Our destination: Barcelona. Our layover: Phoenix.
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| Alisha works on a mural at Jeremy and Siwan's house -- perhaps one of Alisha's favorite fundraising activities! |
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| Camping, music, and food with John (and Julie) near Sedona, AZ. It was their second time camping ever! |
The last several weeks have been filled with meals, miles and miles of driving, fantastic conversations, and live music -- all things we encounter in Lithuania but find in surplus in the Valley of the Sun.
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| Josh going for a post-dinner stroll with roommate Sam. |
So when we see changes -- good and bad -- we recognize almost a parallel life that we gave up when we moved abroad. As Alisha often describes it, "Whole children happen while we are away. Relationships start and, unexpectedly, end. People we expect to see when we come back are gone and there are new people we've never seen before."
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| Standing against injustice with Jesse. |
All this is to say that we cherish those of you we have (and have not) been able to visit this summer. This time we have in the U.S. fundraising is an incredible gift and it fuels us for the work we have ahead of us next year.
We've done our best to connect with as many individuals and families while in the Valley as we could, but we recognize logistics make it impossible for us to see everyone. Bellow is a video we made to give a glimpse of what we, your ambassadors, have been able to do thanks to you all.
(The clips of the orphans were intentionally blurred for their protection)
There are too many people to thank individually who help us out while we're stateside. To be embraced and supported by friends, loved ones, and even total strangers is overwhelming and humbling.
School is back in session. The students have returned from their holiday travels. The campus of LCC International University is buzzing. Our calendars are filling up already with events, celebrations, meetings and other tasks. As I sit in my office, working on budget updates, discipline reports, and other important emails my mind can't help but drift off to the fabulous holiday we had away from the LCC campus.
Josh and I had the tremendous privilege of having friends from the United States visit us from December 24 through December 30. Natalie and Bryan flew in on Christmas Eve and we set out to tour as much of Lithuania and Latvia as humanly possible in seven short days.
Although the journey was long (by kilometer), it was not tiresome. It's too bad that we couldn't travel like my friends The Muppets - by map. That would have made things much faster... Check out our journey!
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| Insert Mennonite inside joke here. |
This tour took Josh and I from Klaipeda to Vilnius, from Vilnius to Riga Latvia, from Riga to Klaipeda, from Klaipeda back to Vilnius, from Vilnius to Moletai, from Moletai to Kaunus and from Kaunus back home to Klaipeda. That's 1,606 KM for those who keep track of such things. Praise God that the travel blessings flowed freely through our trip. It was not without it's hiccups, or shady bus situations, but we always felt warm and safe, but also a little bit like human ping pong balls (excuse me, Table Tennis balls - just in case Evan Oswald reads this).
We bundled up and toured churches, took photos, stayed in fun hostels, ate a LOT (mostly cheese and dried meats), sampled local beers, pet dogs (using my Lithuanian language skills), and had an all around superb time. Here are some photos from our adventures!
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| Natalie delivered Christmas goodies - she knew just what I wanted! |
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| On Christmas, we climbed the Vilnius "Pilis" and enjoyed a snowy day of sightseeing. |
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| The holiday meal was followed by an evening of pub games at "Spunka," recommended by our Klaipedian friend Kipras. |
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| Once we arrived in Klaipeda, Josh facilitated a "Concert for Friends" at Herkas Kantas - our favorite local pub. Friends Kel and Inga also performed. |
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| "Let it snow, let it snow let it snow!" sings Josh! |
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| A quick tour of Moletai before leaving for Klaipeda. |
When our journey finally ended, and we were back in Klaipeda, we were greeted by several letters, Christmas cards, and two special packages. It is always a great pleasure to receive mail here in Lithuania. I am particularly touched by all the people that take time out of their busy lives "back home" to think of us while we serve abroad. I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting mail, so it's always a special surprise to see what arrives -- especially during the holiday season.
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| Cards and letters from loved ones afar. |
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| On the same day we got two packages! One from our Trinity Family and a package from my sister Alison and her husband Zach! |
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| A beautiful letter, lovely scarf and other goodies from Alison. |
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| Josh loves his Christmas Present! |
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| That's right, more Cheez-Its from both Trinity and Ali. No, I can NEVER have too many of these. |
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| We might be able to hang this stocking with care from the TOP of the chimney. |
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| Thank you for all your thoughtful notes and kind words. |
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| 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.
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| Local art and people watching -- Phoenix coffee shops have become our place of business for those days we're not reconnecting with folks. |
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| "Forty words-per-minute? That's cute. How about 140?" |
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
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| 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. |
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| We made our own puppets later so we could act out stories from Alisha's life. Josh poses with a "tree" and "Alisha." |
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.
Happy New Year!
We're at the tail end of our trip and what an adventure it has been! If our goal was to come out of this trip relaxed, rejuvinated, and inspired, then mission accomplished.
A strange sensation as our minds begin to shift back to Lithuania is one of going home. As much as we sometimes feel like awkward turtles in Klaipeda, it's now our Klaipeda and our Lithuanian community is waiting for us.
In some ways, this is a meloncholy feeling. Not a day goes by where we aren't reminded of our church, friends, and family in the United States that seem so far away at times, so feeling at home somewhere else makes them feel even more distant and removed.
Then we are reminded that we are here as ambassadors of each and every person who has shaped us as we've grown into adulthood -- our families and friends in Indiana, our "second families" and church community in Arizona, and everyone else we've met along the way. And we realize we are doing exactly what we were created to do: going forth from these amazing people/groups and serving as a beacon of love, hope, and irresistable revolution in a dark part of the world.
Words of encouragement and comments are always appreciated, so feel free to post them and we'll do our best to respond quickly.
