A letter from Elisabeth Cook serving in Costa Rica
Summer 2014 - Roads to and from UBL
Dear Friends and Fellow Journeyers:
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Rosa Lilian, Carlos, Liliana, Beauvais, Texia: UBL licentiate students gathered for Old Testament Exegesis class
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Moving day: My mother, Beverly Cook and myself
Fortunately I still have a couple days to go before Summer is over, so technically, yes, this is a Summer letter. Although of course, it is the middle of invierno (“Winter”) here in Costa Rica, and invierno means rains, lots of rain and more rain. There has been so much torrential rain that mudslides are making it necessary to move people out of their homes in some areas. While Costa Rica gets flooded with rain much of the rest of Central America is suffering from drought. That seems to be the world we live in today—a world of extremes. It make me reflect that it is a time in which we are called to extreme commitment to life, and to a change in the way we live in our world, with our natural resources and within the human community.
This commitment is what brings students from around Latin America and Caribbean to study contextual theology and Biblical studies at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL). Together we ask questions about faith, God, the Bible, and the Church from the context and realities in which each student lives and ministers. Just a couple weeks ago I walked into one of our classrooms and found a happy group of licentiate degree students getting ready for class. I stopped, amazed to think of the different roads that have brought them to this place at this time.
- • Rosa Lilian is a Pentecostal Church leader from Honduras, one of the most violent places in the world today. Rosa Lilian is finishing her licentiate degree and returns to Costa Rica to serve as a local support person for UBL distance students in her country.
- • Carlos did most of his coursework in Perú and came to Costa Rica at the beginning of this year for a year of intensive studies to conclude his degree.
- • Liliana, a Costa Rican, is a microbiologist. She is active in her Catholic parish and came to UBL interested in learning more about the Bible.
- • Beauvais you have heard about. He is in his third year in Costa Rica and excited to finish his program and return to Haiti to continue with contextual studies of the Bible in his Catholic communities.
- • Texia, a Pentecostal from Chile, has also been in Costa Rica for three years, finishing her undergraduate and now her licentiate degree.
They come from different worlds and different faith and cultural backgrounds but are gathered together to learn, share and prepare for ministry in their very diverse contexts. I could say that “all roads lead to UBL,” but actually what I am thinking is that all roads lead from UBL and into the world. That is the mission of UBL and it is what binds UBL in partnership with the PC(USA): a commitment to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, a message of reconciliation, justice, and hope.
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Group photo, Global Institute of Theology at UBL, July 2014
Many roads—in fact flight itineraries (and many desperate visits to the immigration offices in Costa Rica for visas)—led from around the world to UBL this year in July as we hosted the Global Institute of Theology organized by the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The theme of the Institute was “Transforming Mission, Community and Church.” Participants from 16 countries gathered for three weeks of study, worship, and time to learn from each other, from UBL and visiting faculty, and from the Costa Rican context.
I will be off on another road in December of this year to visit with UBL students in Nashville, Tenn. Yes, in Nashville! UBL has a joint program with the Methodist Church of the United States for training Latin and Hispanic pastors in the United States. Approximately 28 men and women are enrolled in the program and several are finishing their degrees at the beginning of next year. Sharing with them over the past years has been a special part of UBL’s ministry and made us more aware of the particular challenges for the ministry of the church among the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S.
Another road that I personally travelled in August this year was moving my mother from across town to a house in my neighborhood. My mom, Beverly Cook, moved to Latin America as a missionary almost 60 years ago. She and my father (deceased) ministered in five different countries before settling in Costa Rica. After Mom's almost 30 years of living in the same house the amount of work involved was significant—as was the difficulty in deciding what to keep and what to give away. It is a blessing to have her close by where I can more easily be of help to her.
In between teaching, strategic planning, preparing our online education program, and attending to the many tasks of the “academic deanship” I have tried to find time for my Ph.D. thesis. It is my hope that I will be on the road to the United Kingdom for my thesis defense before 2015 is over!
Also in 2015 I will be on the road for my Interpretation Assignment. Dates are still to be defined, but I look forward to visiting and sharing with you, friends, partners and co-workers, in the ministry of our Church.
I ask for your prayers for UBL:
- for the approval of its online education program that seeks to reach out to Spanish-speaking church and lay leaders around Latin America and the world
- for wisdom as we determine priorities for the future and develop new degree programs
- for compassion as we accompany students from contexts of extreme violence and poverty
I take this opportunity to thank you for your prayers, your continued giving to the mission of our church and your support of our mission personnel around the world. You make possible our partnership with UBL and its ministry throughout Latin America.
Blessings and peace to you,
Elisabeth Cook
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 47
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