Up to Eighty People Meeting in Person

The church in Heredia is already attracting up to 60 attendees to Sunday morning worship and 20 more that attend Sunday evening service. ¡The work with the cell groups is picking up attendance too!

Kenneth Matarrita, a graduate from IBIT, who had been hired to work full-time for this congregation, teaches a local Bible Program with certification from IBIT. The last ones receiving certificates of completion were Carmen Gaitán, Cecilia, Magi, Mery, Jorge, and Eugenia.

Victor and Aura, next to Ronny Cerrato, Admissions Dean

Victor Araya and his wife Aura were admitted to be students at Baxter, in Honduras. They flew to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, last Sunday. The church here helped with the airline tickets and will continue to help with a small amount while they are there.

Rocky and Alicia Castleberry got us in touch with the Jamaica School of Preaching, and a Bible Studies program is on its fifth week, with a session of two hours every two weeks. Ten of the Heredia members are enrolled in this three year program!

Mery Torrentes leads online Bible study

Mery Torrentes, who has been a member for the last 20 years and an effective personal worker, is teaching an online Bible Study with an average of 10 people attending every Friday night.

Mery became a Christian in 2002, when Freddy Astorga was the minister of the Heredia congregation. Freddy began a discipling relationship with Mery and her would-be husband, Carlos Brenes, while they were still dating. Feddy would marry them later on.  I was charged with the privilege of continuing to minister to this wonderful couple after Freddy's passing in 2006. She eventually got her degree in Systems Engineering, and had two children: Isaac, who is now 14, and Abigail, who is now 11. Mery is clearly one of the firstfruits of this work at the Heredia church.

The Lord has blessed her with the gifts of leadership and charima. She has used these gifts to make progress in her professional life, and in her effectiveness as a personal worker. Her committment to the Lord's cause is evident in her testimony as a church member and the conversion of at least 6 people during the last 5 years. The Lord has also blessed her with success in her family and married life. Her husband Carlos is one of the leaders of the church, and an accomplished teacher of God's Word. Mery's walk with the Lord has truly been a source of encouragement to me and my wife.

Mery is teaching an online Bible study every Friday at 7 pm with an average attendance of 10 people. One of the participants is already connecting to Sunday morning services with the rest of the church. Mery makes contacts for Bible study easily through her business contacts and her own posts in social media as a business woman.

Mery and her husband look forward to being able to devote more time to Bible study and God's work evangelizing those outside the Kingdom and counseling couples and families in the Lord. She has demonstrated her interest in continuing to grow as God's servant through the participation in and completion of formal Bible training programs.

Mery and others after completing formal training in a Bible subject

With Milady, entertaining the ladies in a Baby Shower

With husband Carlos Brenes

Mery and Karolina, one of her converts

Mileidy, one of her converts

Church retakes in person meetings

 Thirty five members accepted the invitation to meet in person for the first time in the last six months in a rented facility while the rest of the members participated online of the same service, providing us with a sign of the continued vitality of the church in Heredia.

First, the invitation to meet in person had been extended to the whole membership of 135 adults, because we knew that not all of them would feel comfortable attending services. Well, there were 35 of us who decided to give it a try after the authorities finally gave permission for churches to celebrate meetings again. It was great to see one another again after six months of not being able to do so. The love and the excitement were very evident as we gathered to have fellowship, sing praises, take the Lord’s Supper, and hear the Word. Also, it was great to have two more members being added to the body in this city, as Carlos and Alberto Echaverri, Nicaraguan brothers, placed membership with us. The fact that the rest of the membership participated online of the same service was also very encouraging.

Second, the meeting was held in a rented facility, for which we paid only $85. It was a comfortable auditorium in excellent conditions, in much better shape than our own facilities near the hospital. The location is great, closer to downtown Heredia, and it seems that we may continue to meet there. The reason for meeting there is due to the fact that our own building, as some of you know, is not in decent shape. Besides, remodeling is not possible as city officials do not authorize the original design which was proposed last year. In fact, a decision to sell was made since then, and it is still in place. The fact that we met in a rented facility, in much better condition is a good step towards the vision of not being tied up to ownership of a building with all the other responsibilities which this entails.

Third, we interpret these developments as a sign of the continued vitality of the church in Heredia, in spite of the pandemic, and look forward to see more results that the Lord may bless us with, especially because we really want to be His vessels of service to reach out to a community that needs Him badly. This congregation has been blessed with an effective group of leaders that get things done in a very organized way, freeing us, the teachers, of administrative duties, so that we can devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

In conclusion, we are ready to continue to meet in person as more people will probably decide to join us face-to-face, as transmissions over digital platforms will continue to attract others who may be slow in making such a decision, contributing to renewed commitment to further service for the Lord’s cause.

Worshiping, Shepherding, and Evangelizing Go on Despite Confinement

It is very clear from Scripture that the Lord wants us to meet as His people on a regular basis. It is also very clear that one desired end of this practice consists of spurring one another toward love and good deeds. However, is it possible to accomplish this end without having to meet face-to-face? Well, during this time of confinement due to the corona virus, the churches in Heredia and San Rafael have demonstrated that it is possible to do so. Indeed, since the beginning of March this year, local leaders have sought alternative means for keeping the spirit of worship alive, making sure that members continue to receive badly needed shepherding, and teaching the gospel to visitors who need to be evangelized.

Firstly, the spirit of worship has been kept alive by giving members the opportunity to connect to at least three social media outlets during the accustomed worship hours of Sunday morning. As revealed by the last count of devices connected to each media option, “attendance” to our virtual services could very well be hitting the mark of 150 individuals. The challenge of providing quality content to the lessons and the activities through a different means is obligating us to spend more time in the drawing board not only preparing but also rehearsing for the Sunday services. This has created opportunities for a lot of distance teamwork and collaboration among key church members, male and female. 

Secondly, the members continue to receive shepherding through an organized effort to contact each one of them. One hundred and forty adult members and their families were contacted by ten leaders and their wives who cheerfully volunteered to call a total of 14 members each. This was initially thought to serve the purpose of understanding how their means of making a living have been affected by the pandemic and thus make decisions about how to carry out benevolent work. However, it also afforded the opportunity to get to know them better as calling some of them ended up in conversations in which some emotional needs were met. Some of the men and their wives who made phone calls report having enjoyed a lot the conversations in which they gave and received encouragement.

Bible Study with Elder and Lucy

Thirdly, the efforts to evangelize those who were visitors before the pandemics continued to be carried out. Results from these efforts include the conversion of two ladies who were recently baptized. However, the means to make sure that the gospel was being taught to them had to change overtime. There are now home Bible studies being carried out through digital platforms that are just as effective as face-to-face encounters.

Jorge Cambronero baptizes María Luisa and Laura

In conclusion, local church work continued to be carried out successfully thanks to the diligent and creative ways that leaders sought to replace face-to-face encounters by the broadcast of quality content of activities through popular social media, the organized effort to minister to the members by calling each one of them personally, and the teaching of the gospel to those who have been willing to receive it through digital platforms.

How to convert your boss

How to convert your boss

Henry Castellón

Henry Castellón is a faithful follower of Jesus. He is also a worship leader in the San Rafael church. Because of his trade as a welder, Henry must travel to the province of Guanacaste, and stay there for two or three weeks in a row. About two years ago, Henry was working there, in a construction site, where he began to build a friendship with his foreman, Yader Aguilera. This friendship evolved to the point of Yader becoming a regular visitor at Heredia, and then being baptized on March 15 of this year. We can learn from Henry that, converting your boss to the Lord, takes bearing the fruit of the Spirit, not being ashamed of your faith, and being able to guide others in the knowledge of the redeeming power of Jesus.

First, Henry's commitment to the Lord goes beyond faithful attendance to all activities. He is

Yader Aguilera

someone in whom the fruit of the Spirit is evident. His meekness and self-control have helped him in his dealings with friends and coworkers. When his boss Yader Aguilera, checked on him, he would treat Henry very harshly, as the coarse and rough man that he was. He noticed that Henry's response was always polite and respectful, very different from the way other workers responded. This was a sign in Henry’s behavior that made Yader take interest in him.

Another reason why Yader took interest in Henry’s behavior was the fact that Henry was not ashamed of his faith. He noticed that during lunch time, Henry would be the only worker under him who would bow in prayer asking for the blessing of his food. Not long after this, Yader began to ask Henry why he was so different from his coworkers. He wanted to know about the church he was a member of. Henry’s answer was that the Lord Jesus has made wonderful changes in his life, and the way he felt towards others.

After a while, Yader, whose heart was touched by Henry's example of spirituality, began to ask Henry

to share God’s Word with him. Therefore, Henry got him involved in Bible study in the evenings,

while both men lived in the construction camp, in Guanacaste. Yader was struggling from the

Yader's baptism

consequences of his sinful past. Henry shared with Yader about God’s redeeming power through Jesus. When they made it back to Heredia, Yader began to attend services faithfully along with Henry. During the following two years, Yader, Henry and I would get together on different occasions, to help him decide for Jesus, because there were issues in his life that he needed to take care of. Finally, on March 15 of this year, Yader decided to give his life to Jesus!

It can be concluded from Henry’s experience that converting another person to the Lord takes bearing the fruit of the Spirit, not being ashamed of your faith, and being able to impart the knowledge of the redeeming power of Jesus. Yader Aguilera was converted thanks to the work of God in Henry’s life which made this brother a light of the world. Besides, Yader is today a new creation in Christ, someone who treats others under him with respect, someone who has peace in Christ. He is no longer the rough and harsh man he used to be.

Victor Araya, tireless fisher of men

Victor Araya, tireless fisher of men

After extending our hand of fellowship to Victor Araya six years ago, we were blessed as a church because along with him came his friends and others he evangelized, and I was blessed personally because he became a close friend in whom I can rely for spiritual advice and encouragement.

Victor and Aura

Firstly, Victor became a Christian 23 years ago, when he joined the movement of the International Churches of Christ in San José, Costa Rica. He did this when he was 37, while trying to succeed as a journalist and recovering from painful divorce. Once he was in the movement, he married Aura, 53, hair stylist from Nicaragua, and it turned out to be a great decision in the Lord, as their marriage has lasted for the last 17 years and it is always a joy to see them functioning as a happy couple. Eventually, the leadership within the ICOC congregation changed and they could not handle Victor’s intense love for lost souls, which led to Victor seeking membership in nearby churches of Christ. The churches he sought did not think that his ICOC baptism was scriptural, so he ended up accepting the invitation of Didier Rojas, from the same movement, who had earlier placed membership with us. Thankfully the Heredia church did not question his baptism and we all extended our hand of fellowship to Victor and Aura, which proved to be a great blessing for the ministry.

Secondly, the church has been blessed in many ways through Victor and Aura. The first blessing was Mauricio, 36, a young man Victor had evangelized at the ICOC, who followed Victor and joined this congregation. Mauricio lived with his mother and sisters because his parents had gotten divorced. Victor’s work with Mauricio led to him evangelizing Suzy, Mauricio’s mother. By the time Suzy was

Eugenio and Susy

baptized, Mauricio’s father got interested, so Victor undertook the task of evangelizing this man, whose name is Eugenio. Eugenio was then baptized and remarried Suzy! So, Eugenio, Suzy, and Mauricio are today a joyful family in the Lord. Victor has continued to evangelize and encourage spiritual growth in Heredia. He leads a Bible study group that meets near the church building. Results from his tireless work as a fisher of men include the conversion of Marcela and Sonia who were baptized at the end of 2019. Geovanny, the man who owns the home where the Bible study is held has also become a member of the Heredia church.

Finally, I have been blessed personally, as Victor has become a close friend in whom I can rely for spiritual advice and encouragement. Therefore, Victor and I meet regularly to have what we call a “power lunch” or a “power coffee.” Consequently, in these meetings we have learned to tell each other the things we

Eugenio's baptism

struggle with, and then pray for one another. Apart from this, Victor is no longer doing journalism, because of the technological changes that have affected the publication of newspapers. Thus, he is selling hair salon products, and to make ends meet, he has had to do coffee picking, a back breaking job that only immigrants do in Costa Rica. However, Victor is always sharing the gospel. Hence, he has had Bible study groups with the immigrants who are his coffee picking partners!

In conclusion, the fact that other churches in the area did not welcome Victor as a brother turned out to be a blessing for the church in Heredia, because through him others have become members of this congregation, and also a personal blessing for this missionary who has found in Victor a true friend with whom I find support in the form of prayer and spiritual encouragement.

Didier, Mauricio, and Victor

Second Quarter 2019

Worship Service on June 23, 2019, in Heredia

More Nicaraguan families in Heredia

Several Nicaraguan families and individuals that choose to seek refuge in Costa Rica are warmly welcomed by the local Christians who gladly share their resources while the newcomers secure their refugee status, solve special issues and find a job to survive on their own.

The situation in Nicaragua has been very critical during the last 15 months. Hostilities in this country include indiscriminate attacks from paramilitary groups on innocent bystanders, as it happened a year ago to a relative of Juan García Valle, who was reduced to a wheelchair after a bullet broke part of his spine. As a result of the unstable social environment, many Nicaraguan Christians see themselves forced to move out of their country to look for conditions where they can thrive and move on with their lives. Since Heredia is only 4 hours away by bus from the Nicaraguan border, many of them end up in this city where they look for their relatives and friends who had settled earlier. Then the first thing they do is look for a place to worship, and that is where they choose us.

The churches in Heredia and San Rafael have developed an attitude of solidarity and generosity towards the Nicaraguan brethren who honor us with their visit. When they show up in our meetings we immediately interview them to find out how they are doing. The conversation usually ends up in plans to visit them. When the visit is carried out we find out that they have already found shelter with relatives or friends who had migrated earlier. There has been a couple of exceptions when a local member of the church shared a room and his table with one of them. We have seen ourselves personally involved in looking for ways to help them out. When we do this, we find them in marginalized and somewhat dangerous settlements around Heredia.

A Marginalized Settlement Around Heredia

Some of them have special issues, like Leopoldina, 55, who has a 30 year old daughter with Down Syndrome. Leopoldina is a brave lady, who struggles everyday to make it through the day, but she never misses services. She even expresses her gratitude by bringing tortillas with cheese for the church to enjoy at the coffee break between Sunday school and the Worship Service. Another one is Sandra, 20, who was converted in Nicaragua after she found out she was three months pregnant with her second child. Eventually, when she was in Costa Rica, she gave birth to her baby while living in a workers barrack in a coffee plantation in Heredia.  She was picking coffee beans with a baby in her belly! While she was going through the process of giving birth, the whole church in Heredia, kept an eye on her, making sure she had everything she needed. Later on, her relatives came to her rescue and took her to the province of Alajuela, where the church members are taking care of her.

Sandra and her two kids today

Being able to survive on their own in a foreign country can be very disheartening for immigrants. The unemployment rate is already high for Costa Rican citizens. If they find a job it would be a low paying temporary job, in the construction sector, or other industries where unskilled labour is required. There was a family for whom we bought food for a two weeks period. I went to their "home" recently, and as I sat down with them, the head of the family told me that he wished we had helped him with merchandise for him to sell in the city. Now we know. He does not want to be helped forever, he wants to make it on his own, and he seems to be good at making a living by peddling merchandise on the streets of Heredia or San José. We know of Nicaraguan members who attend San Rafael who do this and have been successful making a decent living.

The Nicaraguan brothers and sisters are here because they have been forced to leave their country due to the bad economic, and social conditions created by the political instability. The churches in Heredia and San Rafael have been blessed by their presence and through them these churches have been given the opportunity of putting into practice the Lord's words when he said, "I was hungry, and you fed me."

First Quarter 2019

Change of Growth Pattern

Carlos Ulate

During the last ten years, the church in Heredia has been experiencing a steady growth that has forced the leadership to implement different strategies to respond to it. The last strategy that this church is implementing consists of moving on from a centralized growth pattern to an orbiting cells growth pattern by using the leadership resources that were developed during the last ten years.

Eight years ago, the first strategy involved holding a second worship service in the evening. This didn’t work, because everybody preferred to attend the Sunday morning service. A second strategy involved the elimination of Sunday School classrooms to expand the seating capacity of the auditorium. Six years ago, the first partition wall was torn down, which meant that the family occupying part of the facilities had to look for a home somewhere else in order to accommodate the Sunday School groups that needed room. Four years ago, the second partition wall was torn down, which meant that the kitchen and a corridor became classrooms, and the preteens group has to meet outdoors in a nearby park to receive Sunday School classes. Since there is potential for further growth, a third strategy has consisted of remodeling the building so that a second floor would accommodate the Sunday School classes and the whole of the ground floor would be used as the auditorium. This strategy is no longer a favorite because the city government denied the construction permits, the growth would be limited by the size of the enlarged the auditorium, and the cost for this project is too high, making the building an expensive investment whose only benefit would consist of a mere four hours of use during the Sunday morning activities. For this reason, the Facilities Committee even decided to sell the present building and look for a meeting hall that could be rented only for the four hours event each Sunday morning thus reducing costs and dependency on a building. The decision to sell has not been implemented yet.

Parallel to this, beginning this year, a decision was made to stop focusing on the idea of enlarging the central church building to accommodate the steadily growing crowd. Since there are seven orbiting cell groups that were started back in August 2018, the local leadership decided that, instead of growing locally within the central church building, the orbiting cell groups would be encouraged to become churches on their own to absorb that growth. This way, the efforts to attract new members would also be shared by the cell groups. Two of these groups will soon be in conditions to operate as independent churches in the communities where they were started. The other five need more time to be in such conditions, but they would eventually become churches on their own. One of the advantages of this pattern of growth is that new areas in the surroundings of Heredia are being evangelized, and the message is already being transmitted to more people through the existing cells. The central church would be relieved of the pressure of remodeling, and the decision to sell the present building and meet in rented auditoriums would be postponed until there is a real need for doing so.

Key to the decision of moving on to the orbiting cells growth pattern is the fact that the Lord has blessed the church in Heredia with the development of very fine leadership resources during the last ten years. There are several brothers and sisters who have become excellent preachers and teachers and feel that their gifts could be better exploited if more opportunities were made available to them. This began to be possible after the departure of Juan Carlos Garcia, Baxter apprentice, back in July of 2018. He had started two cells in the surroundings of Heredia and was given the responsibility of leading one of the cells that I had started as a missionary. When he left, the local brethren became concerned about who would continue to lead the cells started by him. Soon there were brothers who would volunteer to do so, and there were others who started Bible study cells on their own, to make it a total of seven. When they began to experience the responsibility of leading a weekly Bible study cell in a home located in the surroundings of Heredia, they developed confidence and one of them is now giving serious consideration to the idea of having Sunday morning services in one of such homes. This cell group is being led by Jorge Cambronero. They meet in an area of Heredia called Santa Cecillia, and they have an average attendance of ten to twelve people. The brothers who are leading the other cell groups include Kenneth Matarrita in San Francisco, Rodrigo Ulate in Guarari, Didier Rojas in San Isidro, Victor Araya in Hoja Dorada, Carlos Brenes in La Armonia, and Carlos Ulate in San Pablo. It is important to recognize the contribution from Mateo Martínez, a brother  from Dominican Republic whose testimony and teaching gifts were effectively used during the last seven years to build up this congregation. His wife Ramona and his daughter Diana also did a great job being among us. Another important contribution was the visit of Bob Young, from Tulsa, OK, whose presence during eight days amongs was very encouraging and enlightening.

As a conclusion, it can be said with great confidence that the church in Heredia is experiencing a healthy transition from a centralized growth pattern to an orbiting cells growth pattern. This transition is being facilitated by the fact that fine leadership resources were developed during the last ten years.

Church in Heredia meeting on March 24, 2019 / 115 attending

Carlos Brenes, leader of La Armonia cell group

Didier Rojas, leader of San Isidro cell group

Jorge Cambronero, leader of Santa Cecilia cell group

Kenneth Matarrita, leader of San Francisco cell group

Rodrigo Ulate, leader of Guarari cell group

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