Costa Rican Bible School
Costa Ricans are very diligent in their preparations for the year-end Bible School. They try to involve as many as possible in the preparations and always choose a theme for the event.
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As I have written in previous articles, Costa Ricans are very diligent in their preparations for the year-end Bible School, beginning months in advance to plan out the details. They try to involve as many as possible in the preparations. They always choose a theme for the event and try to tie all the activities into this theme, including the planned free-time activities.
For background, there are two Bible Schools in Central America at the end of each year, one in Costa Rica and one in El Salvador. They are always planned for the last two weekends of the year since many people have holidays over the Christmas and New Year’s weekends. Each year, alternatingly, one of the two countries hosts a larger international school, inviting brothers and sisters from neighboring countries to participate.
In comparison, the other does a smaller school, mainly for the members of that country. This year, El Salvador was to hold the larger international school over the New Year’s weekend. Therefore, Costa Rica held a smaller school just for its own members. Because of this, they decided to rent a smaller locale just outside of Santa Bárbara de Heredia, the town where most of the members live.
The Costa Rican Bible School ran from Friday through Sunday, December 22-24, at the Rancho Los Querubines Sala de Eventos. It is a beautiful venue, with a large meeting room with a kitchen area at one end. The grounds include a large lawn surrounded by beautiful trees and vegetation and a veranda that was used for some of the young people’s classes and the brothers’ class.
Although the locale did not have facilities for sleeping, it was close to town, so it was easy to go back to the houses at night to sleep. This plan worked out quite well and didn’t require members to pack. The location was perfect for the size of the group, and the beautiful trees were very apt, considering the theme of the school: “Tejiendo Raices: Juntos Somos un Bosque.” — “Weaving Roots: Together we are a forest.” It was a clever theme with many spiritual applications and lessons.
This year, as was the case last year, I was asked to prepare and deliver the adult talks, including four main classes and a word of exhortation. As I meditated on how to address the theme, I realized I could broaden it to include not only spiritual lessons on roots and forests but all types of spiritual lessons from trees. It was a fascinating study.
I divided the topics into two classes on spiritual lessons from trees themselves, one class on roots, and one class on forests, looking to God’s Word for the spiritual significance. My exhortation was to be on the Tree of Life.
Satisfied with this division, I delved into the study and learned many amazing facts and lessons from trees that apply effectively to our spiritual lives. Trees are the most mentioned living organisms in the Bible, apart from humans, showing us that God loves trees and has used them to teach us many lessons.
Bro. Alex Alfaro gave the teen classes, and Sis. Marisol Araya gave the children’s classes. We recorded the classes and made them available online and on Zoom, enabling several brothers and sisters from other countries to join us virtually.
The weekend was well organized, with a schedule each day that included classes, time for fellowship, meals, games, and recreation. The first day began with an Inauguration activity in which Sis. Mariana Ureña gave a short talk about roots and then divided us into three groups to draw a tree and find key verses about trees and roots.
The groups presented what they found to the ecclesia. We were each given a bean sprout kit and planted our beans as an object lesson for the weekend. When I left, I decided to leave mine with 9-year-old Isaac, son of Bro. and Sis. Neftali and Zuelen Espinoza, with whom I stayed for the weekend. He’s a very friendly and spiritual young man, and I’m sure he is taking good care of it.
Participation from the brothers and sisters was encouraged during the classes. Many good points were shared, which enhanced the classes. We were able to help each other grow in our knowledge and resolve to put the principles we discussed into practice.
The exhortation focused on the Tree of Life throughout the Scripture, culminating with the cross of Christ and Christ himself being the Tree of Life. In addition to the main classes, there was also a brothers’ class given by Bro. Juan Diego Vargas, and a sisters’ class given by Sis. Mariana Ureña.
Another highlight of the weekend was the Teatro Ignis, a series of skits put together by the young people. Topics included our trust in the Lord Jesus and the authenticity of our prayers. The group also did a skit just for fun, which was very amusing.
The young people are very talented at acting and always do an interesting presentation each year. Afterward, we all went out to the lawn, where we had a bonfire, snacks, and hot chocolate. At the end, the participants had the opportunity to express what they were thankful for, reflect on the previous year, and look ahead to the coming year.
The weekend ended with a short talk in recognition of all who had participated and contributed to the school, along with a slideshow of the weekend. It was a perfect closing to a wonderful weekend in which we strengthened the bonds of fellowship and reflected on our spiritual lives, helping us to reprioritize and put the things of God first in our lives.
David Collister,
Verdugo Hills Ecclesia, CA
CBMA Link for Costa Rica