Much to Live on

Terrence Duncanson was a pioneering Jamaican missionary to Panama in the first half of the 20th century. His sojourn in the Central American country was occasioned by the large numbers of Jamaicans who worked on the Canal, and later, with the United Fruit Company. Laboring in harsh conditions and an unwelcoming environment, the immigrants drew on Duncanson's skills, resourcefulness and tenacity as he traveled across rivers and by train over large distances to secluded locations. Duncanson, in his more than thirty years sojourn, became an important liaison between the United Fruit Company and the workers, both sides depending on him to settle disputes and to negotiate deals, as well as to provide needed social services. His life story is clear testimony that the role of a missionary often consists of far more than the preaching of the Gospel. That the missionary, often times, becomes a major source of stability and progress.