Hello, Arizona!

We're in the Valley of the Sun for the next several weeks and that means The Garber Dining Room Tour continues. Basically, you invite us for lunch or dinner and we can catch up. We're excited to share about different ways we've been able to serve this past year, answer your questions, and also hear what's new in your life.

Plus, if you're nice, we might even make you a legit Lithuanian meal!

We'll be around until June 25 just so we can spend some time with you. We made a Google calendar below so you can see which days are available and which are already occupied. You can check as we'll be updating it throughout the summer.

Contact us via phone (765-606-5955) or e-mail (fishwithdrums@gmail.com, alishagarber@gmail.com) and let us know when you are free to kick it.

As of today, we do not have a vehicle, so our ability to come to you is limited. If you know of anyone who can loan us a vehicle, please let us know!

It would be fair to say we are also viewing this as an opportunity to raise funds, but please do not feel like that is a requirement. For planning reasons, please give us a few dates that would work for you.

Check back regularly as we will be posting about our other fundraising events as soon as we are able to confirm the dates.

Love,
Josh & Alisha

We could really use a vehicle -- we're running out of lawns!

The Support Team Search

Alisha gets rowdy at an Arizona United SC match. Thanks to Kristine Lantz for the free tickets!

One thing we've been constantly learning -- and we've reaffirmed since returning to our family at Trinity Mennonite Church -- is the importance of coordinating with folks stateside so that can continue to receive life while serving far away. The past couple of years we've had a small team of friends who have done a good job of praying for us and wishing us well.

But, as rookie mission workers, we've had a learning curve. That why, 9 a.m. this Sunday, May 25, we are hosting an info breakfast to share specific needs we have for a team. Check out the video below:

We'll host it at Aaron Gouldthorpe's house, 4419 W. Vista Ave., Glendale, and anyone passionate about helping out is welcome. We ask, however, that you RSVP by late Friday so we have a sense of how much food to prepare.

Also, let us know if you're interested in being involved but can't make the meeting and we'll figure out a time we can chat about it.

Message below or e-mail GarberMinistryTeam@gmail.com for info and to RSVP.

The Summer Dining Room Tour RETURNS!

Local art and people watching -- Phoenix coffee shops have become our place of business for those days we're not reconnecting with folks.

"Forty words-per-minute? That's cute. How about 140?"

We're back in the U.S. and we're eager to share the amazing ways we've been engaged in ministry this past year (and hear your stories, too!). We had a great time last summer meeting over meals, so we present: The Garber Dining Room Tour 2014!

We're in the Valley longer this time and we want to spend it with you. Like last summer, the idea is that you invite us over for lunch or dinner and, in exchange, we share our experience of serving in Eastern Europe, and you can ask us questions.

If you're interested, we can even make you some authentic cuisine (potato pancakes and pink soup, anyone?) if you cover the cost of ingredients!

Here are our current travel plans:
May 10-June 10.......Arizona
June 11...................Travel Day
June 12-18..............Indiana/Michigan
June 18...................Travel Day
June 19-25..............Arizona
June 25...................Return to Lithuania

We made a calendar below so you can see which days are available and which are already occupied.

Contact us via phone (602-549-1226) or e-mail (fishwithdrums@gmail.com, alishagarber@gmail.com) and let us know when you are free to kick it. We'll put it on our calendar and make sure we're there!

It would be fair to say we are also viewing this as an opportunity to raise funds, but please do not feel like that is a requirement. For planning reasons, please give us a few dates that would work for you.

Check back regularly as we will be posting about our other fundraising events as soon as we are able to confirm the dates.

Love,
Josh & Alisha

Summer Travels pt. 2

Our second, shorter round in Central Indiana ended with an afternoon barbecue in the park with the extended Denny family.

What a whirlwind trip this has been! Who would have thought we could have possibly crammed in as much fun, adventures, stories, and food into a short five weeks?

Jeanne and Jerry Garber guide us through an afternoon tour around the lake they live on in Michigan.

It was such a joy to reconnect with all of you while we traveled in Indiana and Arizona. The delicious meals, the heartfelt conversation, the meaningful sharing -- what more can we say but thank you!

We had so much fun at the Talent Night & Silent Auction as well as the viewing of “The Other Dream Team” documentary. If you missed out on either of those events, DVD copies can be borrowed from the Trinity Mennonite Church office, 4334 W. Vista Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301.

One of several Lithuanian summer feasts we prepared for friends and family.

Thanks to the generosity of many, many people, we can honestly say our fundraising efforts while in the U.S. have been successful -- we’re closer to our goal for the upcoming service year.

That said, we still have a ways to go. If you are interested in making a donation to us, please visit this site. Make sure that you enter “Josh and Alisha Garber” as the comment in the Faculty/Staff support line.

Although our time "back home" may not have been entirely restful, it was definitely worthwhile and helped refuel our spirits for another year at LCC International University.

While naming everyone who helped us out during our time in the states would be impossible, there are a few individuals we want to give an extra special thanks to Aaron Gouldthorpe, Daniel Wohlberg, Alissa & Tyler Prater, and Jerry & Jeanne Garber for housing us and making us feel like family. Also, thanks to the Schrocks for helping us with our technology and got us out of town for a night of mindless fun.

We feel affirmed that we have returned to Lithuania as ambassadors of our community at Trinity Mennonite Church. We are also excited to be serving as Mission Associates for Mennonite Mission Network -- a development we'll explain more in an upcoming update.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we return to work here in Klaipėda.

Performing a few songs at our Variety Show fundraiser at Trinity Mennonite Church.

Playing the Game of Life with Stephanie Quirin, who treated us to an afternoon of games and lounging by the pool as an escape from the desert heat.

Alisha was able to un- expectedly reunite with best friend and local grump, Harry LaPillough.

Josh experiences Sam Schrock for the first time. Both are unsure how to feel.

Myriam Sollman, a former bandmate and good friend, traveled to Phoenix from the East Coast to spend some time with us. Playing Dutch Blitz at a new-ish outdoor, mist-cooled venue was a great way to catch up.

The Garber Dinning Room Tour 2013

For Alisha's first birthday outside the United States, we went with a Muppet/puppet theme, including a trip to the local puppet theatre with friends! A local friend, Ilona, hooked us up with a behind-the-scenes look at the puppets and chance to meet the puppeteers. As you can see, Alisha was only slightly happy.

We made our own puppets later so we could act out stories from Alisha's life. Josh poses with a "tree" and "Alisha."

In our last blog post, we mentioned ways we were going to stir things up here at LCC International University. Specifically, we mentioned Alisha's Art Club, Josh taking a bigger role in Roots of Justice, LCC's anti-human trafficking group, and what we are now calling the Mustard Seed project, a church alternative for people who like Jesus but don't like religion.

One thing we're still working on is budgeting out time because, while these things have all been incredibly life giving, they're also quite time consuming. As such, we've not been able to blog our adventures in as timely a fashion as we'd like. However, with a trip back to the United States in the horizon, we have a solution to help get you up to speed: The Garber Dinning Room Tour 2013!

More than anything we want to spend this time reconnecting with family and friends -- what better way to do that than over a meal? The idea is that you invite us over for lunch or dinner and, in exchange, we can share our experience of serving in Eastern Europe.

Here's our current travel plans:
May 9-11................Northern Indiana/Michigan
May 12...................Jordan S. Garber graduates!
May 13-17..............Central Indiana
May 18...................Travel Day
May 19-June 15.....Arizona (June 3-6 Idaho Conference)
June 16...................Travel Day
June 17-19..............Central Indiana
June 20-24..............Northern Indiana/Michigan
June 25...................Return to Lithuania

We made a calendar below so you can see which days are available and which are already occupied.

Contact us via the comments or e-mail (fishwithdrums@gmail.com, alishagarber@gmail.com) and let us know when you are free to kick it. We'll put it on our calendar and make sure we're there!

It would be fair to say we are also viewing this as an opportunity to raise funds, but please do not feel like that is a requirement. For planning reasons, please give us a few dates that would work for you and be aware that family will take priority.