Category Archives: Bible

by | 8 Aug 2013 · 9:23 pm

August Update!

Since January our support level has risen from 59% to around 82%, and unofficially we might be in the upper 80s%. This is very good progress, and God has been very kind, blessing us with a generous team.

Our goal is to be in San José for Thanksgiving Dinner. Why? Because two new missionary families are just now moving to Costa Rica for the first time; look up the Mihalkos and the Footes on http://www.worldventure.com. We have been walking step by step with them as they decided that God was calling them to be missionaries. We want the Shogrens, Mihalkos and Footes to meet around the turkey in November.

To accomplish our goal, we still need to raise hundreds of dollars a month.
We would be happy to visit your church, or even your family or your small group; just leave a COMMENT below; we are very low pressure and won’t twist your arm!

Karen says: I’m having my other hip replaced on Aug 12 at Physicians Care Surgical Hospital in Royersford. In 6 weeks it just may be the first time in many years that I can walk normally! We have reactivated our CaringBridge page HERE.

Gary says: I’m probably on my way to a certain island nation for some weeks; if anyone wants more details, they can email me. Please pray that I get a visa and that I will be up to a demanding schedule while there.

And young Sammy says by Skype, Grandpa, ¿cuándo regresará? When will you be back? By God´s grace, we hope within a few months.

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, seminario, WorldVenture

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by | 3 Jul 2013 · 2:03 pm

Will you buy banana bread to send a boy to school?

bread_banana_500They came to our gate in the rain, a mother and her son of about 14. She was selling home-made banana bread. We see them every couple of weeks and buy large pieces from her for 50 cents each.

She also asked if we had any used men’s shoes for her son, Continue reading →

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, seminario, WorldVenture

by | 1 May 2013 · 7:39 pm

June 2013 Update!

It was great to see our friends at Tasker Street, Covenant in Bath, PA, Whitehall BFC, Calvary Protestant, Friendship Baptist, Oreland EPC, Mount Hope, Lehigh Baptist, Chestnut Hill Baptist, Living Hope, Sovereign Grace, Oasis Church, Bible Fellowship Church in Quinehaug, Connecticut, Christ Evangelical Free in Lehighton, the Bible Fellowship Annual Meeting and the Bible Fellowship Missionary Conference, 14 churches and 2 conferences within the space of 8 weeks!

Thanks for your new commitment to finance our work: Blaine, Nate, John and Debby, Kimberlee, Karen K, Phil and Marty, Robyn, Andy and Cel, Lloyd, Ruth and Ron, Ted and Audrey, Arlene, Sister Johnson, Deb C., Jenn Florin, Perryville, Steve and Phyllis, Redeemer BFC. And thanks for your continued support, Deb S.

COME HEAR THE SHOGRENS! There are things we can share in person which we cannot post on our website.

We are currently in New Mexico, visiting Tim and Ariel. We will be traveling across the country, so if you or your group want to hear us speak over the next 2 weeks, respond to this message right away!

Everyone wants to know when we are due to return to Costa Rica. The answer is simple: as soon as we raise all of our money! God knows the specific date, and we are aiming for a time frame. Gary will be teaching the next ESEPA semester online, and Karen has already said she’s unavailable for her two summer courses, which gives us flexibility until this fall. However we both hope to be able to return by the middle of September.

So far we still need to raise about 2400/month.

** For those of you who are keeping track of our financial progress: our finances are complicated, we’ve lost another church, it’s taken us all these months to compile all of our budget needs. We’re seriously praying that this is the FINAL gross figure, and there will be no more losses to recoup!

Gary and Karen share at Tasker Street Baptist, S. Philly

Gary and Karen share at Tasker Street Baptist, S. Philly

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, WorldVenture

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by | 19 Mar 2013 · 9:50 pm

How has our ministry expanded?

Gary has a new role, helping prepare a generation of Bible professors in a certain nation (you have to come hear us to get the details). He is now mentoring masters degree students through their final projects, a 75-page thesis in which they apply the Bible to their local needs. He also is in charge of making sure they get library material they need to do scholarly research.

Karen will be working more closely with our denomination, the Bible Fellowship Church. The BFC has a special department for caring for its missionaries and their families. Karen will help to prepare their missionary kids (MKs) for life overseas.

Still needed for us to return to the field: 78 people to commit to give $50/month

In the car Sundays, between ministry presentations, the talk naturally turns to ministry and fundraising. Presenting our ministry is a joy we wouldn’t want to miss:
1. We get to meet new and interesting people (this week at two new churches for us, Redeemer BFC in the morning and Franconia Reformed Baptist at night).
2. We “happen” to run into and catch up with old friends with whom we’d lost touch.
3. We get to encourage young people that serving God is always worth the sacrifice.
4. We stay focused. There are so many things we COULD be doing, that we have to work through, what  we SHOULD be doing. As we put into words why we do what we do, it puts the spotlight on our priorities.
5. We enjoy traveling, since we can spend some time together as a couple. Since we were newlyweds, we’ve analyzed everything from “How was my sermon/bible study/presentation?” to future ministry strategies. It helps us stay united in direction.

Please pray: Do you have Christian friends who might be interested to hear about our ministries and our financial needs? We’re still free  weekdays in April.

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, New Testament, seminario, WorldVenture

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by | 16 Mar 2013 · 3:48 pm

1 Corinthians commentary by Gary!

1 Corinthians, by Gary Shogren

1 Corinthians, by Gary Shogren

Announcement! The English version of my 1 Corinthians commentary is now available from Logos.com; it is fully integrated with the Logos system. Only $19.95. Or you can download a pdf version for free, right here!

Shogren_1_Corinthians

What does agape mean?
What are the spiritual gifts?
Should women wear veils to church? Or remain absolutely silent?
What about divorce?
Do we exist as spirits forever?
Paul was a missionary – how did he know where to go?

These issues and many more!

Related blog: http://openoureyeslord.com for articles on the New Testament, the spiritual life, Bible prophecy and more

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by | 26 Feb 2013 · 4:17 pm

Who we are, what we do

Karen and Gary

Karen and Gary

As missionaries in Costa Rica for the last 15 years, Gary and Karen Shogren have been following the Great Commission in strategic ways. In San José they train energetic Latin American leaders who will lead the church and spread the Gospel into nations where Americans cannot easily go. Second, they provide ongoing theological education online for those far-flung Spanish-speaking missionaries. Third, in many places they strengthen the next generation of missionaries (missionary kids) emotionally and spiritually. As a couple they are strategically placed & uniquely qualified to equip tomorrow’s leaders.

Gary’s PhD in New Testament Exegesis plus 25 years of experience as New Testament professor on 3 continents prepare him to continue teaching at the Evangelical Seminary for Pastoral Studies (ESEPA) in San José, Costa Rica. Now there is another exciting new opportunity for him on the horizon [we cannot post the details publically]. Gary’s training, experience, skills and location allow him to meet this need in a way others cannot.

Now that Karen also teaches at ESEPA, the Shogrens are even more of a bargain: 2 professors for the price of one! Her specialty is teaching correct Bible study methods to women without much formal education. In that context 2 Timothy 2:2b provides the greatest challenge: “Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.” Karen’s other ministry track has involved serving in member care and orientation for missionary families since 2000. Many missionary kids’ (MKs) go to the field with little cross-cultural training; they are at risk spiritually and their families might have to return to the US. We have found that an ounce of prevention in this area can prevent the waste of lives, time, and money. Karen’s background in biblical counseling uniquely qualifies her to provide Scriptural solutions to this new challenge in the missions community.

We are in Media PA for some months and would love to present our work to your church, small group or in your home. We can present it in English or in Spanish. LEAVE A COMMENT in the space below and we’ll be in touch.

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, New Testament, seminario, WorldVenture

by | 9 Feb 2013 · 7:41 pm

February 2013 update!

We need to stay in the US for a while to do more fundraising. Starting in January we had to take a large pay cut due to the economic slowdown, skyrocketing health insurance costs, and new ministry expenses. 

Contact us to visit your home, your small group Bible study or your church! garyshog@gmail.com

FB

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Karen Shogren, Missions, New Testament, seminario, WorldVenture

by | 24 Jan 2013 · 4:56 pm

Why we are in Pennsylvania, 2013

We are back in Pennsylvania for the next few months. In December, Karen had successful surgery to replace an arthritic hip.

We will also need to raise our level of missionary support – a number of our donors have finished supporting us, the cost of living has gone up, and we find ourselves some thousands of dollars short every month; more on this to come!

We hope to see our friends in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England over the next months. We would also like to make some new friends who want to invest in the church of Latin America.

We also invite you to follow this blog, by adding your name at SIGN ME UP! on this page.

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by | 3 Dec 2012 · 6:41 pm

2012 Report

So tell us, Karen and Gary, how has the Lord blessed you in 2012?

Let’s start with, an adoptive grandson! We’ve known Sammy since before he was born, since his grandmother is our live-in housekeeper and friend Rosy, and we are his godparents. Because of Sammy’s difficult home life, Child Services gave him to us temporarily in April, and just this week gave Rosy permanent legal custody. We’d been without children in the house for a couple of years; when Sammy arrived, daughter Vikky teased, “Ah, so how’s that empty nest thing working out for you?” Just fine by us, Gary and Karen report: Sammy is a ray sunshine, and he will be part of our family for the foreseeable future.

Residents of Costa Rica! After many years of trying, we finally became Permanent Residents. One benefit is that we can go in the short line at Customs; another is that we don’t have to jump through hoops every time the country changes its laws for foreigners – now we just visit the local bank once a year to do a little paperwork.

A New Car! After two years without, we decided that our car-free lifestyle was hindering more than helping. We got an excellent deal on a used Sentra, due to the generosity of many donors. We’re already using it to speak in outlying churches and also a trip to the shore for Sammy.

Teaching at ESEPA! Gary and Karen are both regular professors at ESEPA. Gary has taught Greek exegesis to the graduate students; Karen has taught on Bible interpretation and counseling.

A trip to Spain! We were invited by the SEND missionaries of Spain to give a conference in August. Gary spoke to the adults on “When a Missionary Rams an Iceberg.” Karen spoke to the kids on how Missionary Kids can handle loss and separation with her presentation “Good Goodbyes.” This was Karen’s first time to Spain, and we got to do a lot of sight-seeing.

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Missions, seminario

by | 3 Dec 2012 · 6:40 pm

2012 for Gary

  • Zondervan published his Thessalonians commentary in November; it’s available from Amazon and will be offered by Logos Bible Software. Logos also offers his 1 Corinthians commentary.
  • He wrote and taught an online course of first-year Greek for Spanish-speaking people, the only course of this type of which he is aware.
  • He taught in [a certain unnamed country] in September and is negotiating to teach there more in 2013.
  • Gary is regularly speaking at conferences on some hot topics in Latin America: Messianic Judaism; Christian leadership; the Second Coming; “Can I Trust My Bible?”

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Filed under Bible, Costa Rica, ESEPA, Gary Shogren, Missions, New Testament, seminario