History

Called by God, Edmund and Naomi Farrel left the United States, by plane, bound for Colombia, on August 4, 1942. They made an exploratory trip with the Holdens, fellow missionaries, to the valley of El Secreto, Casanare, Colombia, which was a 14 hour trip on horseback.

In January of 1943, they returned to El Secreto to build a school on 8 acres of land, donated by Mr. Antonio Morales, on the side of a mountain. In spite of many great difficulties, God gave them the strength to continue in faith, preaching and teaching in the company of missionaries and teachers from the United States and Colombia.

In 1950, when the revolution shook the country, they were forced to move to Bogota and, eventually, leave Colombia, after the destruction of the El Secreto building in 1951.

In the 1980s, a work began to reconstruct the mission, under the direction of Dr. Raul Ries, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar, California and his wife Sharon Ries, daughter of Edmund and Naomi Farrel. In 1992, the educational program at El Secreto commenced under the supervision of Hector Martinez, pastor & Missions Director.