Extra Commitment Opportunities

There is a channel through which gifts can be designated for specific items that support the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s work around the world. These are called Extra Commitment Opportunities (ECOs). You can give directly to an ECO account online or by mailing your check designating the name and account number of the particular item you have chosen to:

PC(USA) Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700

Your gift will go directly into the ECO Account designated, and you will receive a letter indicating that your gift has been received and will be used for the purpose intended.

Below are some ECOs related to Costa Rica. For a complete listing visit Mission Funding's Web site and type Costa Rica into the search box.

Church Development

Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Costa Rica  

This project contributes to the development of church leaders, materials that provide Reformed principles, evangelism and infrastructure.

Education

Enhancing the Latin American Biblical University Library Services

The Harry Strachan Library supports the educational process of many students in extension programs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. This project furnishes funds for the infrastructure of the library, cataloging and computer automation and staff salaries.

The Latin American Biblical University (UBL) offers students the opportunity to obtain a university degree as well as a theological education. The UBL, previously the SBL, seeks to combine the best resources and methods of residential and extension education. This project supports the many efforts of the UBL in its extension courses throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Latin American Biblical University Scholarships

A fund to provide scholarships at UBL.

New Testament Chair, Latin American Biblical University

In an effort to become self-sustaining, the UBL presents this project to endow a New Testament Chair. Mission workers held this position for 30 years. The university will be able to be responsible for hiring capable Latin Americans when there are sufficient funds in this ECO fund.

Mission Personnel

Elisabeth Cook teaches Old Testament and biblical interpretation courses at the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) main campus in San José and occasionally at UBL’s centers in Venezuela, Peru, or other countries in Latin America. Born in Guatemala, Elisabeth is the daughter of two missionaries and the granddaughter of others. She has spent most of her life in Latin America. “My concern has always been how, as a Christian, to respond to the injustice of poverty and exclusion in Latin America,” she writes. “Working at the university is a way to contribute to the transformation of people, churches, and communities.”

Guido and Sara Mahecha were reappointed in 2002 to another term of service with the Universidad Biblico Latinoamericano (UBL) in San José, where Guido, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, is vice president coordinating theological outreach centers around Latin America and Sara is the chair of the scholarship committee. They write: “We have been teaching for more than 30 years in different churches, seminaries, and universities. It always amazes us that there are people everywhere ready to learn from the Bible and from Jesus Christ. Many people are ready to change and be converted to new ways of understanding the role of the kingdom of God.”