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October 2001
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We profoundly regret the situation of violence and terrorism
in the United States and the world. We pray for the people who
are suffering and we invite everyone to pray with us in hope of
restoring the peace.
We would also like to share some words of commitment made by
several people who won the Nobel Peace Prize. These were published
by UNICEF:
- Respect all life
- Reject violence
- Express generosity
- Listen and understand
- Preserve the planet
- Re-invent solidarity
Sara and I are teaching at the Latin American Biblical University
(UBL, which stands for Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana).
Sara is counseling, teaching, and participating with the church.
This has been a very busy year in which we have been since March
in charge of the twelve TEE (theological education by extension)
centers of the UBL. These centers are located from Guatemala to
Bolivia. In each center the UBL offers its programs, which include
a bachelor’s degree, and licenciatura. The men and
women who study in the centers meet once a week to study. During
the last part of the course a professor from the university visits
them to complete the requirements.
When the students are in the final part of their program, they
come to Costa Rica for two to six months to write a dissertation
and to have the experience of discussing their research with other
students and professors. The university is ecumenical, with a
high interest in women, racial, and sociopolitical issues. The
university is trying to re-prioritize, which involves an effort
to invest more in the TEE centers than in San José.
With the church here in Costa Rica, we are helping where it is
needed. When a church, a small congregation, is without pastor,
we provide them with one for one to three months. On August 17
we visited three churches in Guanacaste, which is about 250 kilometers
from San José, with a program for lay preachers. On August
23, Sara and I had a workshop in Limón about family relationships.
Two of our children, Caleb and Saguid, are living with us. And
our son, Ebed got married last year and is living close to our
home. The work is very rewarding because we are in touch with
students from all over Latin America, including Colombia and Brazil.
The situation of Costa Rica is a bit better than other Latin
American countries. It has a good education system, but health
services are deteriorating. In Costa Rica there are second generation
"maquilas," that is, factories that produce goods meant
mainly for export. This is good because it offers job opportunities,
but most of the revenue the maquilas generate leaves the
country. In Latin America we say that when the economy in the
United States sneezes, we catch a cold.
We are planning to go to the United States in January 2003 for
interpretation assignment. We play to stay for three months during
which time we would be very happy to accept invitations to share.
Any church that wishes to invite us need only pay our travel expenses.
Thank you for supporting our ministry and keeping us in your
prayers. We remember many of you with love and friendship.
Sincerely yours,
Sara and Guido Mahecha
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 236
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