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 earlier this month.

Seventh-day Adventist leaders and local church members traveled for hours to deliver food, boots, and spiritual encouragement during the church’s special annual outreach, December 1 and 2, 2025. Organizers said many Indigenous families also made long journeys, some walking for hours and, in a few cases, more than a day, to take part in worship, Bible study, and community support activities.

Greysi García, 23, traveled to Veréh in a journey she said took more than 20 hours, including an overnight stop. García, who has been studying the Bible for eight months, said she came to receive rubber boots for her six-year-old daughter and her mother-in-law and to participate in the spiritual program. She said a message shared by Ricardo Marín, president of the Costa Rica Union, touched her deeply.

Greysi García (left) listens as Ricardo Marín, president of the Costa Rica Union, shares a spiritual message during the Dec. 1 gathering in the Veréh region. García traveled more than 20 hours to attend.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

More than 100 people gathered during the special December visit by church leaders, many traveling three, four, eight, or more hours to attend.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

Jeremy Espinoza, president of the Costa Rica Caribbean Mission, prays during the special gathering in Veréh, where he oversees ministry across the Limón Province and Turrialba region.

Photo: Erich Stevens/Inter-American Division

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.”

According to organizers, the outreach, now in its eighth year, forms part of an expanding mission presence in 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. Church leaders said the gatherings also emphasized worship and fellowship.

Worship in the mountains

Every week, local Adventist church member 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.

Maritza Masís and her husband Alonso provide weekly worship and support to Indigenous families in Veréh and neighboring mountain communities.

Photo: Erich Stevens/Inter-American Division

María Marcel and her son Nasario walked three hours to the December gathering, where Adventist leaders met with Indigenous families in the Talamanca mountains.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

Manuel and Mari Venegas prepare to ride home on their horse Tormento after worship in Veréh, where Bible studies led them to join the Adventist Church.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

“We depend completely on God, and He has never failed us,” Masís added.

Each week, about 40 people gather for worship, Bible study, and a meal.

“Every Sabbath (Saturday), they walk for hours to come,” she said. During the week, she visits families, sometimes crossing swollen rivers to reach remote homes.

Masís said the worship group began with informal invitations to people passing near her home and has grown over time.

“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, Revelation, and the Gospels.

Long journeys, Hearts Touched

Organizers shared multiple accounts of long travel to attend the meetings. 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.

Diana Salazar (center) and Melkin Suárez (right), who volunteer every year in the outreach, hand out toys and goodies to children in the Cabécar community on Dec. 2.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

During her fifth year supporting the Indigenous outreach, retiree Belkis Archbold, talks with children in the Cabécar community on Dec. 2, 2025.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

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

Belkis Archbold, a retiree from the Inter-American Division, a major administrative region covering Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America, 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 in partnership with the Costa Rica Caribbean 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,” he said.

For Marín, a 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.”

Ricardo Marín shares with a young girl while delivering a message to the Cabécar community during the Dec. 2, 2025 outreach.

Photo: Erich Stevens/Inter-American Division

Children receive snacks and toys from Olga de Marín during a special visit to the Grano de Oro Adventist Camp, where Indigenous families arrived to collect new rubber boots and food baskets on Dec. 1, 2025.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

Theology student Melvin Madriz, who grew up in the Cabécar territory, now leads Bible studies in the same Indigenous community where he was raised with his family.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

Álvaro Figueroa stands with his wife Judith and their children—Kevin (left), Kelly (second from right), and Daniel (right)—in front of their home, where they live and minister at the Adventist Church in the Grano de Oro Adventist Camp and serve eight Indigenous congregations in the mountainous region.

Photo: Libna Stevens/Inter-American Division

Participants in the Indigenous outreach gather for a group photo on Dec. 1, 2025, in the Veréh region, where Adventist leaders and volunteers served local families.

Photo: Erich Stevens/Inter-American Division

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 article was published on the Inter-American Division news site.