Getting out of the city doesn’t necessarily mean the roads are clear. A small herd of cattle had the right of way and really weren’t in much of a hurry.
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In my mind’s eye…
14 DecMy interaction with urban ministries began at Wheaton College when I grabbed a pre-packed sack lunch from SAGA, hopped into a comfortable twelve passenger van and headed to inner-city Chicago on Saturday mornings to befriend and disciple girls. These mornings integrated Biblical teaching with cool craft projects and games, offered nutritious snacks and impromptu tutoring. Back on campus, my semester’s reading list included Ron Sider’s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.
Working as an emergency room nurse further introduced me to the plight of the urban poor who were seeking health care in a large hospital in downtown Houston, Texas. Occasional opportunities provided by our local church in Charlotte, NC, took our family from the suburbs to soup kitchens, inner city neighborhoods, and urban ministry centers which facilitated outreach as well.
It took a series of unforeseen events last month, however, for me to walk the streets of San Jose in the footsteps of those who rely on public transportation (and their own feet) and sit shoulder to shoulder with the urban poor on crowded buses. In the early morning light, I walked over the sleeping homeless, inhaling the odor of rotting garbage, diesel fumes, and the fetid breath of beggars. The quiet stillness of my ten-block journey between bus stops allowed me to take it all in, but it has taken much of this holiday season to process this up-close-and-personal urban interaction, yet I still cannot describe the effect it has had on my heart and soul.
The return walk between distant bus stops was an assault to the senses– crowded sidewalks bustling with people, street vendors loudly hawking their wares, and even more polluted air and unpleasant odors mingled with the greasy odor of fast food and roasting nuts and coffee. The commercialism of Christmas no longer captivates my attention, and my eyes and heart are open and seeking to love as Christ would love—not by cultivating dependencies, but by showing mercy and offering dignity and the Gospel to the unfortunate, to the urban poor and refugees in the clinical setting, and to the individual sharing the seat on an overcrowded bus. Or wherever my footsteps take me.
Leading From the Sandbox: The Molding of Suffering
11 DecI don’t often re-post something from someone else’s blog, but this article is one that speaks deeply to me because it reflects some of my history as well. I highly recommend this article (and this blog) for great insights into the lives God has given us as his children.
Venezuela update
11 DecGene Wilson is the former Latin America area leader for church planting and now how responsibility for all of ReachGlobal’s church planting coaching work. He was recently in Costa Rica for a training event and sends this report on Venezuela:
One of our joys last month was to hear about the church in Venezuela, a country often in the news here in the United States. At our training in Costa Rica last month Abdy P. P., the head of the Church Planting and Missions Department gave us a report.
Backdrop: The Evangelical Free church of Venezuela was started in 1920 by a missionary team led by David Finstrom. It took 30 years to establish the first few churches. One of the men on Finstrom’s team, Arthur Peterson, wanted to work inland on the plains. Finstrom disagreed. The result was a divided work for 25 of those 30 years. When reconciliation took place in 1949, the church advanced and became an autonomous association between 1952 and 1954. From then until 1978 the work expanded to fifty churches. The next 30 years was a coming of age for the Venezuelan Church. However issue of leadership, restructuring and identity took the focus away from church planting and missions . In 2003, during the 50th anniversary of their existence as a church body, they asked God to make the next decade a time of “Relaunching Mission.” Soon afterwards a new Venezuela president was elected and gradually pressure was brought to bear on Evangelical churches. Missionaries were expelled from tribal areas. New laws were passed to control churches. We asked Abdy to share what is happening there..
Here are some highlights from his report:
• There may be up to 80 preaching points and developing churches that are not officially recognized by the government, while between 40 and 60 are recognized.
• Nine pastors have been killed under suspicious circumstances, including a leader of the association of Evangelicals. Restrictions and red tape have increased.
• There were divisions between pro-Chavista and anti-Chavista factions in the churches until they decided to keep all politics out of the church and focus on the kingdom.
• Opposition and restrictions by the government have fostered church renewal. Evangelical leaders have formed an informal network to be able to communicate if rights of association become tighter. Greater unity is emerging.
• The church growth rate among evangelicals in Venezuela has risen from 3% in 1999 to between 7 and 10% in 2009.
• Although travel to indigenous tribes in the Amazon has been restricted, the work has grown. Tribal leaders are coming out for training and returning to equip more church planters. The first church took 20 years to establish. Yet a new church has been planted each of the last 3 years and another one is planned for 2010.
• Venezuelan missionaries are trained waiting to go. Partnerships are being forged to send missionaries to Muslim peoples and to Europe. Additionally a three-tier non-formal training effort mobilizes workers: 1) Lay short-term workers, 2) Church Planters, and 3) Coaches. Coaching Clinics have taken place in 4 areas. The strongest aspect of the non-formal training is lay mobilization.
God is answering the prayers of those leaders during the 50th Anniversary in unusual ways! Praise the Lord!
PLEASE PRAY FOR A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT IN VENEZUELA
PRAY FOR CHURCH UNITY TO CONTINUE TO GROW
PRAY FOR BELIEVERS TO BE STRONG IN CHRIST
Christmas in Rio de Janeiro
5 Dec
It doesn’t exactly snow in Rio at Christmas. In fact it is the beginning of summer. So Brazilians have a different image of Santa Claus … Sunning himself on the beach.
Gratitude in poverty
26 Nov
This shack is where Andrés, one of the neighborhood guards, lives with his wife, three year-old son and newborn (yesterday) baby live. We visited this morning so we could give them a blanket and Cathi could check on her recovery.
While Andrés and I played trucks with the young son Dárian, Cathi visited with the ladies (and baby Dérian). Thanks to a generous supporter (thanks Darlene!) we were able to give the family a fleece blanket for the very cool nights. The mom told her it was the softest thing she had ever felt!
You can tell by the impish grin that big brother is more interested in playing hard than looking at a baby. He lives in a boy’s wonderland with rocks, dirt and lots of places to climb. Some things are the same across all cultures!
So this Thanksgiving we will celebrate with turkey and all the fixins with a number of guests in our home while just a short walk away this family is celebrating a new life in stark surroundings. Gratitude comes in many forms, but we are grateful that we have a daily reminder of God’s incredible love for all people.
Roto-Rooter Tica Style
22 Nov
My wife is quite resourceful. While I’m tramping around the Western hemisphere, she’s handling plumbing problems with her own tools. November is the last but also the heaviest month of rain during Costa Rica’s rainy season (May through November). This year was no different, but the plumbing finally had enough and the kitchen got the worst of it. True to Costa Rican ingenuity, there’s an access hole hidden by a tile behind a cabinet in the kitchen. From there most problems can be accessed. Don’t ask what is in the hole though. Suffice it to say a thorough shower was next on the agenda. I’m not sure this was mentioned in describing the commendable wife in Proverbs 31, but it sure fits in my interpretation.
Costa Rica little brother
18 Nov
Bethany is a missionary in Tarma, but she started her missionary life in language school in Costa Rica earlier this year. During that time she spent a number of days in our house to relax and be with our family. She and Ben were not quite eye to eye, but it was fun to see her face when she had to keep bending her head back to look at him during our visit. Little brothers have this crazy tendency to grow when you’re apart!
Looking on the Bright Side…..
17 NovIt has been a rough twenty(when I looked on the calendar I couldn’t believe it had only been 20)days but despite some pretty discouraging circumstances, we’ve chosen to look on the bright side, and keep on with our family and ministry responsibilities….here’s a brief summary, not for the faint of heart!
Day 1-Slow leak in tire-no big deal, add air and hope for the best.
Day 2- Hot water heater not acting right, breaker flips whenever in use, must have that looked at…
Day 3-Tire checked for screw or other problem—given clean bill of health, still looks low….
Day 4- Hot water heater melted with charred insides—not functional after repairman takes parts out to replace-not a problem, have a showerhead hot water heater in a drafty shower in a non-used maid’s quarters…cost to replace $650
Day 5- Flat tire, found by guard in furniture store parking lot while purchasing mattresses for our newest missionaries arriving Dec. 11th…guard points out where tire repair place is, 20 minutes later, tire is fixed-$3.
Day 6-Tropical storm brewing….TONS of rain….inside warm and dry…praying that the now hurricane Ida doesn’t hit New Orleans(we heart New Orleans!)
Day 7- Brian and Ben are almost home…trying to cheer up by making homemade ice cream—expensive large bag of cream into bowl, completely spoiled…roasted broccoli and cauliflower with almonds will have to do tonight…
Day 8-Finished painting Brian’s office (shh, it’s a surprise, Anna and Mommy deserve lunch out—Gate wide open, some animal or vegetation blown by the wind, CLOSES GATE on R side of car, nicks right upper rear window—and GLASS crumbles into a million pieces….no one is hurt, we clean up the mess and eat hummus and crackers for lunch—all that is in the pantry
Day 9-Ben and Brian return home….yes, a little consolation and 20 hours before Brian heads to RG meetings…missionary loans us a car for the weekend, groceries in house, bills paid, happy kids…
Day 10-Borrowed car gets returned. Rain continues off and on—
Day 11- Make effort to take taxi to gymnastics—Anna practices for 30 minutes, then tears up and says she feels like she’s getting sick—after walking several blocks, a taxi eventually picks us up—Anna falls asleep immediately and we get her home and into bed
Day 12-Anna is really sick—high fever, headache, achy body—no other symptoms…but I’m not, and can tell that this is either a tough virus or eeeewww….the flu(whatever type, doesn’t matter—just has to run it’s course)
Day 13- Rain continues and in addition to Anna’s continued fever, there is a flood in the kitchen…Ilsias and I use the rotorooter plumbing tool and try and get the clog—doesn’t completely work, and the additional rain continues to back the sewage into the kitchen—100% sulfuric acid and buckets of hot water eventually work
Day 14- Anna’s still sick, I’m exhausted from no sleep and every 4 hour Tylenol offerings…but fellow missionaries bring provisions and now I get 6 –8 hours sleep
Day 15-Car taken to get measured for possible replacement window, on arrival to driveway, torrents of red transmission fluid spews all over driveway and street in front of house…car to be towed, and transmission not gone, just pieces needed to stop leak?
Day 16- Clinic day in Carpio– Earthquake—5.0, 33 miles as the crow flies from our home—minimal cracks in wall, no reports of loss of life or property—just strange and unnerving after the last week in our home…
Day 17-Last weird symptoms of Anna’s influenza like illness(CDC term, when not tested for swine flu or seasonal flu etc)causes itchy rash…thank goodness Denise Lewis sent me plenty of Children’s Benadryl—not sold in this country
Day 18-Anna is fever-free, still no workable car…Reachglobal missionaries lend us a different car so we can get to church and Ben can serve on the audio-visual team(and I have a BUTTERBALL Thanksgiving turkey—hopefully enough for 14-16 hungry people)!
Day 19- New hot water heater purchased and installed and we have ….HOT WATER, just in time for missionary guests arriving this week and no need for a tow truck…Mechanic in driveway fixing transmission under my portico—with his kids watching and learning! Window on order, not as pretty as the old one, but the car won’t get wet!
Day 20- Even in these difficult circumstances, and our limited budget(especially this month), I take newborn diapers and diaper cream, and various other necessary items to a family of 3 -expecting number 4 this week, living in a corrugated tin home with an outdoor potty(no plumbing) 200 yards up the hill from our home…and in the midst of it all, I know I can be THANKFUL for you, our supporters, our friends and family, and we are resolved to stay and use the gifts and talents God has given our family in serving in Latin America! What a praise—in the midst of hardship, I don’t want to return home(truly not of myself, I’ll tell ya!)
TeamDuggan 
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