We are WorldVenture missionaries to Costa Rica. Gary is professor of New Testament at Seminario ESEPA and is a blogger and author. Karen teaches at ESEPA and also specializes in sexual abuse and the church. They have four adult children who live in the USA.
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, New Testament, seminario, Sexual abuse, WorldVenture
KAREN AND LATIN AMERICA, SPAIN, INDIA, AND THE GOOD OLD USA!
Praise God for His provision and ministry direction in February and March!
As you know, in my ministry I train leaders to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to sexual abuse. I do this through 4 different organizations: the safety team of our mission board WorldVenture, ESEPA Seminary in Costa Rica, the Child Safety and Protection Network (CSPN), and my own Levanta La Voz.
Thank you to Paradise Bible Fellowship Church for the provision and opportunity to do a one-day workshop to train your staff and volunteers in February. It was a joy to spread the word for the first time in our sending denomination and with the community that has welcomed us so warmly!
Thank you to Woodlyn Baptist Church for their generous donation that made it possible for me to complete my March ministry trip to Spain with CSPN. CSPN provides child safety training for international Christian workers: missionaries and staff of Christian schools overseas. This unique demographic is more vulnerable and has unusually complicated response situations, so it is a challenge for us to invent appropriate methods and get the training done. I do various projects with CSPN, several of which necessitated my involvement in their annual conference in Spain last month. I took a training which I will be teaching in July in Indianapolis, began working with the team that will revise the same training over the next year, and attended the conference. These photos show 3 other projects I worked on there: I recorded videos for a project I co-wrote that will provide safety training for thousands of Christian workers overseas, did a presentation at the conference on a monthly training I manage, and met various times with teammates from WorldVenture.
PLEASE PRAY!
Karen’s upcoming ministry at the Woodlyn Baptist Church ladies’ retreat April 26-28.
* Pray for Gary’s Spanish-language evangelistic/discipleship group in Chester PA, they meet every other Tuesday night. So far three non-Christians have come out!
* Gary is finishing the SUN edition of Bible Stories. Click LINK to see them in English. They are open-source, so download and use them as you like!
FINANCIAL PICTURE: Two new churches have picked us up for support! Thanks to Paradise Bible Fellowship Church (where we attend) and Stony Lane Baptist in Rhode Island. Will 20 individuals pray about supporting us at $50/month? JUST TAP HERE!
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Levanta la Voz, Missions
God willing, yes!
My dream?
Over the last 3-4 years I have had a very specific dream: to start an evangelistic/discipleship small group for Spanish-speaker, as a side ministry, once we were relocated in the US.
North Chester Baptist in Chester PA has recently invited me to do this very thing. There are 9000 Hispanic people within a couple of miles of the church. After prayer and consideration, I said Yes, and we plan on starting February 13 under the banner: “Come and Get to Know Jesus!”
What is the plan? We will be meeting on Tuesday nights, every other week, for an hour, entirely in Spanish: to study selected passages from Mark’s Gospel; to meet the needs of people who come: from introducing them to the gospel for their very first time, to inviting believers to a deeper discipleship and Bible study.
“Why, Gary, bring this up now? Why not wait until it’s actually up and running?”
Good question, and one I have mulled over.
A. I could wait a few months and give an “after” report on what is happening
B. I could tell you a couple of weeks “before” we start, and tell you what I hope will happen
Scenario A – would be a request that you give thanks to God.
Scenario B – would be a request that you pray for the group before it even exists
I opt to ask you to PRAY NOW, BEFOREHAND. And also give thanks later.
What is my hope? For people to come to know Christ; to bring their friends; to grow in Christ; to integrate members into North Chester or another church. And very specifically – I do not believe in mystical numbers, nor in “ordaining” reality. I am simply using the number 12 to give direction to my prayer: “Lord, in faith I ask that 12 people turn out.”
Will you talk with the Lord? And mention the number 12? Many thanks!
PLEASE PRAY!
FINANCIAL PICTURE: Our major church donor has ended its support, but a couple of other churches are coming forward. Will 20 individuals pray about supporting us at $50/month? JUST TAP HERE!
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Levanta la Voz, Missions, New Testament, WorldVenture
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Levanta la Voz, Missions
October 2023 – this is the month we make calculations. Our total support needed is $11,052/month. As of November 1, 2023 we’ll have $10,038 coming in, leaving us with a shortfall of $1014/month. Will 20 individuals pray about supporting us at $50/month?
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This month we focus on: Gary As Writer
It is hoped that ESEPA professors publish. And in between June and September, a bunch of Gary’s projects came to fruition:
Gary says: Why do I write what I do? Half the time (the two study Bibles, for example) it’s because someone invited me to join their team. But typically (Myths; The Gift of the Holy Spirit) I wrote because I saw that these were areas where very little has been published in Spanish. It’s the same thing I always told myself years ago in the church softball league: “You don’t have to hit a home run; just try to put the ball where the fielders ain’t.” My heart’s desire too is to write as a pastor, not a know-it-all. So in the case of The Holy Spirit my goal was to encourage Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals to calmly consider the Bible text together, armed with sound hermeneutics and mutual respect.
Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer; in hindsight, I guess Lord planted the idea. At the keyboard, I feel I am talking with fellow believers. Thanks, Lord, for letting me do this task!
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren
Prayer requests
Health issues
· Karen’s full recovery from Covid without additional complications and that Gary doesn’t contract it
· Medical testing Karen has scheduled at the end of Aug
Karen’s ministry focus
· teaching her program at ESEPA Seminary through early October
· Zoom workshop with Spanish pastors in Costa Rica on Aug 28
Gary’s ministry focus:
· Finishing last book of SUN Old Testament consistency check
· ESEPA courses
Upcoming US speaking engagements
August 20—10:15am Gary will be preaching at Paradise Bible Fellowship Church (no ministry presentation)
August 27 – 10:30am at Christ E Free Church, Lehighton, PA
September 17—Calvary Baptist Church, Riverhead, NY
We still have Sept 10 and 24 available, so if you are interested in having us come give a ministry update, please let us know!
Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Levanta la Voz, Missions, Sexual abuse, WorldVenture
A Week in the Life of Gary Shogren!
Come away with me on an adventure! This is not an exact 7-day period, but a composite of the things I do in any given week.
I Pray. 7pm is my time for prayer, and different days of the week have different themes. Thursday, it’s “Thanksgiving Thursday.” Tuesdays and Wednesdays, close Bible reading and prayer, right now through Ephesians. Along with this: since last year I have a monthly meeting with, not a counselor, but my “spiritual director”. This is an ancient discipline that evangelicals have recently rediscovered.
I Read. Quite a lot, actually! I normally read 4-6 books at a time, about half of which are theology books and the other half novels, culture, history.
The Tree of Knowledge sculpture
Among the books I have read, here are my favorites from 2022. My mp3 player reads to me at Planet Fitness. I also run an annual reading club in ancient languages. 2023 it’s (some of the) “Hebrew Poets and Prophets”. We have finished Jeremiah, now we’re in Ezekiel.
I Blog. I have two theology blogs, Openeyeourslord.com and Razondelaesperanza.com (“The reason for our hope”). Mondays I open messages and feedback and spend a few hours with them. Questions are almost always in Spanish. They range from, “can you explain the Greek participles in Hebrews 6” (hard one!) to “What do you think of this course about Christian chakras supposedly found in Bible?” (easy to answer!)
I Am in Touch with Spain about my New Book! In September, my publisher will come out with a collection of my essays: El Don del Espíritu y su Poder en la Iglesia (The Gift of the Holy Spirit and his Power in the Church). These days I have to answer a few questions from its editor, plus invite a friend to write the Preface. I am also writing the 1 Corinthians section for a new work Spanish, the Culture Study Bible, which will be full of notes on the ancient world. Example: what was the “meat sacrificed to idols”?
I Speak at a Conference. It’s 7pm their time, 8pm in Pennsylvania. Leaders of the Bible Society of Argentina had seen a blog post of mine, about the importance of Bible reading in our church meetings. My presentation lasted about an hour. I was pleased that over 300 listened in and we got a good response. I haven’t received the link to that video yet, but here is another, where I speak about 1 Corinthians – start watching at 4:00 minutes.
I Assure People I am not Retired. This week I turned 65! And no, we have no plans for retirement. However, one of the reasons we relocated to the US (not retired!): Medicare doesn’t work in Costa Rica but it does work in Pennsylvania.
I Teach at ESEPA. This after all is my regular job, my primary “hat”. We just finished off Greek 3 on Wednesday nights. Right now, I’m in my second week of teaching “Exegesis of 1-2 Thessalonians”, in which the students translate both books, analyze their teaching on the End Times, writing a major paper on 3-4 verses of the Greek. This term I am not teaching through Zoom. This not only helps me, but also my students: one is a missionary in West Africa, and our Greek class used to run from midnight to 3am his time.
I translate articles written by Cuban dissidents against the Marxist regime. My main political activism these days is translating articles to English, then uploading them for all the world to read on translatingcuba.com. Here is an older example that I did during the height of COVID. I work under a pseudonym, but I trust you readers not to reveal my secret identity! 🙂
Sundays! Half our Sundays we go to our local church; the other Sundays we visit our supporting churches to update them on our work and preach God’s Word. We just saw our old friends at Redeemer Bible Fellowship, north of Philly. When on the road, we listen to a book: right now, it’s Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers by Crystal Downing.
Dinner for our anniversary! We just celebrated 43 years. If you can remember when Mount St. Helen’s erupted, that was the weekend we got married.
Editing a Bible translation. This is my second major “hat”. You can read here about the SUN version for deaf non-readers. [SUN New Testament will allow millions worldwide to read the Bible – Metro Voice News] I was asked to do the final edit of the entire Old Testament – all 925 chapters – before it is published; working part-time, it took me about two years. I just finished Job. When I finish 2 Chronicles and the OT will be finished! As I work today, Yo-Yo Ma is playing a cello adaptation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
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Update from Karen Shogren and
Levanta La Voz ministry
Hello friend!
As you know, I am a missionary with WorldVenture and the Bible Fellowship Board of Missions. Several years ago, I founded Levanta La Voz (the Spanish phrase for “Raise Your Voice”, taken from Proverbs 31:8-9), an international ministry dedicated to training faith communities to prevent and respond to sexual harm, both as individuals and as organizations.
You are getting this email because you have helped me with this project, expressed interest in staying updated, or I thought you might want to hear more about the work I am doing. I plan to send out regular email newsletters from Levanta La Voz, so if you do not want to continue receiving them, please let me know and I’ll take you off the list.
I want you to know about two upcoming trainings so that you can participate and help me spread the word. That is an easy way you can raise your own voice in the fight against sexual harm.
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OUR TRIP TO COSTA RICA! ON VIDEO!
We returned to Costa Rica for the first time since we relocated in November 2021. It was to celebrate ESEPA Seminary’s 40th anniversary. This included Karen speaking twice; and all the former presidents spoke over the course of the week – Gary gave a speech on the theme “The Christian Leader and Lifelong Learning” (click HERE to read it). Then Gary marched with graduation on Friday night. Plus, lots of time with old friends! And very specially – much time with Rosie and of course Sammy. Yes, that’s Sammy in the picture. 15 years old and he is now taller than Gary! They are thriving in western Costa Rica, where Sammy is in high school and also studying art.
Care to see some pictures and videos of our trip? Click HERE and see a collage.
OUR FINANCIAL STATUS
Thanks so much for your regular support and prayer for our work!
Due to inflation, etc., etc., we have about a $1000/month shortfall in our pledged giving. We encourage our friends to be regular backers of our work. You can call WorldVenture at (720) 283-2000 or simply click HERE. Each new regular donor will get one of Gary’s books in the mail, either his book Iceberg Ahead: when God’s workers collide with cold, hard reality as a pdf file, or his 1 Corinthians or 1-2 Thessalonians commentary in hard copy. IF YOU HAVE BECOME A NEW DONOR IN NOVEMBER THROUGH TODAY, CONTACT GARY at gsshogren@gmail.com and your gift will be on the way. Many thanks!
PRAYER
Our calendar is flexible for the much of 2023 – we would love to visit our churches, particularly those we haven’t seen in a while. Contact Karen at keshogren@gmail.com
Blessings!
Filed under Uncategorized
Karen Shogren
Gary Shogren
Shogrens in Costa Rica 