TeamDuggan

Keri has discovered the joy of creating beautiful baking products, in this case, a birthday cake for a friend.

As we sit to write this prayer letter, we remember God’s provision, protection and grace as we have served as missionaries in Costa Rica for one year. It has been a year of new experiences, cultural adaptation, new friendships, goodbyes, frustrations, joys and sorrows, and through it all God has been faithful. All of us have grown increasingly dependent on God and one another, and know that God is continuing to mold and shape us into the useful vessels He needs to accomplish His purposes here on earth. Our home is a sanctuary not only for our family, but for guests and language students new to Costa Rica.

We have learned more than some Spanish during this first year. Navigating city streets without names or numbers, weathering tropical downpours, avoiding huge potholes and other drivers have given new meaning to defensive driving and the necessity for insurance and patience.

Our outward appearance still reflects our North American upbringing but our hearts, minds, and tongues have been touched by the Tico culture in which we live. Living here still takes longer, but we enjoy simple pleasures that often go unnoticed in a fast-paced, hurried lifestyle. A shared cup of coffee, time with a neighbor, chatting with a storekeeper, impromptu invitations, and being in the moment are more commonplace. High food prices, the lack of American convenience foods and a limited budget have spurred creative approaches to mealtime— often inspired by Rachael Ray or a Dream Dinners cookbook, but with a few substitutions!

Second of three long meeting days. Good but tiring.

I’m in our Mission Summit in the Minneapolis area. I’ve had good opportunity to meet with our US based Latino brothers.

Be sure to check out efcacrisisresonse.blogspot.com for the latest on Ike response. I just got a note that power came on at the place our team was going to spend the night fifteen minutes before they arrived. God is leading the way. Pray that this new mission field will yield eternal results.

I will be in Minneapolis this week for a missional summit and executive meetings.

Rainy season in Costa Rica means sunny mornings, cloudy mid-days and rainy afternoons. So the creative younger Duggan kids take advantage of the time to get even more wet. Here Anna is demonstrating with her brother that a cardboard box does not hold up to an intense stream of water from a hose. So much for keeping the original packaging for my printer.

36 hours. That’s how long I stayed awake until I was able to collapse in bed at home in Costa Rica. The full flight from Uruguay through Buenos Aires and on to Miami meant I didn’t get a chance to stretch out across several seats and for me, that means no sleep on the flight. Fortunately, the Miami Admiral’s Club has showers, so that put new life in me to get me through the next leg on to San Jose. Unfortunately, I entered the wrong code three times in my phone when I arrived and locked out the SIM card. I’ll explain what that means here in another post. Meanwhile, it’s nice to be home and be with the family a day earlier than originally planned.

On the eastern tip of Uruguay is the resort town of Punto del Este. Since it’s winter here the population is pretty sparse but the view is magnificent. We drove out for a picnic and returned for my flight through Buenos Aires (where I am now posting this). Although I had a wonderful three seats to stretch out and sleep in on the way here, this time I’m on a full flight, so I may be pretty grumpy by the time I hit Miami early in the morning.

The time with Alejandro, Kris and their children David, Nicole and Elizabeth was wonderful. We had a barbeque last night in the most unique setup I’ve seen in awhile (see photo). You burn the wood on the left there and rake the coals as they drop over to underneath the meat. It gets cooked by both and it really works well. I might try to make something like this someday.

I really liked this sculpture of a hand reaching up from the beach too. And can you guess how old this VW bus is? Would you believe it’s a 1995? Brazil kept up the VW production long after they ended these models in the USA.

Interesting things about Uruguay: It is fairly flat with its highest hill reaching only 400 meters. It is a big exporter of beef, has no oil of its own, and is a stable government. The people are friendly and ethnically would fit in many European countries. The population is around 3.5 million people, half of whom live in the vicinity of Montevideo, the capital. The Spanish accent is interesting too. They pronounce words fairly clearly but speak more rapidly than Costa Ricans. They use “vos” a lot more than in Costa Rica and have an interesting contraction, “ta” that is short for “esta bien” or “OK”. Kris comes from a German Menonite conclave about an hour from Montevideo so she’s bilingual and has dual citizenship, as do the kids. Ale speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese and supplements his pastoral salary with translation work.

I was very impressed with the work and plans of this church in Uruguay and look forward to seeing how we can partner with them more.

Today I welcome my brother into the wonderful world of his mid-forties. May they last for many years!