Category Archives: New Testament

by | 1 Oct 2018 · 6:26 pm

October 2018 Newsletter

“We are Back in Costa Rica!”

The rumors are true: Gary returned late August, and Karen a few weeks later! This means that we are now starting our 21st year of ministry in Central America.

Gary is teaching three courses and working away on his new commentary on 1-2 Timothy for Wycliffe Associates. It will be part of a 2-volume work that will be “open-source,” that is, free for anyone to use, download, translate. It is designed to help those who are translating the Bible into the 2700 languages that have none.


Our adoptive grandson Sammy is glad to have us back! He is 11 years old now – and he would be in school this week, except for the fact that there is a general strike for the past three weeks.

Karen just spent time in Honduras, where she was giving her regular conference to Missionary Kids.

 

Thanks so much for helping us to return to the field, ready to go!

Gary is Teaching and Preaching in Spanish again!
Last week I spoke at a tiny local church that is run by our friend Ana Rita. You can get some jumpy video of the service by going to YouTube and entering this address https://youtu.be/LDGg7KPJq6E

Praise and Prayer

  • Pray for Gary to find a publisher for his new book
  • Praise that we have several new donors!
  • And PRAISE that we are back in Costa Rica!

 Many blessings to you! Gary and Karen Shogren

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by | 8 Aug 2018 · 7:17 pm

August 2018 – “Is our Furlough Wrapping Up?”

Our times in the US (besides short visits) are a funny thing: they happen every 3-4 years; they can go as long as 12 months; their start date is always iffy; and the finish date is the most unpredictable of all!

We now have been in Lancaster Country, Pennsylvania, since January, and our hope is to return for the next semester at ESEPA in September.

Since arriving in the States, we have logged many miles through Pennsylvania and three tours through New England.

We have spoken to about 20 church meetings and many small groups Continue reading →

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by | 21 May 2018 · 11:21 pm

Hear the message Gary is bringing on furlough!

As we spend the spring of 2018 visiting our support team, this is the message that Gary is preaching. It combines several favorite themes: the Great Commission, Bible Prophecy, and the mission of the church in the world today. Click and enjoy!

Click: Matthew 24:1-14, “The Mission of the Gospel and the End of the Age”

The “Second Temple” in Jerusalem

 

Footnote: I made a numerical error about 24 minutes in; instead of 4000 I should have said 2700+ language.

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by | 4 Apr 2018 · 2:47 pm

April 2018 Newsletter!

Greetings from SE Pennsylvania!

We are making the most of our Home Assignment (furlough). This is a wonderful time to visit our supporting churches and reconnect with many of you, updating everyone about our teaching ministries. We are highlighting Karen’s new ministry, training Costa Rican church leaders how to handle sexual abuse. In the odd hours, we are also spending time doing writing, research, and networking.

If you’re on furlough, Amish country is a great place to be!

Typically, a missionary couple can expect to spend a full year on furlough, but our situation is unique. We are responsible to care for our foster boy Sammy, and he cannot get a visa to come north with us. It is difficult for him to have us gone even for the four months we have scheduled for this cycle. In fact, in our absence he seems to be trying to set the record for eating Easter Peeps.

We have a lot of ground to cover in the two short months we have left before our planned return to Costa Rica. If you are interested in hearing more about our work, we would love to visit with you over coffee! In particular, we will be in New England from April 6-23. Get in touch with us by email at either keshogren@gmail.com or gsshogren@gmail.com.

Our Schedule
April 7: Karen’s Workshop to be held at Sovereign Grace Church, Boscawen, NH: “The Christian’s Response to Sexual Abuse”
April 8: Living Hope Church, Penacook, NH
April 15: Sovereign Grace, Boscawen, NH
April 22: Perryville, RI
April 27-29: Karen is speaking at Woodlyn’s Women’s Retreat, PA
April 29: Woodlyn Baptist, Woodlyn, PA
May 6: Christ Evangelical Free Church, Lehighton, PA
May 13: Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church, Whitehall, PA
May 20: Lancaster Bible Fellowship, Lancaster, PA

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by | 4 Apr 2018 · 2:43 pm

Who are Gary and Karen Shogren?

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.

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by | 27 Feb 2018 · 4:09 pm

February 2018 newsletter, part 1

Greetings from Lancaster County!

First of all: If you use Facebook, please visit us at Shogrens in Costa Rica, and click to follow us for regular updates.

Karen writes: We are here in the US until sometime in May for a short home assignment. We have urgent and exciting projects awaiting us in Costa Rica, so we are in a bit more of a hurry than usual to raise the money we need to return: $1850 per month.

Visiting Calvary Protestant on Long Island

What does that mean?

Since we do not take a salary from any of the people we serve, our monthly living expenses all come from donations to our sending board, WorldVenture. We have to raise every penny for all of our expenses: salary, health insurance, Social Security contribution, ministry expenses, etc. Sometimes our donations come from churches, but number-wise, most of them come from individuals.

Would you consider becoming one of those individuals who supports us with a regular month gift? If 18 people would sign up to give $100 a month on our behalf, and one would sign up to give $50 a month, we would have reached our goal!

You would be a tangible part of Team Shogren, and we would be working side-by-side with you, serving our Lord in Costa Rica.

We would love to meet with you personally to share the vision with you! If you would like to share a cup of coffee with us at a shop near your home, please just email Karen to set it up: keshogren@gmail.com

Blessings! Gary and Karen

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by | 27 Feb 2018 · 4:05 pm

February 2018 newsletter, part 2

Gary’s Blog This Month

Every time we are in the USA, we are reminded that everyone is busy, busy! But there is no excuse for not reading the Bible. Enjoy Gary’s short article, “No Time for Bible Reading?” It is located on openoureyeslord.com, just click here, “No Time for Bible Reading?”

Prayer Requests

  • Karen is busy doing research and holding meetings to explore a new ministry
  • Dr. Vikky Shogren has just graduated with her degree from Arcadia in physical therapy and passed her board exams!

Financial needs for 2018

You can give us a one-time gift or become a partner through our worldventure.com, click HERE.

Many blessings to you! Gary and Karen Shogren

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by | 5 Oct 2017 · 6:17 pm

October 2017 newsletter

Reset time!

It has been a while since we visited our US churches, and we are substantially underfunded in monthly support pledges. So, we are planning a home assignment time back in the US: mainly in Philly area, from there to our friends in New England and elsewhere.

The plan for now is to spend January-April 2018 renewing old contacts and making new ones. If you would like to schedule a visit with us (whether a church group or a family visit), please get in touch with Karen – kshogren@hotmail.com.

Karen is working on a new project that will start early next year, which you’ll hear all about when we are in town. That means that we cannot take off the entire year to do fundraising, and we will have to be efficient in our time use. We will need perhaps 30 new people to pledge $50 a month. Please start to pray now: does God want you to be one of these new donors?

Gary’s Blog This Month
Since we last wrote, we have had earthquakes and killer hurricanes. Gary responded to those Christian leaders who claim to know exactly why these disasters happen. Enjoy “Why Would a Hurricane Hit Houston or Florida, but not, for example, Alabama?”

CLICK HERE to read.

Prayer Requests

  • Karen is busy doing research and holding meetings to explore a new ministry
  • Vikky has only a few more weeks left in her doctoral program, then the board exams in January

Financial needs for 2017
You can give us a one-time gift or become a partner through our mission’s website HERE.

Many blessings to you! Gary and Karen Shogren

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by | 7 Aug 2017 · 5:49 pm

One of Gary’s “Other Ministries”

Let’s label this ministry as: “Hi homeless friend! Would you like some breakfast?”

On Saturday, I (Gary) go to the local grocer and buy a kilo of local farmer’s cheese and a couple of loaves of bread and big bottles of iced tea. Then I make up sandwiches for 20 or 25 people, gather paper cups, 2-3 New Testaments in a simplified version, maybe some clothes.

On the street around 7am, I leave the car in a parking lot and head out with a jammed-full backpack. I take safety precautions, but since I go out early, most of them are still docile after their Saturday night. The street people migrate from one spot to another, so they aren’t necessarily where I last left them. It takes a second for the brain to register, That pile of rags is a man; that cardboard box is someone’s house.

Homeless person in San José, archive photo


(NOTE: I used to take a few pictures with people, but now do not; I wonder whether I would be dehumanizing people more than necessary if I took “here- am-being-generous!” selfies)

Wherever I see a cluster of people I stop and ask, Would you like some breakfast? I used to ask, “Are you hungry?”, but I switched my phrasing Continue reading →

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by | 7 Aug 2017 · 5:27 pm

Gary’s Blog This Month on “False Teachers”

A huge amount of Gary’s teaching and writing has to do with false doctrine. This is an important topic in the USA, but way more so in Latin America. Here is a short article on how the devil not only robs false teachers, but lures them into eternal loss as well.

Click here to read: “False Teachers: A Bad Road to a Bad End”

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