A letter from Elisabeth Cook in Costa Rica
December 2007
Dear Friends:
“We wanted a pastor and decided to step out in faith even though we didn’t have the budget to offer a good salary,” said Janet Tesch, my host for my first week of travel during Mission Challenge 07. She was talking about the challenge that Heritage Presbyterian Church took on when they decided, after several years without a pastor, to search actively for a minister in spite of limited resources. Their leap of faith was rewarded with a response from a long-time minister, Bill Zieche, who was moved by the church’s request and, along with his wife Sue, decided to take his own leap of faith. The whole congregation has been blessed a hundredfold and is now working toward another leap of faith: including support for a mission worker in their budget.
A challenge moves us to respond with a leap of faith. To do something unexpected, something that goes against the grain, against the budget, against our cautious nature.
Two months have passed since I responded to my own personal challenge to begin a journey through the Midwest that was to mark a special, eye-opening experience in my life. I must admit that the plan for Mission Challenge was daunting: a month of traveling through four presbyteries, visiting congregations and sharing about the mission of the PC(USA) and the ministry in which I serve in Costa Rica. My lack of familiarity with the church and life in the United States in general made me feel unsure of how to communicate. But the gathering in Louisville the first days of October with 47 other missionaries who would also be visiting Presbyteries during that month relieved some of the uncertainties.
As I look back on those weeks, I am so very grateful for the many special times of sharing, the wonderful people and congregations who welcomed me, and the many committed lay persons and pastors who prepared the way for my talks and presentations. I carry many stories in my heart, stories I experienced and stories that were shared with me.
Having grown up in Latin America, there are many areas of the United States that I am not familiar with, and much about the culture and the church in the United States that I needed to learn. My month in Milwaukee and Winnebago Presbyteries (Wisconsin), Northern Water Presbytery (Minnesota) and Mackinac Presbytery (Michigan), offered me a crash course in these subjects. Visiting small towns and small congregations gave me another perspective on life in the United States. The diversity of our church amazed me and the challenges facing our congregations humbled me. But even more poignant was the constant affirmation of the connections between Latin America and the realities I was experiencing in northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
Not long after my arrival in Wisconsin, Costa Rica voted to sign CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. This treaty, which has already been signed by the rest of Central America, will benefit those who have large capital investments but harm the local farmers. As we shared about the effects of CAFTA in Central America and the response of the church, many people could identify with our situation because they’d seen the effects of free trade on the steel industry in the Midwest.
My last gathering was in Traverse City, Michigan. Someone asked me: “What should we say to people who don’t think the church should get involved in world mission because there are enough things to do in our own communities?” I have thought about this question ever since. It is so easy to focus on what seems to be closest, most immediate. But in today’s world, everything is connected. The destiny of the United States and that of Latin America are connected. We need each other. But this means establishing new relationships: of solidarity, respect, sharing and understanding; it means working together for a world in which there is room for every woman, child and man, no matter what race, creed, or nationality.
Another memorable visit was at First Presbyterian Church in Shawno, Wisconsin. The pastor, Susan Phillips, chose Jeremiah 29.7 as the Scripture reading: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” We may or may not be exiles in the land where we live. But in the evermore interconnected context of the world we live in, we can surely say: “Seek the welfare of the nations around you; pray to the Lord on their behalf, for in their welfare, you will find your welfare.” Across borders, languages, and cultures, God is calling us to seek each other’s welfare. That is what mission in partnership is all about, and it is why we do mission. We hold each others hands, serving in God’s mission as partners around the world.
Many congregations and individuals participated in Mission Challenge. Many others read about it on the PC(USA) Web site or heard about it from other sources. The challenge has been set before us. Through our mission co-workers, country networks, Presbytery partnerships, and many other ways, we are involved in holding hands with our partners around the world. I invite you to take a leap of faith in response to Mission Challenge. Support the mission of our church, get involved in working for a new world, across cultures, borders, races: in your backyard, in the backyard of a student in Costa Rica, Guatemala, or Bolivia.
I look forward to returning to Costa Rica in January to prepare for our school year of courses and seminars in Costa Rica and in our study centers throughout Latin America. The new year will bring challenges for Costa Rica, as CAFTA begins to be implemented, and challenges for the many who seek to respond faithfully to the needs of needs of those who suffer personally and socially the consequences of their marginalization from the world economic system.
As we approach this Christmas Season, I remember the many special people I met during my travels, the stories of service, giving, and grace that I witnessed. I give thanks to God for God’s active presence in small but powerful ways, unpublished and unsung, but strong in unity with many others around the world.
May there be Peace in Christ,
Elisabeth
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 56
