Developing Costa Rica
July 03, 2009
By Ted Quiocho
GCM Missionary, Costa Rica
Having accepted Christ at a young age, I’ve always had the call to some type of ministry. My wife speaks of my “forty years in the desert,” because that’s how long it took me to stop ignoring God’s true call for me to overseas missions. I have always known that this is what I needed to do; I just ignored it and continued to do my own thing until God gave me a huge nudge.
When I finally put everything into God’s hands, I looked for a ministry that would minister to people spiritually, mentally and physically and would help develop communities. God led me to the right program: Community Health Evangelism (CHE). This ministry uses education to bring about community development without creating dependency. Instead of giving people fish, it teaches them to fish. CHE addresses the root cause of poverty, disease, and spiritual darkness by training local leaders to share the gospel and mobilize community action. Local leaders gain capacity to implement sustainable solutions utilizing local resources and appropriate technologies. Biblical faith is nurtured at every step.
After extensive training, I went out into the field with CHE in 2005. The original organization we were with had some down times, and we were advised to seek a new mission support organization. GCM came highly recommended by our pastor. After we and our supporting churches researched GCM, we had nothing but positive feedback. Also, since our family is part of the founding families planting a Great Commission Latin America (GCLA) church here in Costa Rica, it made sense for us to go with GCM.
Now, my wife Graciela, my daughters and I are helping establish a GCLA church in San Jose, Costa Rica. We are founding members and leaders of this church. We are excited about our partnership with several GCLA churches and our partnerships with other ministries who want to explore CHE and learn how it can help their compassion ministries.
Our first 18 months in Costa Rica, we looked for a place to start our community development programs. We visited many communities but did not feel God leading us there. After an earthquake in an area called Fraijanes this past January, we went into relief mode. We adopted shelters to provide food and items for cooking and cleaning. One shelter was located on church property with no kitchen, so we built a kitchen. We followed one family to a community called Rio Frio, where we are excited to be starting a new CHE program.
Our goals for the future of the ministry are to continue to spread the love of Christ through Community Health Evangelism, to grow the church here in San Jose, to spread the joy we have in the Lord, and to continually glorify God in everything!
