Responsibilities
Live in a community setting.
Spend an allotted amount of time working with a local church. Discover gifts and live out principles taught in discipleship training.
Participate in formal classes taught by international teachers on multiple topics through the duration of the training school.
Unlike other EMM mission internships, this intern will not participate in EMM’s discipleship training due to the extensive discipleship training they’ll receive at Vida220.
Environment
The cultures interns interact with will be varied, though all from surrounding Central American countries. Interns can most likely expect to interact with warm, relationship-oriented people. Spanish is widely and prolifically spoken, although most Central American co-participants will know some English. Costa Rica itself is very socioeconomically varied, with very rich and very poor living in close proximity to one another, and with both urbanites and rural people making up the country’s population. Costa Rica, along with most of the surrounding countries, has Roman Catholicism as its official religion, though devoutness varies from town to town. Each town will also have a number of Protestant denominations represented. Historically the Protestant church and the Catholic church have had a much more strained relationship in Costa Rica than in the U.S. Other religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam are practiced by a very small minority.
Supervisors and colleagues
The discipleship student will interact with other Vida220 participants and VidaNet staff. They will be accountable to their Vida220 team leader, who is supervised by Vida220 program directors and VidaNet’s leadership team. While on outreach, the discipleship student and their team will be accountable to the pastor and outreach coordinator of the church with which they are serving.
Skills and experience
Applicants must be high school graduates who exhibit patience and teachability. Some previous cross-cultural exposure is helpful, but not required.