Student Testimony

Thank you to one of our sweet students for being willing to share their experience with seminario ESEPA and, specifically, in the Spiritual Formation and Theology class they were able to take with Corrie. Please read on to hear a snippet of what's happening in the church in Costa Rica through ESEPA seminary.

ESEPA has been an amazing blessing in my life. I decided to study there on the recommendation of someone I knew, and my desire then—and still today—was to be able to know God personally, to study the Bible, and to receive guidance on how to do so. But I never imagined how much I was going to learn. Because through each trimester, depending on the course I registered for, I have been able to go deeper into my studies, not only in a theoretical way but also practically in my daily life. It has allowed me to gain greater understanding of God—His love, His sacrifice, His will, His plans, His justice, His holiness, His salvation, and how He chose His people.

In addition to all of this, I have learned about the life of Jesus and how the church was formed after His departure, the history of the church, the persecutions, and how the gospel continued to spread. Knowing the context and history of the following centuries has helped me understand everything that has happened and how it has shaped the church as we know it today.

Here in Latin America, the gospel entered in a different way, and because of that, there are things we have rejected and treasures in Christ that we have missed. But today, through learning, we have been able to experience the study of the Scriptures from another perspective, now with a different kind of education, and this has broadened our understanding of the gospel.

Spiritual formation has been, for me, instruction, guidance, and a path toward a deep connection of the heart with Jesus—a life with God, relating to Him in the right way, not in the mistaken ways our humanity has chosen through misinterpretations, misconceptions, pride, and ignorance, placing God in a position other than His rightful place and placing ourselves above Him. For her final project, Kat recorded a 4 episode podcast. She addresses the heart behind the spiritual disciplines and gives a small teaching on 4 key disciplines. You can find her podcast (in Spanish) here.

During this course, by taking action to implement spiritual disciplines and delighting in practicing them repeatedly, with the goal of being in deeper communion with God, I experienced things I had never tried before. I had never practiced silence (it is very difficult, but beautiful). I had not fasted for a long time, and I realized how sacrificial it is and how hard it is for Christians to deny ourselves. I discovered the depth of the Lord’s Prayer and the beauty of meditating on its perfection.

Because of all this and more, we are growing in the knowledge of God together, with God in His rightful place, knowing that we must take action in our Christian lives. And we are thankful to God for the opportunity to have professors from the United States, who give us access to greater knowledge and more books that complement our study of Scripture. With the courage they have to learn Spanish and immerse themselves in our culture, they teach us with love, empathy, patience, and respect, allowing us to see Jesus reflected in their lives.

Personally, Professor Corrie has been a beautiful instrument of the Holy Spirit. Her knowledge is exceptional, but her love and dedication to teaching go beyond that. She reflects Jesus, and through her commitment she has encouraged us not only to be hearers of the Word but doers of the Word. That is why the disciplines have not only been about knowing and learning them but about living them and incorporating them as daily habits in our lives—as all Christians should.

ESEPA is part of the church of Christ; it is a community of believers united from different churches, different nations, different languages, and different customs. Our goal is to know the Triune God. The Holy Scriptures are our authority, and Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior. Here we grow together in love and knowledge, we serve one another, and we live in sanctification so that we may have a life with God as He designed. And we are being trained to bring the message of the good news to others and to make disciples who are instructed in knowledge and, above all, in actions that come from the heart with love and humility.