TeamDuggan

Despite the rugged individualism that is at the heart of much of our culture, the fact is that God created us to work with others and that teams can accomplish more together than their members could individually.
Mark Lewis and I have been friends for four years now. He is the director of TouchGlobal’s Crisis Response and leads the mission’s compassionate outreach in crisis for the whole world. I lead the work of the mission for Latin America/Caribbean. Each of us has a claim to what the mission does in Haiti, and each of us have fairly strong personalities and leadership capabilities. It would be easy to start competing and undermining each other which would result in a diminished ministry for all involved. But this is where the example of Christ must be examined. Things like serving one another, looking to one another’s needs, submitting our own ambitions and desires to each other and living in an environment of trust. This does not mean we don’t disagree, but it does mean that when we do, our relationship is never at stake and that we trust the other truly wants the best for me.
We are exploring new territory by having both our ReachGlobal staff and TouchGlobal staff work side by side. We still don’t know what it will look like ultimately, but we do know that each of us is commited to the mission of our organization and to working together as team. Maybe we can even demonstrate a bit of Christ as we do it.

Clean water is one of the bigger needs here in Haiti. Wes is trouble-shooting a system our teams installed for a school of 500+ kids that reopened this past Monday in tent shelters. It is interesting and encouraging to hear fairly consistently that Haitians see schools reopening as one of their higher priorities. Just outside this sheltered area stand two tanks. Using a small diesel generator (yellow box), water is pumped from a well to a large tank, through the filter from one tank to the second one. It’s simple, it is easily maintained, and it is sustainable….all criteria for projects we undertake. And such a simple thing makes the education of hundreds of kids viable once again.

“Blanc, blanc!” That’s the call I hear as I walk among the towns and villages, now just rubble with tents filling every open surface. Americans are a draw just because we’re so different. But these kids were telling me about the Brazilians who came just a few weeks ago. We were so blessed to have our Brazilian partners organize and send a team so quickly. And they knew how to engage a community! After working, the team would grab a ball and start a game of soccer in the middle of the community. Suddenly they are surrounded by Haitians all eager to play. Only two of the team speak English, and none speak Creole. But so much can be communicated without a common language, such as, “I’m here to serve you”, “You are valuable”, and the most important, “I’m here to represent Christ, and he loves you.” Though we constantly have to remind our teams from the States that it’s not about the work but about relationship, our Brazilian friends just naturally understand that engaging with the community is what accomplishes the goal.

No TV is not a problem when there are so many forms of entertainment here in Haiti. This evening we teamed up to dislodge a mouse from the stove. That part worked, but the mouse bounded for the stairs and is now on the second floor safe and secure. So everyone had lots of fun and is happy, including the mouse.

A few weeks ago our plumbing was running sluggishly, so Melissa, our newest Reachglobal missionary and I popped into EPA ( think home improvement store like the two we know and love in the U.S. suburbs) to pick up some maintenance items. We had noticed the parking lot was a bit full, but wondered what was up when we approached the checkout lines….

Not a end of season sale, but a new law was about to be enacted that would require drivers to have children up to age 12 in booster or carseats and everyone to have specified items in their cars or face steep fines! Fortunately, we had purchased those items when the first law was proposed, and these kits cost more and had fewer
items in them. Among them, a fire extinguisher, jumper cables, reflective vests and triangles, flashlight and first aid kit, with several items that were proposed months ago removed from the newly ratified law. Melissa kindly took a photo of the required items listed on a tag of the estuche de emergencia(emergency kit) and we found that our kit had everything it needed with a few extras! I wonder if rental cars are equipped with these now?

Semana Santa is the week before Easter that is celebrated throughout Latin America as a time for vacation and family get-togethers. Stores close, and in Costa Rica, thousands go to the beach. It’s a perfect time to relax in San Jose where the traffic is minimal and everyone is pretty relaxed. There are various “processions” or parades with themes taken from Passion Week. Today we attended a procession where a statue of Christ carrying the cross was pulled along by “Roman” soldiers. Every 500 yards or so it would stop and there would be a small live drama acted out. Some of these can get out of hand though. One friend told me about a procession where the Jesus figure was a live actor who was being hit by the crowds and soldiers as part of the drama. Apparently he eventually got tired of the role and jumped up and started beating the beaters. Not exactly historically accurate, but it was a point of great hilarity for the onlookers.