Hey There
When someone asks me where I'm from I usually answer "Costa Rican/Spanish", and while that is technically true, a more honest answer is... well, I'm not sure. Nowhere. Everywhere. It's a typical answer from someone who grew up in several different cultures (aka a Third Culture Kid).
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This transcultural lifestyle planted a passion for nations, languages, and cultures; and it gave me certain skills that allows me live between cultures. Now I want to focus these to contribute my grain of salt in bringing Jesus's love to the nations.
Early Years
I was born in Costa Rica. By age 7 we had moved to Panama, the USA, Spain, and even a few months in Morocco. I spent my childhood following my parents, not only moving, but also through missionary trainings, conferences, and seminars in Latin America and North Africa.
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We lived in Granada (South Spain) for 7,5 years, the city I've lived in the longest and that I cherish dearly. I worked hard as a child to become as Spanish as possible to fit in. My accent and expressions were no different from any other Granadino, and I even learnt to dance Flamenco.
The Vision
"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne [...] crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7 : 9-10
Thinking of every nation is thrilling, and it's also an overwhelming task - and I am just one person. So I asked God "What now?". Truth is, He is already working in every nation. There are teams and ministries working to get there (although we need a lot more!).
Growing up I saw how teams and ministries fail to achieve their full potential because of management issues - strategy, accounting, team development, etc. and the more I worked in non-profits, the more I experienced this myself.
So I studied International Management! My dream is to help ministries around the world become more efficient, more organised, so that they can expand their scope of influence, multiply, and, together, reach the nations for Christ.
Why from Barcelona?
I moved to Barcelona, Spain, to a country that that is very special to me, for an internship (a requirement for my university degree) in 2019. I arrived to 1.6% of Jesus followers in Spain and, in Catalunya (the state where Barcelona is located), only 0.5%*.
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This city is a taste of Europe. It's multicultural, creative, a blend of modern and historical, colourful, and inspiring - not to mention beautiful. And it also carries deep pain towards the church.
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Even before, but specially during the Francoist dictatorship (1939 - 1975) the Catholic church and Christian symbology were used as a tool to impose the oppressive rules, culture, and language the dictatorship appointed. This resulted in decades (including present day) of resentment against the name of Jesus and the church in any of its forms.
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​Spain is a centrally located country, on the doorstep of Africa and the Arab world, connected to Europe and the closest places to the Americas on this side of the pond. A place that keeps me connected to the nations, while in my day to day life I can be light in the midst of so much rejection and ignorance of Jesus.
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Jesus followers per region (%)*
*According to research by The Joshua Project