Dear Friends,
Over the next few weeks, Christian leaders from Latin America will be sharing their prayer requests with our Prayer Community. Latin America comprises 20 countries and 14 territories, including Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. As part of the Vital SustainAbility Initiative, ScholarLeaders has completed work with FUSBC in Colombia, and continues work with Servant of Christ Seminary in Brazil, SETECA in Guatemala, and FIET in Argentina. Through LeaderStudies, ScholarLeaders has supported 34 Latin American scholars in their PhD research. To learn more about this region, visit our Prayer Community page.
This week, please intercede with us for Dr. Sofía Quintanilla from Costa Rica.
The Central American country of Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. A popular destination for ecotourism, the “Rich Coast” is famous for its jungles, volcanoes, beaches, and progressive environmental policies. Officially a Roman Catholic nation, Costa Rica guarantees freedom of religion to its 5 million people, of whom 47% are Catholic, 19% Evangelical Protestant, and 27% irreligious.
Sofía earned a PhD in Theology from the Evangelical University of the Americas (UNELA) in Costa Rica. Her dissertation presents a theology of adoption, assesses the Church’s historical responses to abandoned children, and proposes how the Church today can serve vulnerable young people.
Sofía currently teaches at SETECA in Guatemala. Previously, she taught at Seminario ESEPA (San José, Costa Rica) for 13 years. Mostly recently, she led ESEPA’s master’s program in pastoral leadership. Sofía and her husband Paul also lead the congregation at Iglesia Unión, a Vineyard church in San José. They have a college-aged son, Sebastian.
Sofía shares the following message:
Greetings, brothers and sisters! First of all, thank you so much for your care and support all these years, and for your continued support even at the present time. Praise God that I graduated almost a year ago in March 2021!
I just finished working for Seminario ESEPA in Costa Rica, after 13 years of serving there in different positions. These months, we are in transition: I have already started working for SETECA and we’ll move to Guatemala in June, God willing. (Right now, I am working from home.) “We” are my husband Paul and me. Our dear son Sebastian will remain in Costa Rica. He’s 20.
Paul has been the main pastor of our church for 14 years. This is also a big transition for the congregation. We are in the prayerful process of looking for and selecting a new pastor.
Paul and I feel very blessed, excited, and positive about the change. For Sebastian, it is a more difficult experience, but he understands God’s will.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for Sebastian and his spiritual life. Pray for his studies and job. Pray that he may remain in the will of God.
Pray for our church, that the Lord will guide us in this critical decision about a new pastor. Pray that the Lord will give us unity as a community.
Pray for our transition. Pray for wisdom for Paul and me in all kinds of decisions (for example, the best way to take my books to Guatemala, etc.). Pray for guidance in this process.
Please also pray for our health and for God’s provision.
Thank you so much for your prayers!
Many blessings,
Sofía Quintanilla