The departure to Costa Rica is both an adventure and a return for the Dollinger family. From February 2018, Simone Dollinger and Angel Román will be working on behalf of Mission 21 in San José, the capital of the Central American country. Angel Román, a theologian from Guatemala, will be working at the Latin American Bible University "UBL teach theological subjects and will take on coordination tasks in the area of research and networking. The Swiss theologian Simone Dollinger will coordinate the theological area of Mission 21's Latin America program.
Both are looking forward to their four-year assignment with anticipation. Simone Dollinger says: "We are very fascinated by the connection between religion and development. They both have experience of working abroad: they recently completed a three-year assignment for "Comundo" in Bolivia. Because they know how strenuous the start in a new place can be, they allow themselves a bit of nervousness before departure: "At the beginning there is no routine, we have to organize everyday life, also for our seven-year-old daughter Alma," says Simone Dollinger. But it will be easier than in Bolivia, they both believe: "We already know Costa Rica. We both studied at UBL," says Angel Román.
In fact, the two met in 2001 while studying at UBL. In 2004, Angel Román came to Switzerland to do his doctorate. So they know the country and the people and the institution where they will be working in the future. The couple is also already very familiar with Mission 21. Already during their work in Bolivia, Dollingers were involved in Mission 21 projects (projects no. 420.1017 and 420.1005).
We wish Simone and Angel a good new start in Costa Rica!
