School Established in San Ramon in August, 2015

The school began on the first Saturday in August, 2015, in the city of San Ramon, Costa Rica. There are over 9 churches of Christ that are sending students to this school from far off locations in the country. According to the director of the school, "We have students from a city called Canas. They ride the bus and begin their journey to the school at 2 a.m. in the morning. Also, we have students from Upala which takes 4 hours to San Ramon by bus. We also have students from Guapiles in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica."

Costa Rica (the Republic of Costa Rica) is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It has a population of around 5 million in a land area of 19,714 square miles. An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San Jose, with around 2 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area. Costa Rica is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English.

The director of the school is Leoncio Trujillo Silva. Brother Leoncio and brother Geovanny Astorga Castro are the teachers in the school. The secretary is Melania Mairena. Before classes started, a new floor was put down through the efforts of brother Marcelo Munoz and others in the church in San Ramon. The ladies of the church prepare the lunch for the school on Saturday. There is tremendous support for the school from all the churches of Christ in Costa Rica according to Brother Leoncio.

The first graduation in San Ramon took place in 2017. Danny Cash, an elder in Martin, TN, attended the graduation. He writes, "On Friday, October 27, 2017, Mike Swaim, a Missions Committee member from the Martin, TN Church of Christ, and I arrived in San Ramon, Costa Rica. Everyone we met was excited about the preparation for the first graduation of the school in San Ramon. Arrangements had been made and invitations had been sent. We assembled Saturday afternoon, October 28, in the banquet room of one of the nice restaurants in San Ramon, with the eight graduates and their families, two of the three instructors for the school and the staff and their spouses. One of the graduates, Jean Paul Gamboa Fallas, gave an inspiring speech which included his appreciation of the school and the opportunity to be a part of its first class. I was given the honor to address the class with some words of encouragement for their exceptional accomplishments."

"The director, Leoncio Trujillo, already has seven new students committed to start the next class in the early part of November. We are so proud of the school in San Ramon and we believe it will be a major asset to God's kingdom in Costa Rica as it continues to produce qualified servants for the Lord."

Graduates from left to right: Rosa Araya, Melania Mairena, Lourdes Arley, Virginia Quesada, Jean Paul Gamboa, Ismith Mesidor, Janvier Luguerre, Rafael Bogantes

Mike Swaim (left rear), Danny Cash (right rear), Leoncio Trujillo (far right), and Graduates

Graduates and their families enjoy a dinner together following the graduation

                                                                 Report on Campaign Work (August 2018)

Receive a warm greeting from my family and the church in San Ramon, Costa Rica. This month has been a very busy but successful month  because we have had many activities that help and strengthen the church in San Ramon and all of Costa Rica. We have travelled a lot over all the country conducting Seminars about the Holy Land with our brother, Larry Foster, from Texas. He explains in excellent ways the different characteristics of the Holy Land - giving us a much better understanding of the different biblical texts where it mentions those places.

This year (2018) we had an ambitious plan to cover all the country with such a good seminar, so we invited all the churches in the center of the country. We had our seminar on the 18th of August in Sarchi all day long from 8:00 am to 3 pm. We had participation there from churches of Christ in Grecia, Sarchi, Heredia, Naranjo, San Ramon, Hatillo, Paso ancho y Cartago.

The church of Christ in Canas allowed us to use their church building for our seminar on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. We had participation in Canas from congregations in Canalete de Upala, Bagaces de Liberia, San Jose de Upala, Canas Guanacaste, San Ramon de Alajuela and Tilaran.

Brother Foster's visit was such a blessing for many brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the country. He also preached two Sundays and taught the men's group two Sundays. In Miramar of Puntarenas, we preached the gospel together. Besides all this, he helped the men of the church to cook. Thanks so much for him coming and helping us in Costa Rica. 

                                                                                                                   Leoncio Trujillo Silva

                                                                                                                   Director in San Ramon

Students of the school in San Ramon participating in our seminar in Sarchi

Leoncio Trujillo Silva, director of the school in San Ramon (on the left), and Larry Foster (on the right)

                                                            Seminar in Siquirres, Costa Rica

                                                            Preaching the gospel in Canas, Costa Rica

Costa Rica