Dear companions on this journey,

Every morning now as I wake up before dawn I hear the song of the Clay-colored Thrushes. Here these cousins of the American Robin are called yigüirros. The Costa Ricans claim the mating songs of these plain birds call the rain, which should begin in a few weeks. The start of the rainy season is so important here, the yigüirro was declared the national bird in 1977.

 Yet the start of the rainy season is not as predictable as it used to be here. Four students of the Latin American Biblical University (UBL), two from Costa Rica and two from Honduras, are focusing their graduation seminar on the impacts of climate change in each of their communities. They have found that the most obvious impact is the alteration of precipitation patterns. The rains are no longer predictable, so farmers do not know when to plant their crops. When the rains do come, often more rain falls in a shorter period of time, provoking floods. Instead of a predictable cycle of a dry season followed by a rainy season, communities face floods and droughts. Mía, William, Suyapa and Antonio will be focusing their individual projects on encouraging people in their communities develop an ecological awareness that will help them understand climate change and build resilience in the face of the impacts.

On the liturgical calendar, we are now in the season of Lent. In most of Central America, the season of Lent falls during the dry season. As the days go on, I watch most vegetation around me get browner and browner. Yet there are some plants like the jacaranda tress that burst forth in colorful blooms in anticipation that rains will come to help the fruits develop. Life longs to go on.

The season of Lent invites us to reflect deeply on the brokenness around us and on how far the world human beings have built is from God’s dreams for God’s creation. It seems the brutality of the powerless against the vulnerable is intensifying. Children displaced by war are starving now that food aid has been cut off. The massacre in Gaza and in the West Bank continues. More than 200 young Venezuelan men were flown to El Salvador and thrown in the largest prison in the Americas, where they joined thousands of other men who have also been jailed without any due process. And the list goes on and on and on.

This year there is another layer to the grief I am experiencing during Lent. The Interim Unified Agency (IUA) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has eliminated all positions for mission co-workers and is in the process of closing the office of World Mission. This signals the end of the incarnational understanding of mission that has marked the presence of the PC(USA) around the world for decades. In the future, a small number of global ecumenical liaisons will maintain contact with mission partners around the world. Most of my mission co-worker colleagues will be ending their service with the PC(USA) on March 24^th. In my case, my service has been extended through May 16^th to allow me to finish our current academic term as a mission co-worker. I invite your prayers for all of us as we move through this transition.

The work of the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) in contextual theological education will continue. Currently the UBL has around 150 students from more than 15 countries. In the School of Theological Sciences alone there are 12 students working on their theses for graduation. I look forward to continuing to accompany our students as a volunteer as I move toward retirement in the next year or two. My colleagues and I at the UBL look forward to sharing more information about the work of the institution in English very soon. Though it will no longer be possible to support the UBL through Presbyterian World Mission, there are many ways to be a part of equipping students of all genders to be agents of transformation in their churches and communities. You can write me or our rector, Elisabeth Cook at rectoria@ubl.ac.cr, for more information.

On a more personal note, Javier and I are in the process of purchasing the house we have been living in for the last eight years. We are very thankful to have a beautiful place to live and we look forward to hosting many more visitors. I promise more pictures of the garden. Since August, my knees have been giving me lots of trouble, so I am anticipating one or two surgeries soon. I am looking forward to being about to hike in the Costa Rican mountains again. In the meantime, I am very thankful to have found a water therapy pool close to our house.

I am so grateful for the many, many people whom I have met over the years I have served as a mission co-worker of the PC(USA). Thank you so much for continuing to stay in touch. I know I have not communicated frequently in recent years, but I hope to share much more with you in the future.

Longing for resurrection,
Karla

My mailing address is:
Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll
Latin America Biblical University
Apartado 901-1000
San Jose, Costa Rica