Julie Chamberlain

To all incoming students:

The acquisition of skills needed to communicate the gospel to the Spanish-speaking world begins with learning to understand and speak the language accurately, fluently and in culturally appropriate ways that will enable you to express not only your mind but also your heart.  Under the patient guidance of language school teachers, you will progress from simple "survival Spanish" to the vocabulary and grammatical forms needed to express more complicated and abstract ideas.

But language learning is incomplete if it is not accompanied by cultural adaptation. The ability to identify with the people of your host culture and be accepted by them is a crucial element in effective communication that was modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ when he took on human flesh and lived within the multi-ethnic Palestine of his day. While living in Costa Rica, your life will be enriched by people whose beliefs, values, traditions, customs and language are different from your own and you will discover many things about yourself and your compatriots of which you were previously unaware.

To cross over gracefully into another culture we need the grace of God, and that is why the Institute provides spiritual support systems intended to help you stay close to Him while you are in language school. The faculty and staff of the Spanish Language Institute consider our work to be a ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters in Him. We pledge ourselves to pray for you and your family and to walk beside you as yoke-fellows in this important phase of your preparation for missionary service.

Cordially in Christ,

Julie Chamberlain, Director