See the tree far off in the backgound laying across the street? The day after Gustav hit our Crisis Response Team drove into Houma and saw a boy trying to cut this tree with a little saw. The team went to help but CNN was there first. The CNN crew asked our team to wait before cutting the tree so they could get some good footage. 
More on Gustav at efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com
I made it! I changed my flight to go to Gulfport instead of New Orleans and drove in from there. Some heavy rain and winds, but overall pretty good. I saw some trees down and some flooding, but the north side of the lake was not hit too badly. 80% of the parish is without power, but the church base for the Crisis Response Team does have power. And A/C!
The scouting team for the Crisis Response Team got in this morning, assessed this area of town, then went into the Center City area of New Orleans, then headed two hours south to where the hurricane had the biggest impact. For the next two days we’ll be cutting trees, boarding houses and repairing roofs. We’ll work in some strategic planning along the way.
I will update this site with pictures and stories as I can. As you can imagine, Internet connectivity will not be easy.
I’m in Dallas and have a flight to Gulfport Mississippi where a car has been left for me. Then I will work my way to Covington where we’re hoping to start up some generators for a couple of trailers h A/C tonight. Obviously plans have changed a good bit and we’ll be focused on assessing needs and cutting limbs/trees for the next day or so, but we’re hoping to get some strategic planning in as well before I leave on Friday afternoon.
Known as the Switzerland of Central America, Costa Rica enjoys political, religious, educational and economic freedoms beyond most of its neighbors. But like so many developed countries, this does not apply to everyone. Deep in the rural areas where manual labor is the sole means of support, many people live in a cycle of poverty with broken families, broken hearts and a desperation for that which can only come from a relationship with the Creator.
The Costa Rican church can respond in a way that is so much more effective than outsiders’ attempts through training of leaders and development of new thought paradigms. But outsiders can have a huge impact! Recently some friends came down to partner with local believers to hold four days of a free clinic in a local church in Cariari. Led by a team of Costa Rican leaders and medical personnel, the draw of North Americans and clinical care brought out over three hundred people to receive both physical care and the news of spiritual life. Over 45 people made a life-changing decision (twenty of whom were in church the very next Sunday) and over 70 requested a home visit from the church pastor. Only God knows the full extent of this sacrificial work, but willing hands and servant hearts can be used by Him to impact people eternally.
Brian and Matthew did a little exploration on the south ridge facing the house in Tres Rios. We found some beautiful cloud forest with trails and flora abounding.
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| La Carpintera |
Brian and Cathi Duggan enjoying missionary life
This is my first post on Blogger where I may start a podcast and syndicate it here.
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