TeamDuggan

Much of the world’s focus has drifted from the devastating images from January 12, 2010, when a 7.0 earthquake leveled buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. As our airplane touched the tarmac, my husband marveled at the empty fields that had been occupied by major humanitarian agencies just weeks before. Passengers were still transported to an outlying warehouse for immigration and baggage claim, and I found myself reliving scenes from my past in other third world countries, wondering what my next week serving in Haiti with Reachglobal/Touchglobal would look like.

Throngs of people speaking a mix of French and Haitian Creole (neither of which sounded familiar now that I’ve lived in Costa Rica for two years), individuals offering their cell phones for a fee, taxi drivers, and vendors hawking food and drink crowded outside the chain link fence which separated the newly arriving passengers from that chaos. My stomach churned as we realized that our neon green-shirted Touchglobal driver was nowhere in sight, and that a wait would include time in the tropical sun with two large duffel bags, assorted carry-on pieces, and Anna, our soon to be ten- year-old daughter. My mind recalled a similar situation twenty years ago in Quetta, Pakistan, and I relaxed. God had brought me through situations there I wasn’t ready for with our infant son in tow, and He would be with us during the week ahead in Haiti.

Crumbled buildings, mangled autos burnt beyond identification, shells of businesses long since vacated or demolished remained, as did hopeless faces. Tents, temporary shelters, and newly erected tarps and organization-branded, Tyvek -wrapped structures dotted the dusty, rutted road to Gressier. Poverty marked indelibly by a major earthquake remains, but Sunday would dawn with a different sound—the sound of praises sung at sunrise, and a worship service with over one hundred smiling Haitians, the joy of Christ evident on their faces, dressed in their Sunday best(be it well worn, torn or stained from lack of adequate shelter)worshipping in an outdoor sanctuary without walls, shaded by a canopy of green trees, cooled by a gentle breeze, partaking in communion with one another and white-faced “blancs” from a myriad of countries.

God is at work in Haiti. Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?

As we stopped along our journey today, far away from any evident assistance, we noticed our tire was dangerously low. It took all of five minutes for someone to show up with a bicycle pump and we all took turns on a very slow reinflation process. Always something new to face in Haiti!

Church gatherings can take place in many different types of locations. The service we attended this morning was under the cool shade of trees in Christianville. Over 150 people joined in singing and two sermons plus Communion. Can you imagine a two hour service like this in the States?

Who says girls don’t like bugs? Anna had her first adventure in Haiti this evening as she holds a string with a cricket that was too tempting for this good sized tarantula.

 

Although clinical practice that includes antenatal care and prenatal education may often become routine, clinical practice with an international flair may be spiced up in some unusual ways. Several months ago, Dr. Deliana and I were deep in discussion, when the clinic receptionist posed a question that initially had us giggling. A woman had walked in off the street and asked the theoretical question, “Can someone tell me when my baby will be born? ” Most mothers know that children rarely pay attention to their due dates, so we told the receptionist to make an appointment for the next clinic, only to hear groaning from the waiting room. As much as I would have enjoyed “catching” a baby, our clinic is not set up for emergency deliveries, and after a quick assessment and a few questions, we realized that birth could be imminent…and I grabbed sterile gloves two sizes bigger than my hands, a dirty bulb syringe, and some linens in case the inevitable happened only to plod down the bumpy, pothole-laden road, behind numerous garbage trucks and buses hoping to reach the public hospital in time. I whispered words of comfort (yes, in Spanish) into this young teen’s ear, while lifting silent prayers for a safe and timely birth of a healthy infant anywhere but in the uncomfortable backseat of that car! She wasn’t under the clinic’s care for this pregnancy, but I pray that our desire to share the love of Christ in such a situation will bring her back to clinic-offered health education and parenting classes, and eventually to a Bible study planned for the mothers of La Carpio.

Pray for those involved in providing care for the people of La Carpio, for opportunities such as these, caravans to the jungle(next update), and opportunities for Reachglobal staff and healthy partnerships to reach 100 million people for Christ in the next decade.

 
This month has been one that has stretched my faith and fortitude in unimaginable ways.
Being willing to go wherever God intends has been ingrained in my heart ever since an unforgettable morning on Front Campus, Wheaton College in 1982. There are times when my North American background and psyche becomes overwhelmed with suffering, poverty, cultural difference, and screams, “Why me?” But I would like to challenge us all to step past our comfort zone and do something outrageous–for your neighbor, for a stranger, for one another, and for God. Those small steps could lead to something life-changing, mind-boggling, and always better than we could imagine.

Pray for us (Brian, Anna and I) as we head to Haiti next. Me? In Haiti? Yes, and I am smiling as I think how many steps outside my comfort zone this life has taken me…and the many unique ways God has enlarged my vision. Start small….just one step!

One common theme that seems to cross cultures is gathering around food. No matter where I travel, eating with someone is one of the key ways of entering their world and sharing something that has a lot of meaning for them. In Brazil, that is no hardship! If you love meat, you’d love Brazilian food. There’s nothing like a Brazilian BBQ to fill you up but keep you wishing for more. Here one of our E-Free pastors opened his home to host us to one of his famous pecanhya feasts. Sausage, steak, chicken, grilled pineapple and grilled bannana just kept coming. What a treat!

Sent by his family from northern Brazil down to Rio in order to go to high school, D. (far right) left home as a young teen and ended up in a Rio favela where he learned about the seamier side of life. Changed by the Gospel, he still lives in a tiny one room apartment in the favela but goes out at night and finds a homeless person to bring to his place and show Christ’s love. As you can see, these guys are not only surviving in the favela, they are thriving and winning in their favorite sport….Futbol! I was just reading in John 3 today: “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
These guys are brilliant lights in the darkness of a hope-lost favela.

This scene struck me as very funny when we were pulling in for gas at a station in Rio de Janeiro. Next to a natural gas pump was a rack full of fire extinguishers. Didn’t exactly give me a lot of confidence in the safety of the filling station!