TeamDuggan

Our Latin America area of the mission has the dubius distinction of being ground zero for this little flu virus problem.  We have missionaries in Mexico and have put contingency plans in place.  Please be in prayer for our missionaries both in Mexico City as well as northern Mexico.  Fortuneately, Mexico has reacted quickly to this threat and has closed almost all public gatherings where the virus could spread.  That basically means our missionaries are in temporary lock-down, giving them lots of time to think, pray and do other holy activities, as evidenced by this photo doctored by one of our missionaries with too much time on her hands.

The first language school graduate since we came to this leadership role, Bethany Kerr, graduated today and will be headed to Peru to join our Church Planter Coaching team. Pray that God will bless her week in Dallas before moving to Peru and beginning her two year work in Tarma.

One of the pleasures of living here is playing a variety of games. We brought a number with us, but we’re always looking for new and challenging games. Our friend Eduardo brought over a game called “Mexican Train Dominoes” and it was fun for the entire family. A nice way to spend a weekend afternoon in the shade.

This is also a good way for us to reconnect as a family and enjoy our friends who come over to visit with us. Relationships are key in Latin America. We have to be ready at a moment’s notice to serve coffee and snacks. Of course, we also have to be willing to drop what we’re doing at the time and focus on the people who have come to visit. This is where real relationship occurs, and it is a privilege we have taken to with great joy.

Easter in Costa Rica hits during the dry season, but gets close to rainy season, which means the sky has beautiful clouds against a Carolina blue background. We celebrated Easter with Americans, Canadians, Costa Ricans and Guatemalans. Benjamin, who just received an electric guitar as a gift, played with me leading music this morning. We have seven songs in our repetoire, so they sang what we could play. Our message was brought by Bob Hanna with TEAM and was followed by a rich outlay of Costa Rican and American foods for breakfast. Although a sunrise service is part of my culture, it is strange by Costa Rican standards. We invited neighbors who thought we were nuts. But like it or not, they heard the worship music.

Happy Easter!

Have you ever had duck for dinner? Ever seen it in all its glory before eating? This duck s sliced and rolled in a soft wrap with a wonderful sauce and served with amazing panache at dinner. Maybe I won’t post the jellyfish that accompanied it.

Guess what? It rains in Bangkok! After a very nice Thai dinner with my wife and our colleagues under the stars and trees, a few drops started coming down. Then a few more. Then the bottom dropped out. The walk back to our hotel turned out to be a shower before bed. There’s nothing like walking into a nice hotel dripping all over their marble floor. Thais are by nature and culture very polite and smile all the time. This was no exception, but I wonder what they were thinking as we walked in. Probably the Thai equivalent of “Crazy Gringos!”

Tomorrow we begin our 40 hour journey home. This time however, we will have 12 hours in Dallas where a friend has graciously offered to pick us up and let us recover at his home before returning us to the airport. That should at least give us a chance to arrive back in Costa Rica with some rest under our belts.

It has been a productive week, but we’re ready to see the family again!