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The Shogren kids were aged 12, 10, 8 and 5 when we went to Costa Rica. Here they are today, all grown up! Click below to see video greetings from them and new pictures.

Gary is branching out in his ministry. Besides teaching at ESEPA (two sections of 1 Corinthians this semester), he is speaking at conferences and visiting churches to preach and teach. This month he spoke to a group of missionaries that will be going out from ESEPA to Honduras in April to do evangelism and discipling; his theme was “How to Raise Money for a Short-Term Mission.” Here he is preaching at a nearby church.

We have taken a few weeks off to visit the family in Pennsylvania for Christmas and New Year’s. It’s been a great time to see all the kids, to see some snow and especially to be able to see Tim running his bakery in Chester, PA.

Feliz año nuevo! Gary and Karen

“There are two kingdoms, the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. One works one way and the other another way. And you can really see the difference

"Sí, señor, right on the spot where you are standing!"

between them.” That was how Pastor Flor summed up her ministry. I’m visiting her home and her work in a shantytown (or precario), along with my own pastor, Marvin of Nazareth Bible Church. Maybe the best symbol for the two kingdoms is the holes that pepper the outside of Flor’s church. Marvin sticks his little finger in one and draws my attention: “Do you know what these are? Bullet holes. The drug lords shot it out here one day and this is a reminder.” They make sure that I saw the man seated a few feet from the church, smoking crack cocaine.

We are walking through one of the most notorious precarios of the region. When I mentioned to a friend that I was going there, she exclaimed ¿Por qué? and made me promise to be careful. The name of the place is synonymous with narcotics, violence, prostitution, and murder. In short, the drug lords run the town. To get here, we drove a mere 5 minutes from ESEPA Bible College and Seminary where I teach, a cheerful place with well-lighted classrooms and happy students. Then we entered another planet. It is a village that takes up only 10 acres or so. Yet some 6 to 8 thousand people are crammed in. You have to cross a narrow foot bridge over a river in order to enter. While we waited for the pastor to meet us there, a couple of ladies spoke to us and pointed to the spot where I was standing. “This is where they murdered that taxi driver on Saturday night,” they said. “He drove too close, and they broke in to the car, dragged him out, took his clothes and car and everything and left him for dead.” “Right here?” I said. They nodded. Continue reading →

We celebrated our colleague Enrique Brenes’ birthday at ESEPA. Here’s some of the ESEPA team, with me and Karen!

Greg, Gary and Marcos

Maritza and Karen

We returned to our beloved home in San Francisco de dos Ríos in Costa Rica on Friday Oct 15. All dogs and cats were very pleased to see us!  Thanks for your prayers in getting us back here!

Tim and Ariel were married on Friday, Oct 8, at Ridley Creek Park in PA. Besides their families, many friends from college and from Costa Rica were in attendance. God bless, Tim and Ariel Shogren!

http://justinofnablus.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/will-god-heal-us-a-re-examination-of-james-514-16a/

At Vikky’s graduation party, June 2010. Tim & Ariel (married on Oct 8, 2010); Sara & Steve; Vikky; Dad and Mom; Stephanie, who is engaged to Ben

God has been doing amazing things for our family!
Steve & Sara have been living in the Philadelphia area since last year. Steve is enjoying his programming job at Reminder Media. Sara is assembling Chinook helicopters at Boeing, and is a flight instructor for the Boeing Flight Club. She is turning to her photography hobby for extra income; meanwhile Steve comes up with a new invention every day…but so far he hasn’t hit it rich.
Tim & Ariel are newly married, on October 8! They are living in Ridley Park, in the same apartment where Karen grew up.
Ben and his fiancée Stephanie are at Eastern University. Besides their majors, they are both studying Mandarin Chinese and keep their skills up by attending a local Chinese Bible study.
Vikky was planning to focus full-time on pastry classes. Before the fall term started, however, she switched plans and decided to study Hotel & Restaurant Management at Delaware County Community College. She will hone her cake decorating skills with a bakery internship. The jump from high school to college can be a difficult one, and we are proud to watch Vikky handle it with grace, maturity, and enthusiasm!

Watch a short film about CR, originally made for Harvard. Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58nbhSzFzZg