. He would do this for a small tip. While this was going on we learned to love Luis, and most members who have vehicles would reach out to him with the love of Christ. One day, about two months ago, Luis was the victim of a hit and run vehicle. As a result his lungs were punctured, and he was taken to the hospital across street. Church members ran to assist him. He survived, however, with some trouble breathing. As another result of this, the church decided to rent a parking lot nearby. Since he can't be outside watching vehicles, Luis began to worship with us and last Sunday the Word of God moved him to make a decision! He is back with his wife and no longer needing to be on the streets.

Church in Heredia about two weeks ago

Attendance to church is larger than the capacity of the auditorium. The Facilities Committee is working hard to find a solution. They have already raised 20,000 dollars among the local members. Meanwhile, the maximum attendance we can accommodate, somewhat comfortably, is 110. The attendance, however, has reached peaks of 145 people. When this happens, we are in trouble, because some who arrive late and see the crowded conditions decide to go somewhere else. We give the glory to God for this a good problem to have. It is evident that this growth is due to the good others see in the lives of those who persevere in God's ways.

Roxana teaching the girls in San Rafael

The church in San Rafael continues to meet every Sunday evening. Last Sunday was special because we had the meeting at the home of one of the families in the town itself. The family head is Freddy Leon, a man we have been reaching out in the last two years. This time he was very receptive to the Word. His wife and two little girls are members. He, however, had been reluctant to open his heart to the Gospel. On Sunday, the meeting at his home was significant because he was so excited about what was done that he wants us to continue meeting there!

The church in San Rafael is an outgrowth of the church in Heredia. Little by little it will become independent, just as it has happened with the church in Heredia, according to the philosophy of missions we sucribe to. We concentrate on helping local Christians become what we call a showcase for the Lord in the eyes of their friends, so that their friends can be reached out to.

The church at a critical threshold

This church is at a critical threshold these days. It is experiencing significant growth. However, it doesn’t have enough room for the new members that are added every week. It is quite remarkable what’s going on. This is what has happened in the last thirty days.

A young man from Heredia, who was baptized by Church of Christ missionaries in Switzerland, while visiting there last year for three months, showed up last Sunday morning and wanted to place membership. Last week, two families from a nearby neighborhood who used to attend a church in another town, decided to place membership with us (these two families make up a total of four adults and three children).  A family of four who used to be members of the Costa Rican congregation of the International Church of Christ, tired of authoritative leadership there, decided to become members in Heredia last Sunday morning. Just three weeks before, three adults (Victor, Aura, and Mauricio) from that same fellowship had become members too.

The church met at a rented facility North of Heredia on January 10, 2016

Most of the members we already had, and the new additions reported below are highly active in inviting others. Victor and Aura invited a Russian lady who is a Costa Rican resident and she came with her child to the worship service yesterday morning. A family of four who had to seek refuge in Costa Rica because of gang violence in El Salvador, decided that they will be members of the newly started congregation in San Rafael de Heredia, which meets every Sunday evening at my home. They met with us last night at the San Rafael church. So, the church is growing rapidly and there is potential for further growth in the near future, for both, the church in downtown Heredia, and the church in San Rafael of Heredia. By the way, the church in San Rafael of Heredia is an outgrowth of the church in Heredia.

The church in San Rafael de Heredia, January 17th, 2016

The midweek service in Heredia is devoted to those members who live nearby or have their own transportation to make it to church at night. There are other activities during the rest of the week. There is a prayer service on Fridays from 7 to 8:30 pm. The ladies meet on Thursday in the morning. The Youth Group is led by Kenneth and Darling who are very mature in Christ and are self-supported.

Growth is phenomenal, but we have not been able to retain many of the new arrivals because the facilities are not comfortable, and there is no room for the whole church to meet at once and develop deeper bonds of fellowship. This is why we are hesitant about the idea of splitting the crowd into two services on Sunday morning.

The present meeting place is located a block away from the city hospital named San Vicente de Paul, at the corner of Calle 16 and Avenida 16. The facility is a one story building of 1,900 square feet, of which the auditorium takes 1,300 square feet and the classroom area takes 600 square feet. The present sitting area for the worship service has capacity for 110 people in uncomfortable conditions (too hot and crowded).

Sunday School for adults, January 10, 2016 at the present location

Our facilities committee has been working hard on finding solutions and they came up with a project of a two story building. According to this project, the first floor will be enlarged to have a sitting capacity for 160 people in improved conditions. This will give us room for 50 extra people. The second floor will be devoted to classrooms and will have an area of 2,000 square feet. The estimated cost of this project is 100,000 dollars.

Project proposed by the facilities committee

The facilities committee not only produced the project, they also devised and started the execution of a plan to raise the funds among the local members. They asked that each member or family decide on a specific amount to give each month. In a matter of 22 months the amount raised is 14,000 dollars. Thankfully the weekly contribution has continued to be enough to meet the regular budget (about 500 dollars a week). However, in almost two years we have been able to raise only about 14 percent of what is needed for the remodeling project.

To sum it up, the church is at a critical threshold because a lot of people are arriving to place membership and many others come as visitors and need to be evangelized but we don’t have the conditions to make it attractive for them to want to stay. Please pray for us so that we will be able to meet the conditions for more people to be reached out in a meaningful way.

Bammel's mission work in Costa Rica (September, 2105)

Roxana loves to help with Sunday School children

Roxana and I continue to serve the Lord in Costa Rica because of the gracious support from all of you at the Bammel church. This support has allowed us to serve in the local church in the city of Heredia, during the last 7 years. During this time, because of God's grace, we have been able to minister to a church of more than 120 people, and start a new church in the nearby city of San Rafael. Our previous experience as missionaries in San José, Costa Rica, and Catacamas, Honduras enabled us to use an approach to mission work that has produced great results in the form of churches that are not dependent on our permanent presence.

Carlos and Roxana Ulate

By God's grace, we have learned to be the type of missionaries who empower locals to become the leaders of the church. This has enabled to serve other congregations in the country, where we are called on a regular basis to help them with workshops and special classes. Just last week, we spent two days with the church in La Fortuna, where Roxana and I facilitated a married couples workshop. The title of the workshop was "The way things were from the beginning," from Matthew 19:4. The local leaders in La Fortuna include Rolando Castro and Leonicio Arguedas, and they are completely self-supported. They were generous enough to provide abundantly for our stay there and our transportation to and from.

La Fortuna, San Carlos

La Fortuna, San Carlos

La Fortuna, San Carlos

Two months earlier, Roxana and I were invited to lead another workshop for couples, this time in the city of Cañas, province of Guanacaste. There were 16 couples present in this one. Herman Chandler, the local preacher, under US support, graciously invited us to teach at this workshop. They also provided for our transportation.

Cañas, Guanacaste

Cañas, Guanacaste

Cañas, Guanacaste

The church in Heredia is under the leadership of Roberto Ulate, Mateo Martínez, Didier Rojas, Daniel Delgado, Kenneth Matarrita, Andrés Hernández, and others who assist them. They are already holding their business meetings without me being present. They are actively engaged in what God's Word tells them to give attention to, namely, prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).

There is also a Facilities Committee in charge of a project that seeks to create the conditions for seating 250 people and provide a higher measure of comfort to those who attend. In March 2014, they called brothers and sisters to start a savings program for the church and after collecting a certain amount the church will ask for a loan. The process has been slow and the church keeps on growing in its membership, thank God. Therefore, there is pressure on them to make it a more comfortable and appropriate place, and they are actively engaged in the raising of the necessary funds.

It has been a great joy to work with the church in Heredia. The locals have a very high level of maturity that allows them to work peacefully as a team and with the complete absence of strife. To God be the glory for you at Bammel who have been so generous to support us.

Victorious Week

The Lord blessed us with the baptism of Jose, husband of Kim who was baptized just recently. Also Wanda, Ronny, and Christopher, children of Olman Brenes, long time member of this church, were baptized during the same week. Jose is another result of the Bible Study Group at the home of Walter and Sendry Castrillo. The church attendance went up to 122 people the following Sunday. The auditorium is no longer suitable for the size of the congregation. We manage with extra chairs.

The children of the church had their annual celebration on the Saturday of that week. It was a time of great fellowship for the adults too.

During the same week, the amount saved for the New Building Project hit the 3 million colones mark! (the equivalent of 6 thousand dollars) This project is totally local initiative. The Facilities Committee came up with a project for a two story building, and designed a plan to commit the members to give a monthly amount in order to have the startup money for such a project. The goal is to save 20 million colones (around 40 K) which the hope to reach by the end of 2016.

A mission of a church in Costa Rica which is in turn a mission of the Bammel Church in Houston

The church in San Rafael de Heredia continues to meet every Sunday at 6:00. This is a church that sprouted out of the church that meets in the city of Heredia. It's a mission of a church in Costa Rica which in turn is a mission of the Bammel Church in Houston.

According to our philosophy of missions we are putting into practice the concept of "germinal churches," that is, churches that have been planted in such a way that they do not depend on a continued flow of funds being channeled to them for further growth. These churches depend solely on the power of the Word of God being taught by evangelists who focus more on the building up of the body of Christ, and less on the "practicalities" that the work involves (Ephesians 4.10-16). The "practicalities" are soon being taken care by the locals (Acts 6.2-4). This way the evangelist never becomes "indispensable."

The work the Lord is doing in San Rafael has been blessed by the presence of my brother Rodrigo Ulate, a graduate from Harding University, translator of Truth for Today, who is in charge of the teaching every Sunday. His continued translating of Bible commentaries from English into Spanish, has made of him a Bible scholar, so I get out of the way for him to grow in the area of teaching, which allows me to concentrate more on the shepherding of the members. Rodrigo is a bachelor, he has been a faithful member of the church of Christ for the last 30 years.

To God be the glory for all of you at Bammel who support me to be one of God's evangelists in the province of Heredia, Costa Rica.