Presbyterian Mission Agency

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

April 2016 - Singing for Rain

Dear companions in mission,

Every morning the yiguirros start singing about 3:30 am. The yiguirro, also known as the clay-colored thrush, is the national bird of Costa Rica. The birds, of course, are busy trying to find mates, but the Costa Ricans say the yiguirros are calling the rains. We are at the height of the dry season here. Two years of low rainfall has taken a toll. At the end of March I had the chance to travel east from San Jose, where I saw fields of coffee trees that have dried up for lack of rain. The singing of the yiguirros fills people with hope, not only that the yiguirros as a species will continue, but also that the rains this year will be abundant. (If you would like to hear what I hear every morning, I invite you to type “yiguirro Costa Rica” into youtube.com.)

Ever since I came to Central America more than three decades ago I have been struck by how we celebrate Easter here before the rains come, before there are any signs of renewed life. On Maundy Thursday this year Javier and I attended a service at the Lutheran church in memory of various martyrs: Jesus of Nazareth 2,000 years ago, Oscar Romero of El Salvador 36 years ago, and Berta Caceres of Honduras in March of 2016. During all the years I have worked in Central America, people who defend human rights have often paid for their courage with their lives. Yet Easter comes, and with it the promise that death does not have the last word. The struggle for life continues.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

Eastertide 2016 - Case Studies in Transformation

Where are there signs of new life in Christianity in Central America and the Caribbean? What is God doing in this part of the world?

With these questions in mind, a group of academics and practitioners gathered here in Costa Rica for four days in January to analyze experiences of churches and faith-based organizations in the region. The consultation was sponsored by the Center for the Study of World Christian Revitalization Movements of Asbury Theological Seminary. The director of the consultation, Dr. Bryan Froehle, approached the Latin American Biblical University and me to help with organizing the event and identifying participants with diverse church and academic backgrounds. During the consultation small groups reflected on case studies that had been prepared beforehand. Most of the participants expressed amazement at being part of a conversation process that was truly ecumenical and interdisciplinary.

From Nicaragua we learned from the experience of the New Jerusalem Church in La Chureca, a notorious city dump in Managua. Pastor Magdalena Herrera was moved by a news report she heard about the people who lived in La Chureca gathering food to eat and things to sell out of the mountains of garbage. Outraged that people were living in such conditions in her country, she went to La Chureca and began to tell the people there that God loved them and that their poverty was not part of God’s plan. The people came to believe both in God’s love and in themselves. They organized not only a church but also a school and a feeding program for children. In what people in the community describe as a new Exodus, they moved out of the dump into new houses they obtained from the Nicaraguan and Spanish governments.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

February – March 2016 - Administration Can Be Fun

Dear companions in mission,

Greetings from Costa Rica. The winds blowing through San Jose these days are rather chilly, especially in the early morning. It’s fun to be able to wear sweatshirts and corduroy, at least for a few weeks, even though I live in the tropics. I am enjoying the freedom the dry season gives me to walk almost everywhere I want to go these days.

Classes began at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) on January 18. This semester I am teaching the course on mission. Six students gather in a classroom of the UBL on Monday evenings to study God’s mission in the Bible, throughout the history of the church, and today. Three of these students are undergraduate women from Valparaiso University who are spending a semester here in Costa Rica. They are struggling with their Spanish as they are also learning to think about their faith in new ways. I am also working with six students—two in Costa Rica, two in Peru, one in Puerto Rico and one in Bolivia—who are taking the class as distance students. We are all learning to use the UBL’s online platform and the possibilities it offers for interaction. Please pray for all of us as we reflect together about what God’s mission requires of the followers of Jesus Christ in Latin America today.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

January 2016 - New Beginnings

Dear companions in mission,

Greetings from Costa Rica in this New Year. This letter comes with my thanksgiving for your friendship and support. I pray that you have had your hope renewed through the celebration of Jesus’ birth. May we all be ready to face the challenges that this new year will bring.

The new year is getting off to a slow start for my family. By the time our daughter, Tamara, arrived here in Costa Rica on December 24, Javier was already feeling the flu coming on. Tamara and I succumbed on the day after Christmas. It was not the family vacation we had planned, but we were all together and able to rest quietly. Penny, my pug, thought it was wonderful to have so many people in the house with whom to cuddle for so many days. We still have some days of vacation left, so we will at least get to a beach before Tamara returns to Portland and her job with an immigration lawyer on January 8.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

november-december 2015 - a second 2015 graduation

Dear companions in mission,

Since I returned to Costa Rica from my trips to Princeton and Guatemala last month I have been caught up in the whirlwind of tasks that are part of the end of the academic year. Writing reports for the end of the year provides an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks to God for all that we have accomplished this year at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL), especially the degrees we have conferred on students who have finished their studies. We are also planning our courses for next year. One of my tasks as interim director of the School of Theological Sciences is to help students, those in residence and those who are taking distance courses, plan the next steps in their studies. Thus I am spending a lot of time in conversation, both in person and via e-mail. I also advise bachelor’s and licentiate students who are working on their thesis proposals.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

Advent 2015 - Students' Insights

Advent has come once again. In Jeremiah 33:14–16 we read the promise that one is coming who will bring peace and justice. The words of the prophet resonate with our own longings as we look around a world filled with pain and suffering. We know we are very far from experiencing the peace and just relationships that God desires for God’s creation. Advent calls us to active waiting, to seek peace and justice as we prepare for God’s coming among us.

Here at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) our students bring their longings and their concerns for the vulnerable populations in their own contexts. They have hard questions and they come to their studies looking for ways to put hope into action. Through their academic work they acquire tools for social analysis and theological reflection, gifts they bring to their churches and communities. As our academic year ends I want to share with you the work some of our students have concluded as I invite you to celebrate with them and pray for their ongoing ministries.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

October 2015 - A Month of Travel, Lectures

Dear companions in mission,

October is upon us. We here at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) are looking toward the end of our academic year, but there is a still lot to do. The online bachelor’s programs are just about ready to present to the government for approval. We are advancing on the plans for three online master’s degrees. We are excited about the possibilities the future offers for reaching more students throughout Latin America, though we still don’t know where all of the resources will come from to make it happen. We move forward as people of faith. We thank you so much for your prayers for our faculty and our students.

This will be a busy month of travel for me. Before I leave Costa Rica I will be leading the Emmaus church community in their Bible study and celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, October 4. This interdenominational community meets every Sunday evening at the UBL. I remind you that October 4 is Worldwide Communion Sunday, so please offer your prayers that day for our sisters and brothers in Christ around the world. Also remember the 150 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers who serve with mission partners in 40 countries.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

SEPTEMBER 2015 - why costa rica?

I have heard this question frequently in the two years since I moved from Guatemala to San Jose. The simple answer is: The Latin American Biblical University is here. There is, however, much more about Costa Rica that makes it an important and fascinating place for God’s mission today. This tiny Central American country with a population of just over 4 million provides a unique location from which to analyze what is happening in the world and how we are called to respond as followers of Jesus Christ. In this small geographic space of 19,700 square miles many of the contradictions of the global economic system can be seen.

After a brief civil war Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949. Without a military to claim a large portion of the national budget, Costa Rica had money to spend on education and healthcare for its citizens. As a result, both literacy levels and life expectancy in Costa Rica are among the highest in Latin America. Costa Ricans are very proud of their public institutions, such as the social security system that provides nearly universal health care. While the rest of the countries in the region suffered under military governments for several decades, Costa Rica enjoyed a stable democracy. As the global arms trade continues unabated to the tune of nearly 60 billion dollars a year and military spending around the world reaches an annual level of 1.7 trillion dollars, Costa Rica stands as a reminder of the things that make for peace.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

September 2015 - Good News from CONESUP

Dear friends,

Greetings from Costa Rica.

Every afternoon the air is filled with the sounds of the marching band practice from the nearby school. September must have arrived! On September 15, 1821, Central America declared independence from Spain. Here in Costa Rica, September is celebrated as the “Month of the Fatherland” and September 15 is a national holiday complete with parades through the neighborhoods.

This year it seems unlikely that those marching in the parades will have to worry about rain. As the El Niño phenomenon in the eastern Pacific Ocean deepens, the drought is intensifying on the Pacific side of Central America. In a normal year it would be raining every afternoon here in San Jose. Now we are lucky if it rains once a week. Meanwhile, areas of the Caribbean coast are experiencing flooding. In Nicaragua my husband, Javier, reports that after a strong start to the rainy season, the rains have now stopped on our farm. The daily struggle to feed the cattle is keeping Javier in Nicaragua. He is hoping to hire someone to help care for the cows so that he can come and spend some time with me here in Costa Rica soon.

A letter from Karla Koll serving in Costa Rica

May 2015 - Endings and Beginnings

Dear Companions in Mission,

Every morning the singing of the yigüirros awakens me. Yigüirros, known in English as clay-colored robins, are the national bird of Costa Rica. At this time of year they are busy mating and building nests. The Costa Ricans say that the song of the yigüirros brings the rains. Already we have had some rain here in San Jose. The days are hot and muggy now. We are hoping that the rains will be abundant this year in Central America, but weather experts are predicting another year of drought. My husband, Javier Torrez, has been busy planting drought-resistance grasses on our farm in Nicaragua. Like farmers throughout the region, we are looking for ways to keep producing food as weather conditions change.

The end of April marks the end of the first term at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL). Some of our students taking classes on campus have found the switch from an 8-week term with two classes to a 15-week term with four classes a bit of a challenge, but final papers are slowly coming in for the history of Christianity course. The students working at a distance in Honduras and Ecuador are lagging a bit further behind in their work as they juggle studies with full-time ministry, but most are on their way to finishing the course well. My goal is to have my grades turned in before I leave Costa Rica on May 14.