Let’s study the Evangelio de Marcos (Gospel of Mark)!
One of Gary’s courses this term is a study of Mark. Every Wednesday morning at 8am, they spend three hours on this wonderful book.
One big focus is “Who is Jesus Christ?” From the very first verse (“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”) to the account of his death (the centurion: “Surely this was the Son of God!”) the students trace how Jesus is God’s unique Son, who rocks the world by healing the sick, telling demons what to do, and even – gasp! – taking it on himself to forgive the sins they had committed against God. Besides doing their own analysis of Mark’s “christology,” the students have two other projects: talking to a youth group about the person of Jesus, and talking to a non-Christian about who Jesus claimed to be. This class is heavy on studying, but also doing and telling.
In the gospels, Jesus is often found in the synagogues of Galilee. And so, to get a sense of what that was like, Gary will be leading a field trip to the main synagogue of Costa Rica, which has its own museum and features a gorgeous meeting hall. A local Christian is on staff there as the liaison between the Jewish community and the church, so he gives us a full tour and knows how to answer questions that are of interest to ESEPA students.
This course is a good example of what we are trying to accomplish at Seminario ESEPA – to develop the students’ minds and knowledge, to be sure, but always with the goal of inviting them to a deeper relationship with their Lord.
Volcano Update!
Turrialba Volcano lies about 25 to the southeast of us. It has been active on and off for some years, and in the last few weeks has been spewing ash all over the region. So far no victims, although the farms are suffering, especially the herds of cows near the volcano. For us it means cleaning up volcanic ash every morning!
Family Update: Karen has stayed behind in Pennsylvania for some weeks more, to deal with her back issues, but also to tend to her mother, who has fallen seriously ill.
Prayer Requests:
- For Karen’s back problems
- We are still about 11% short on our monthly support
Karen Shogren
Gary Shogren
Shogrens in Costa Rica 