TeamDuggan

At ten this evening Cathi and twenty thousand of her friends will run the Disney half marathon. She's ready to rock!

It's hard to beat fresh fish and this guy tasted great. My 15 year old had one too as he joins me on this short trip into the rural areas of Costa Rica. Tonight we're training a good sized group of pastors in church planting.

One year ago, I stepped foot into the slums of La Carpio. Whether one arrives by bus or car, the vista is the same as there is only one entrance and exit from this urban slum. It looks like this… The days I visit remain the same week after week, month after month. And now, instead of just glimpses of poverty and disenfranchisement, I actually recognize faces of scrap vendors, jobless youth, and even dogs who remain in the same location each time I visit the neighborhood clinic.

Some of the residents of La Carpio are now more than acquaintances, they have become friends. Women who strike up conversations at the bus stop, and then sit and chat while the bus maneuvers the congested streets of San Jose. Shop owners that greet me as I carefully purchase needed supplies at the local pulperia. Clients who visit the clinic for well woman exams or prenatal care. Employees of the clinic who share their meager breakfast and coffee with me when I arrive early.

Yet, this week, as I drove past the safer, middle-class neighborhood which ends at a local amusement park, and continued along the rubbish-strewn, deserted stretch of road linking La Carpio to San Jose, the images were even more stark. The amount of discarded trash seemed to have multiplied, the smells of burning waste intensified, and the obvious differences in living conditions magnified. Complicated lives, unheard of situations, disease, hunger, and the darkness of sin. And often, the oppressive atmosphere weighs on me until I arrive home and shower away the accumulated dust from my body and tensions that weigh on my soul.

But I have recently been reminded that sin’s vise-like grip is not only on the discarded, abandoned areas like La Carpio, but on flower-edged suburban neighborhoods, corporate boardrooms, and government edifices. Only Christ’s love can redeem all of these for His purpose.

I’ll never forget the indelible impression a tiny mustard seed encased in a sterling silver charm made on me during adolescence. My Aunt explained that she wore it because it reminded her of Jesus’ words in the New Testament referring to faith. At that time, I was only concerned with the outward appearance of the trinket itself. Now in my adult years, I am gratefully aware of the truth of Jesus’ parables spoken in the book of Matthew, chapters 13 and 17.

I’ve had several recent experiences where these parables have come alive for me and totally caught me off guard. Remember, I live several thousand miles from my designated hometown, in a culture vastly different from the one which shaped my belief system.

However, one recent rainy afternoon, as rain splattered my front windshield and obscured visibility to nothing I saw faith in action. My first thought was that the fuses which provide electrical power don’t last long here in humid Costa Rica – my dear Costa Rican friend put her faith into action, placed her hand on the windshield, prayed aloud, and continued whispering prayers to remedy the situation. In awe, I watched as the wipers sprang to life about 2 minutes later.

And I am a woman who prays often; conversationally, wherever I may be–but I have never laid hands on malfunctioning auto parts- maybe I should…

Today was a special day in Costa Rica….another Reachglobal missionary graduated from ILE, the language school of choice for all of us Reachglobal Latin America folks(non-native Spanish speakers) serving here in Costa Rica, and those joining Reachglobal since 2009 headed for other countries.

It was wonderful to see all of my old professors again and to share in this event–however, as we have realized, language learning never ends!

Congratulations, Melissa!