April 2000

Dear Friends and Family in Jesus Christ,

Greetings once again in the name of our Lord Jesus to whom we pray that His grace continue to be upon you and the beloved ones in your family. The first words for you in this letter are our words of praise to God because His constant love is so precious to us.

It was Saturday afternoon, April 15. Gloria and I had been very busy all day attending several pastoral activities at church. It was about six o’clock in the evening, just turning dark, and the first torrential rain of our rainy season was falling. On our way back home we were talking about the things that happened that day—the planning of worship for Palm Sunday, the construction plans for two Sunday-school classrooms, the prayer meetings and the Bible study group that will strengthen the life of the congregational life of our church. We prayed that church members would find employment and that the sick would be healed. We talked about those developments in which the Lord has shown his presence in the midst of our pastoral work and also about the problems and challenges that this congregation faces. We felt optimism and gratitude towards God, but at the same time we felt powerless before the burden of the needs of the people in this shantytown known as "Pavas."

Moreover, we were passing through a time of great distress in our hearts because of the disappointment of our son Ofir, whose applications for graduate school to several universities in the United States had been rejected. Ten minutes later, when we reached home, the telephone rang.

"Aló?" Gloria answered.

"Mama, it’s me, Ofir! Mama, I was admitted to the University of Virginia!"

"What?!"

"Yes, Mama! The University of Virginia gave me a scholarship to study for my Ph.D., and I’m very happy for this great news, Mama."

God responded to our prayer

For six months we prayed every day on our knees that a university would recognize the gifts our son has to offer. As you can witness, the Lord has answered our petitions at the right moment and according to our right necessity.

We understand this answer to our prayer as a sign of God’s presence among us, manifested through the love and kindness of women and men as a means of grace. Human beings like you and us have been touched by God’s love. Let all of us in the mission field (and that includes everyone who reads this letter!) be the channel for many to celebrate and proclaim the Lord’s greatness! Let us praise his name together!

Family news

The year 2000 is for us a transitional one. There are three things happening that will bring changes for our family and our mission work.

First, our current assignment will end in February of next year. It means that we have to prepare ourselves to leave Costa Rica in order to do a period of mission interpretation in the United States. The second thing is Ofir’s and Varinia’s graduation this year. Ofir will graduate this month from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Varinia will earn an international baccalaureate diploma here in Costa Rica at the end of November. These events will bring the opportunity for new adjustments in our family. With the children away from home, life for us will enter a new stage of "re-encounter" with ourselves and open a wide avenue for our ministry. Finally, the conclusion of our current appointment to CELEP (Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies) will allow us to look for a new place to serve. We don’t know yet where and what we will do after our interpretation assignment ends. Nevertheless, we are confident that the Lord will provide the right opportunity to us to continue in the mission field—wherever the Lord will send us.

The work

With regard to our work here in Costa Rica, we continue to develop pastoral leadership training among churches in rural areas. You may know that the Protestant church in this country—as well as in most of Latin America—is composed of people of a relatively low level of Christian education. For this reason, the progress of the gospel here comes first through a process of discipleship for lay people. It’s a strategy for the strengthening the local leadership in the church, and we are very involved in this task.

Another aspect of our work is the planning and coordination of mission trips that PC(USA) churches take to Costa Rica. This coming June, Gloria will be working with folks from the University Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They will be building two classrooms for 85 boys and girls. Also, we do pastoral ministry in a local Moravian church. Since there is no Presbyterian church in Costa Rica, the PC(USA) relates to the Moravians, one of the largest Protestant denominations in Central America. We minister here in a small church in one of the poorest neighborhoods in town. We have gained for Jesus Christ 45 baptized members and we have a Sunday school of 70 boys and girls every Sunday morning.

Pray for us

• For our pastoral task among our Moravian brothers and sisters in Christ.
• For our spiritual strengthening, that we may nurture the individual and congregational life in our church.
• For Erick Gomez, a young man in our congregation who fell from the third floor of a building under construction where he was working. He is now in critical condition, hanging between life and death in a hospital bed. Your prayers can make possible the miracle of life for this young man.

In closing, we would like to take this opportunity to encourage you and your mission committee to continue supporting God’s mission in Costa Rica and other countries worldwide as the PC(USA) humbly attempts to discern it. Please accept our gratitude for including us in your mission concerns, by doing so you heal many lives in this country. May God be with you always.

Your servants in Christ,

Andrés and Gloria García

The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 231