Adventists Bring Aid, Hope to Remote Indigenous Communities in Costa Rica

Winding mountain roads, hanging bridges, mud-soaked paths, and steep hills marked the journey into the remote Indigenous territories of Costa Rica’s Limón Province in early December 2025. Seventh-day Adventist leaders and church members traveled for hours to deliver food, boots, and spiritual encouragement during the church’s special annual outreach December 1-2. Many Indigenous families made equally difficult treks—most walking for hours and even more than a day—to participate in worship, Bible study, and community support activities.

For Greysi García, 23, the trek to Veréh took more than 20 hours, including an overnight stop. Her purpose was simple—receive rubber boots for her 6-year-old daughter and her mother-in-law and hear the spiritual messages shared by church leaders. García, who has been studying the Bible for eight months, said a text emphasized by Ricardo Marín, president of the Costa Rica Union Mission, touched her deeply. Hearing Jesus’ declaration, “I am the bread of life,” from John 6:48 was “reassurance,” she said, adding that Scripture “strengthens me in trials” and encourages her “to study every day.”

The annual outreach, now in its eighth year, is part of an expanding mission effort throughout eastern Costa Rica’s mountainous Indigenous regions. Families from the distant Cabécar and Bribri communities arrived on horseback or by foot—many leaning on walking sticks and carrying sacks for food baskets and supplies.

More than 100 families received packages of rice, beans, pasta, cornmeal, sugar, oil, and hygiene items. But for many, the deeper purpose was worship and fellowship.

Worship in the Mountains

Every Sabbath lay leader Maritza Masís and her husband, Alonso, make similar rugged journeys to lead worship on a hillside property in Veréh, where a simple shelter of tarps and ropes—with tree stumps for pews—serves as a temporary meeting place until a permanent church can be built.

Masís and her husband left their lives in San José after sensing God calling them to minister among the Indigenous communities.

“I left my home, my job, my family, and everything I had to preach the gospel,” said Masís. “Christ is coming soon, and this is where God sent us.” With no running water or electricity, the couple depends on God and occasional donations. “We depend completely on God, and He has never failed us,” Masís added.

Each Sabbath about 40 people gather for worship, Bible study, and a meal. “Every Sabbath they walk for hours to come,” she said. During the week she visits families, sometimes crossing swollen rivers to reach remote homes.

Masís began the worship group by inviting passersby near her house. “Little by little the group began to grow,” she recalled. Today she teaches what she calls the message of salvation through the books of Daniel and Revelation and through the Gospels.

Hearts Touched After Long Journeys

Many sacrifice greatly to attend. Maria Marcel, 81, who has a sore hip, walked three hours with her son Nasario from Bajo Joquí to worship.

Manuel and Mari Venegas arrived on horseback to worship and visit with leaders and fellow believers; after completing Bible studies led by Masís, they became members of the Adventist Church.

Young volunteers—including high school and university students Diana Salazar and Melkin Suárez—distributed much-needed boots, toys, meals, and shared Bible stories with children.

Belkis Archbold, a retiree from the Inter-American Division who joined the outreach five years ago, said she returns each year despite the challenges.

“For me it is a great satisfaction and joy to see their faces change when they receive their bag of food and their boots,” she said. “But what fills me most is seeing the sparkle in the children’s eyes when they receive a special little gift.”

A Mission of Long-Term Commitment

The initiative is coordinated through the Costa Rica Union Mission in partnership with the Caribbean Costa Rica Mission, local churches, and ADRA-supported literacy and development efforts. Marín stressed that the outreach is not a short-term project, but a long-term mission rooted in presence, cultural understanding, and service.

“These are places where there was no Adventist presence before,” he noted. “Today we are seeing people gathering, listening, and responding.” He added that God is blessing the ministry as the church continues investing in reaching more Indigenous communities.

Teaching people to read using the Bible has opened new doors for evangelism and discipleship, Marín said. “Through literacy, people come closer to the Word—and to the church.”

For Marín, lasting mission requires more than occasional visits. “True evangelism is not theory—it is action,” he said. “It is doing what Jesus did: visiting people, understanding their needs, and walking alongside them.”

Trained Indigenous leaders are emerging to sustain the work. One of them is Melvin Madriz, 27, a theology student from the Cabécar community who will soon complete his degree and return to full-time ministry in the mountains. He leads Bible studies in Spanish and Cabécar. “Everything’s been a change for me,” he said. “A challenge that is bringing great opportunities to reach more with the gospel . . . and the second coming of Jesus.”

Jeremy Espinoza, president of the Caribbean Costa Rica Mission, said the church now ministers to eight Indigenous groups through lay pastors, Bible instructors, and active Indigenous members. The plan is to establish two new congregations each year. Reaching people requires patience, he noted, because “once they embrace Christianity, they become faithful stewards.”

Looking across the communities reached this December from Veréh to Charabata and Chinaquichá, Marín reflected on the mission ahead. “This is not something improvised,” he said. “It is a serious, intentional, and carefully planned concern of the church.”

And for him the purpose is clear: “We have talked about mission for many years. Now it is time to live it. Mission must be practiced, not just preached.”

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division news site.