COSTA RICA'S RICH CULTURE!

 THE PEOPLE: 

What are ticos? That is the familiar name given to the people of Costa Rica. It comes from the custom of using the diminutive suffix -ico in the Spanish language. For example, chiquitico for small, bonitico for cute or pretty, and jovencitico for young. Out in the country town of Sarchí, the tico artisans are famous for their original hand-painted carretas, or ox carts. Each one is a distinctive work of art. Tourists buy the small replicas by the hundreds.

What are ticos? That is the familiar name given to the people of Costa Rica. It comes from the custom of using the diminutive suffix -ico in the Spanish language. For example, chiquitico for small, bonitico for cute or pretty, and jovencitico for young. Out in the country town of Sarchí, the tico artisans are famous for their original hand-painted carretas, or ox carts.

 

VOLCANOES: 

                  

There are known to be 112 craters that range from extinct to active. The Arenal volcano, which rises to over 5,000 feet is one of the most active in the world. Irazú volcano rises to over 11,200 feet It was active from 1963 to 1965. Poás volcano, rising to over 8,800 feet  is a mountain with two eyes—one white and boiling in the active crater and the other, a blue lake surrounded by luxuriant jungle.

ANIMAL LIFE:

Costa Rica is only the size of West Virginia, but contains 200 different species of hummingbird and more species of exotic bird than all of North America-830 bird species, including toucans!

 

      

 

In Costa Rica, butterflies are everywhere. Wildlife abounds in Costa Rica. Five of Costa Rica's unique tropical mammals are the sloths, anteaters, noninsectivorous bats, four species of monkeys and the Tapir.

For example, Costa Rica has two species of sloths: the three-toed sloth and the nocturnal two-toed sloth. The three-toed sloth is a unique creature that is rare in most areas around the world. He is among the world's strangest creatures and right up there with the duck-billed platypus. 

 

    

The sloth, which grows to about the size of a medium-sized dog, has a small head and flat face with snub nose, beady eyes, and rudimentary ears (its hearing is reputedly so poor that one can fire a gun within inches and its only response will be a slow turn of the head). Its long, bony arms are well-developed, however, with three curving claws which hook over and grasp the branches from which it spends almost its entire life suspended upside down. It moves  very slow and appears to be  completely helpless. It has large eyes is  soft and furry with sharp teeth with which to eat plants and vegetation.

The creature spends up to 18 hours daily sleeping curled up with its feet drawn close together and the head tucked between the forelimbs. It has been said of the sloth, that it moves at a rate barely distinguishable from rigor mortis"!

      

           

      White faced monkey           Howler Monkey                   Spider Monkey                  Squirrel Monkey

 

 

                 

Anteater:	Costa Rican bats:  Costa Rica has at least 110 different bat species living within
The banded or lesser	its 20,000 square miles & probably has a greater variety of bats for its size than
anteater weighs 4-6 kg &	any other nation  in the world. These bats include what may well be the cutest bat:
moves through trees with	the tiny  Honduran white bat to the largest New World bat.
its forearms.

 

Contrary to belief, bats are good! Many myths about them.  Government is trying to preserve

them.  They do not suck blood...kill harmful insects & others noninsectavores, pollinate flowers!

         

                     

While a few of the famous black "panther" variety exist, most Central American jaguars are a rich yellow, spotted with large black rosettes. Jaguars are the largest and most powerful of the American members of the cat family--a mature jaguar measures more than seven feet long, stands two feet at the shoulders, and weighs up to 200 pounds. Jaguars are extremely shy creatures, not particularly dangerous.

Tapirs are a strange looking animal that lives on the ground, eats plants, dwells in the forest, and is an ungainly mixture of elephant, rhinoceros, pig, and horse. The tapir uses its short, highly mobile proboscis similar to the trunk of the elephant--for plucking leaves and shoveling them into its mouth.

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Further information in Society's Publications:

For an extremely interesting and detailed account of Costa Rica's culture read:  Costa Rica—Small Country, Abundant Variety, 1995 Awake!  July 8, pages 16-20,  with many beautiful photos written by a witness living in Costa Rica.

There are a great number of articles on Costa Rica that can be found by checking the Watchtower CD or Index.

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COSTA RICA'S HISTORY

 

 Costa Rica--A "Rich Coast" both Physically & Spiritually!

In 1502, Columbus discovered Costa Rica, which sometime after its discovery was  christened "Rich Coast" by Spanish conquerors who supposed there were tons of gold in this region because of the gold jewelry worn by its inhabitants. However, they found they had been deceived as the gold worn by the natives was merely a commercial exchange between them and the natives  from other places such as Mexico and South America. 

Although, "Costa Rica" or in English "Rich Coast" was not able to live up to its name in this sense, it has, however, become a "rich coast" in another sense--a spiritual sense.  It has become a country with some 21,000 persons who are "rich in fine works" spreading the good news of the Kingdom throughout the country! It's "fields" are rich and ready for more harvesting! But when did this "harvesting work" originally begin in Costa Rica?  And what "precious things" have come out of its "fields"?  This history is interestingly presented in the 1988 Yearbook of Jehovah's witnesses as well as the 2003 Yearbook along with many more current articles in the Society's publications.  The following information has been taken from these articles and page numbers are given for the quotations. However, reading the entire accounts from the Yearbooks themselves is, of course, even better. Hopefully this brief summary will whet the appetite of those interested in serving in Costa Rica to read them.

The spreading of the good news in Costa Rica began with pioneers going to serve where the need is great--a sister from Jamaica, in 1904, and after that brothers sent in by the Society to preach full time. By 1914, the first congregation was formed and a convention was held in the city of Puerto Limón, at which 11 were baptized and the 1988 Yearbook, page 220 says of those early dedicated ones,  "Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of these early workers have a part in the witness work in Costa Rica today." .

Of the work among the English-speaking population along the Atlantic Coast  up to 1937, the Yearbook says:  "Up to now.. ..there was still no real effort being made to reach the Spanish-speaking people with the Kingdom message in this part of the country."

In 1937, Brother Perez became the first Spanish-speaking pioneer appointed in Costa Rica.   The Yearbook relates about him, "Brother Perez used a wide variety of methods to spread the Kingdom message. Sometimes he would tie booklets to tree branches along paths where passersby could find them....Trekking on foot through dense jungle, he would sleep wherever night found him, at times blanketed only by the stars and at the mercy of the mosquitoes. "

This 1988 Yearbook account on pages 198-252 continues with more interesting  accounts of the missionaries and other needgreaters serving throughout the years in Costa Rica. It tells too of how the work flourished and grew despite problems that arose.  For example, the burning of Kingdom Halls, mob action, volcano eruptions, earthquakes and the deportation of missionaries in nearby Nicaragua!

The 1988 Yearbook, pages 245, 246 relates that on Saturday, March 20, 1982, 19 missionaries were expelled from Nicaragua. In the 2003 Yearbook in the account of Nicaragua, we read that "On Saturday, March 20, 1982, at 6:40 a.m, Ian Hunter was preparing breakfast for his fellow missionaries. Outside, a busload of immigration officials and soldiers armed with machine guns arrived. The soldiers surrounded the branch office and missionary home. "The officials," says Ian, "told us to pack just one suitcase each and a small handbag. They would not say why, only that they were taking us to a house where we would stay for a short time, pending certain investigations. Discreetly, Reiner Thompson, the Branch Committee coordinator, slipped into the office and phoned the other missionary homes to warn them of what was happening....

"That day, the nine missionaries living at the branch were driven in separate groups to the Costa Rican border. In the meantime, the missionaries at the other two homes acted quickly on Brother Thompson’s phone call. With the help of local brothers, they removed much equipment, including an offset press, and cleared out many personal belongings. When the immigration officials arrived, they were surprised to find the houses almost empty and the missionaries packing their suitcases. That evening the ten missionaries from those two homes were taken to the airport

"What I learned that day," reflects Ruby Block, "was the true meaning of Paul’s words: ‘Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication . . .With an armed soldier watching from the kitchen, Reiner Thompson offered a prayer on our behalf, to which we all said a heartfelt ‘Amen.’ After that, we felt a complete calmness of heart, even though we did not know how the day would turn out. We were confident that whatever happened, Jehovah would give us the strength to cope. That lesson is one I will always remember and cherish."  2003 Yearbook, Pages  67-145

The 1988 Yearbook, on pages 245, 246 speaks of the grand witness that was given for Costa Rica due to the news attention given to the deporting of the missionaries worldwide--more than 41 newspapers and radio & TV stations calling the branch requesting interviews with the missionaries!   The deported missionaries, Reiner and Jeanne Thompson and Ian Hunter were interviewed nationwide on TV and the yearbook tells of how this interview became "the talk of the country" and "opened up many opportunities to witness".

The deported missionaries were dispersed to other countries of Central America--where many  became overseers fn the various branches, except for Brother Edward Errichetti and Brother and Sister Thompson who were assigned to stay in Costa Rica and Brother Thompson was appointed a member of the Branch Committee...and remained in Costa Rica for a time so as to keep in contact with the brothers that were then overseeing the work in Nicaragua."  Later the Thompsons were assigned to the Dominican Republic where Brother Thompson still serves as the Branch coordinator. 

Costa Rica continued to play a role in Nicaragua's spiritual progress.  The 2003 Yearbook relates regarding Nicaragua, "Nonetheless, Jehovah’s Witnesses were not banned, although the period between 1982 and 1990 was marked by definite restrictions on their freedom of worship. For example, they could not bring literature into the country. ..."   And so  printing went underground.  However, as the 2003 Yearbook continues, "Throughout this period, the Governing Body continued to give aid and direction to the brothers in Nicaragua via the Costa Rican branch and the Nicaragua country committee. But literature imports were banned, so how was the "food at the proper time" to be provided? (Matt. 24:45) Once again, Jehovah opened the way.

"During the period of restriction, the work in Nicaragua came under the direction of the Costa Rica branch. A Nicaraguan country committee was appointed in Nicaragua to provide local oversight" to work closely with the brothers of the Branch Committee in Costa Rica, who had formerly been part of the Nicaragua Branch.

Meanwhile as the years went by, more and more "precious things of the nations" came out of the rich fields of Costa Rica and its neighboring country, Nicaragua!  The harvesting work flourished and grew! Details of this are related in the Yearbook accounts.

Concerning brothers and sisters had the self-sacrificing spirit and joyfully and enthusiastically went to serve where the need is great, the Yearbook says, "Besides the valuable aid of the missionaries and circuit overseers, pioneers played a significant part in spreading the message out to new areas".   And from these accounts in the Yearbooks of 1988 and 2003 this can be clearly seen. For example,  in 1904,  there was only one publisher, however, in the 2006 Yearbook we read that there are 21,024!  In 1914, there was only one congregation and now in 2006 there are more than 270!  In 1944, there were two pioneers; in 2006, the pioneer ranks had grown to more than 950!

What an inspiration these Yearbook accounts are to all of us to do our best to "widen out" and if at all possible serve where the need is greater while this wonderful privilege is still open to us! Anyone thinking of serving where there is a need in Costa Rica should not miss reading these inspiring accounts of Costa Rica in the 1998 Yearbook and the account of Nicaragua in the 2003 Yearbook.

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