One way of looking at what it takes to get to the Cabecar peoples in Costa Rica

16 Jul
It started like this…


After falling into a ravine this car stuck in deep mud, preventing it and the driver from tumbling hundreds of feet down.


After ripping off the front bumper, a tractor was able to pull the car out. Both driver and car are still in working order.


Every vehicle (including the two on their way) got stuck in this little mudhole that was worse than it looks.


Need a stove? Haul it in on a pole.  
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I think there are eleven people in our house tonight…

11 Jul
Four Duggans, four with a short term team (one member is from Mexico) working with a partner church, a TCK from Europe and a neighbor friend of our youngest daughter. And thats just what’s left after a dozen Costa Rican children’s Bible teachers left after an evening of training. Although not a typical mix, it is fairly typical to have more than Duggans in this house which makes for a rich mix of cultures, stories and noise. Sometimes we take the command in Romans to “practice hospitality” a little farther than Paul may have meant. And we get so much enjoyment when we never know who may  be here next. 
But the dog is tired. 

Missionary kids/Third Culture kids: Investing in the future

7 Jul

The children of our missionary staff are some of the most promising future leaders for Christ.  Raised in a culture that is not their own and belonging to a home country that they’ve rarely seen, these kids develop their own culture that connects them in a way that those of us on the outside cannot understand.  I have seen these third culture kids (TCKs) meet for the first time and immediately connect due to this shared life experience.  They are often bilingual, accustomed to making friends quickly and saying goodbye often.  They use the Internet to stay connected with friends in many countries and cross borders like most people cross a street.  Most of them have flown in more airplanes and visited more countries by the time they are ten than most people will in a lifetime.  They regularly give up their rooms for guests and enjoy crashing at other missionaries’ homes wherever they may find themselves.  Their worldview is much larger than their non-TCK peers and they are perplexed by those who don’t understand the value, size and incredible diversity of the world God has made.  And they are smart…not necessarily in academic achievement (though many are), but especially in the area of reading people, adapting to their cultural norms, and engaging with them meaningfully. They intuitively pick up on unspoken rules of behavior that can make or break a relationship.  These kids are treasures.
I have the privilege of knowing many of these kids through my own children’s relationships and in my travels where I stay with missionary families.  Despite a busy schedule, it is always worth investing time engaging them at their stage of life no matter what their age.  Many of them know they are welcome to stay with us and we have been blessed by those who do.  I am thrilled to be a part of what God is going to do through them and what they will become.  These are VIPs.  Would you like to interact with a future leader? Get to know a TCK.  It will be well worth your time and hospitality.

What is Family?

2 Jun

      We made a long trip to visit our U.S. based kids who were facing some pretty significant milestones this May. We journeyed through Upland, Indiana to take some much needed final exam snacks to our second semester freshman son and to take him off-campus for a few non-cafeteria meals.. We then continued to our eldest daughter’s graduation from Wheaton, saw my parents briefly and then spent a few days as “family” missing Matthew who is beginning his 3rd year of medical school while we resting at the beach.

     Our family dentist, dental hygienists. and office staff greeted us warmly and left us with healthy, shiny teeth. We left feeling thankful that we are always welcomed home graciously with last minute appointments and fixed what needed fixing!

    Another definition of family greeted us in Charlotte as we had a potluck/cookout and spent time reconnecting with the “family” who remains connected to us as we serve overseas. Some from our home church, others who have crossed our path along the journey. Folks who uphold us in prayer, support us financially, or are long and short-term friendships rooted in Charlotte and beyond. The most amazing thing about this evening was how many of our friends were interconnected and this time was for re-connecting! God is good at that, and we are thankful!

     We also spent time with Merrimom , extended family( welcome to the family, Lindsey! ) and enjoyed the home we rarely see now that we live in Costa Rica. Anna and I reconnected with some friends we made in Costa Rica who now live in Florida where our layover happened to be.  Family is just that….a little world created by love.. They are individuals that may be related genetically, are held in our thoughts and hearts, connected to through  relationship or intentionality and sometimes, merely by proximity.

     Our overseas missionary family, friends, and neighbors welcomed us home on our return and the clinic staff in La Carpio greeted me warmly Friday…all examples of family to me and mine.

 Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.              Romans 12:10 (NIV)


One indicator of our kids’ success

18 Mar

Keri just left today with four of her Wheaton friends after a week with us in Costa Rica.  As parents of three kids living in a different country we often pray that God will fill in those gaps created by distance and geography.  One indicator that God is answering that prayer is when we get to spend time with the friends our kids have chosen.  The USA cultural norm of kids heading to college and living on campus is perceived as odd here in Latin America.  Kids here live at home during college and well into their twenties, only leaving when they get married.  Our friends here thought we were crazy to send our daughter to college at such a young age.  And it is true, our influence in our kids’ lives does change once they’ve left for school.  Their friends are now the ones with influence in their daily lives while we move to a different and less frequent level of influence.
So it is with great joy that we get to know with whom they’ve spent these years living life and learning lessons.  This is the last Spring Break for these girls.  In eight short weeks their college careers will be complete.  Cathi and I thoroughly enjoyed the late evenings talking with these young women and learning about their hopes, dreams, and concerns about what God has in store.  What a privilege to pour into them, even for just a short time.  
We all wonder what our kids will choose in life.  Based on this terrific week at least we know our daughter chose her friends well.
The monkey agrees.

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My Best Intentions Aren’t Always Best…

24 Feb
Although I intended to blog more during 2013, my best intentions weren’t enough to see this through.
Our eldest daughter was able to spend time at home until the end of the second week of January, homeschooling resumed, insurance claims from 2012 needing filing, and documents for last year’s taxes needed to get to the tax man. Clinic began when Keri left, and new clients came. 
The demands were all timely, and needed addressing much more urgently than this blog. Thoughts roll around in my head as I ride buses and spent time in ministry and at home, so here’s hoping the end of February will be a fresh start to 2013. I so appreciate and care for all of those who like to keep up with our life and the pulse of missions in Latin America. I’m not going to promise, as well, my best intentions aren’t always best. Really, 2013 may shape up to be the best ever, despite my intentions, as long as I am present and willing to serve my family, friends,clients and others. 

A Concept-Breach in crossing cultures

16 Feb

I recently purchased a wireless doorbell that will hopefully be more reliable than the poorly wired one we have at our gate.  As I read through the instructions for the doorbell I was struck by the difficulties of crossing cultures and how language is more than just translating words.
Take a look at this section of instructions and see if you can figure out what the writer was trying to convey.  
Convenience-Quickness
The English is awkward but the meaning can be deduced.  
Concept-Breach
This isn’t as clear, but I think the writer is saying this is well designed
Fly Upwards-Space….What in the world does this mean?
Now we know that it took engineers with good education to design this product. They not only had to design the dimensions but also had to figure out how to best place the antennas, create the best wireless connection for the longest distance, and make it simple to use for the average customer.  Then Marketing came into the picture to position the product for an English-speaking audience.  Their job was to highlight the best features and make the product sound attractive.  I can just picture the Marketing department writing excellent prose in Mandarin then plugging it into Google Translate to get the English version.  Word for word Google magically produced the English equivalent of the best Mandarin marketing message.  But translation is more than just converting words or ideas, it’s truly understanding the target culture and building the message from scratch.
We often talk with churches and leaders who want to bring their skills and training to help the Latino/Caribbean church.  The US church has a plethora of materials, programs and trainings that have been very effective in a range of needs: marriage, conflict management, organizational structure, etc.  Seeing God use these to grow the body of Christ in the States naturally leads many to think it will be just as effective in another culture.  Have the materials translated, throw in a few nationals to help with live translation, and whammo, you’re ready to go.  That may be a “Concept-Breach”.
There are all kinds of Bible programs, seminaries, and books available in Spanish (spoken by less than half the Latin America/Caribbean population), yet only a few are truly effective.  Culture here dictates that no matter how effective they are, guests from the States are warmly welcomed and told how wonderful their training or program is.  Whereas in much of the States people prefer to be told the truth and receive constructive criticism, culturally that is not likely to happen in countries below the Rio Grande. 
It gets even more challenging when we as missionaries learn the language but still have a lot to learn about the culture.  I can use the right words but totally miss the cultural application.  I was recently given an example of this by my Spanish tutor. He was translating for a visiting pastor from the States who, when introducing the subject of personal purity said, “this is a hard topic.” That can certainly be translated literally but it would not carry the intended message.  Instead, it was translated, “this is a strong topic.”  By translating it that way the audience understands that they need to pay attention to what will be a challenging subject.  In English the translation “strong” doesn’t carry the same meaning.  A simple example, but its impact is important.  Take a look above at the last line of the section titled Fly Upwards Space.  If someone said to me, “with this product you can share the happiness of knowing the arrival of your friends.” I would laugh and likely miss the impact he hoped I would feel from his words, even if I do understand what he’s trying to say.  This happens frequently when a person crosses cultures to bring the Good News.  
Learning a language is a very small part of communicating.  To communicate well is a lifelong endeavor and takes a lot of humility.  We make mistakes, have embarrassing moments, and fail frequently in our desire to impact people with what God has given us to do.  It truly puts us in a position of dependence on the Holy Spirit to have the impact.  We become tools that He uses to build the kingdom.  
I, our staff, and those who come short term to serve with us have to constantly remind ourselves:
  • Our impact is most effective when it’s less of us and more of the Holy Spirit doing his work.
  • Humility is key to learning how to communicate well.
  • Our programs, trainings and skills don’t often translate well into another culture.
  • God may change what we thought we were going to do and use it to accomplish his goals with those we serve.
  • We’re going to make some pretty ridiculous mistakes along the way. God has a sense of humor.
  • In spite of the seriousness of the ministry, we can’t take ourselves too seriously.  I need to laugh with those who are laughing at me.
After all, I’m still laughing and trying to figure out what they mean by “Fly Upwards-Space.”
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Grab rest when you can

13 Oct

All night flights arriving just in time to go to church then begin our consultation with a wonderful leadership team in Santiago, the capital of Chile. Then more days of early morning to late evening work resulting in major progress with these new partners.  At some point the body demands some downtime.  So here we are in a Sunday School room in the church as the youth take advantage of a flat roof outside to improve their skateboarding skills. At that point the noise didn’t matter….finding a place to be horizontal for a half hour was all it took to give us a second wind.  
Doing ministry isn’t always about what we teach with words. It really is about how we live our lives with people.  Showing we are human and weak gives us opportunities to touch people in ways we never could accomplish otherwise.
And nothing says “you’re human” like admitting we need a power nap from time to time.
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It’s the Little Things….

13 Sep


The North American school schedule brings a lot of newness to what may often become routine by the end of a school year. The return to school brings a few new things here in Costa Rica as well. New Bible studies, new friends, new missionary kids and parents, Costa Rica Independence Day with parades, faroles( a type of lantern shown at bottom) and marching bands and practice for weeks beforehand.

My Bible study reading provided some time to sit,
ponder life and the simple things that bring such pleasure to our individual lives. Obviously, these are not one size fits all, so I’ll share a few that appeared in my life this week… a small bag of pretzel M and M’s(stale, but here on a shelf here in Costa Rica),  2- for- 1 Diet Dr. Pepper cans(yes, they are usually over $1 each), the joyous news that twins born to a client were discharged from the hospital,and I was able to hold the tiniest one, my youngest child now a pre-adolescent experiencing youth group and Girls Bible Study for the first time, having a date with Brian that consisted of a calzone at Papa John’s and a pot of tea at McCafe for less than $20 US, being outside the city at Melissa Putney’s baptism with our brand new Costa Rica City Team, and the list could go on…my point is that each day has wonderful gifts in it and even Scripture is new every time we read it! Often times we feel inconsequential in God’s plan, but He enables us, in remarkable ways.

“Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves but adequacy is from God, who also  made us as servants of a new covenant,  not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Cor. 3:4-6 (NASB) 

Shake, rattle and roll

5 Sep
Revised down to 7.6
Living in a tectonically active country means we have frequent tremors that remind us how alive this country is.  Usually it’s a nice little wake-up that makes us smile and continue on our way. This morning was a different story though. As the movement began we noticed it grew bigger, the house started moving and it was getting louder.  For only the second time in dozens of quakes over these past five years we evacuated the house. The cars were bouncing, our outside wall was moving, and the house was groaning. The dog couldn’t decide if inside our outside was safest.  At a nearby school we heard the kids screaming and (we imagine) evacuating the buildings.  One of our staff was in WalMart and said people dropped everything and ran outside.  Even after it ended we’ve had smaller aftershocks.  But here in San Jose we’re fine. I did have to readjust pictures on the walls but no damage that we know of. One of our partners is checking with pastors up in Guanacaste but the cell network is down.  We’re praying they are OK and are ready to respond if needed.
On Friday we will be receiving a plaque of appreciation from a local school with buildings built in 1874. Church at Charlotte partnered with a local church, Centro Internacional de Avivamiento, to put a new roof on one of the buildings. During that process the builder found one of the ancient walls over 50 feet high was completely unsupported. He was able to save enough in the budget to do a complete reinforcement of that wall.  I think the event on Friday will have special meaning now.  That wall easily would have fallen in the earthquake this morning.  God knew that and put it in the hearts of many generous people to give to the roof repair, resulting in a potential disaster avoided.  
It’s a privilege to do what we do and see God at work.  And it amazes us that he chose us to be part of his work.  We are thankful for you who support us and pray for us.  You are just as much a part of this as we are.  Thanks!

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