Thank you from the Graners

Dining hall at Monte Rojo.   Gordon (right front) and Rigoberto (left front) get
a bit of rest before the main meal of the day is served.  Feeding a team means
many others also eat that day.   All the cooks and workers plus families joined
us under the shelter of the dining area for a delicious meal. 



A VIM experience is like hiking up a mountain for the first time, exhilarating and exhausting.  We all deserve some moments of rest and reflection to enjoy the sense of having done something special, sometimes called co-creating with God.  We have given and received of the abundant life that Jesus came to help us find.  This climate helps us to rediscover how vital is the cold cup of water from which we drank together.  Blessed is he or she who puts ice in the water jug!

We thank you for coming to share your lives with us, for your time, your energy, your resources, your fully human and spiritual selves.  Thank you Bonnie, Gene, Taylor, Bud, Elijah, Robert K., Ryan, Robert M., Francesca, Ian, Mackenzie, and Collin and to all your churches, families, and friends that supported you and sent you to us.  



Ardell Graner listens intently to a child during story time.  Note the open
suitcases which were taken to and from the worksite each day carrying
the needed supplies for the day.  

I love the theology of storing up treasures in heaven.  Memories, stories, new friendships, gratitude, and grace are what remain now in a safe place never to be lost or taken away, maybe in a heavenly cigar box labeled Monte Rojo.  

Blessings to all of you as you resume your various activities and pursuits.  Take some time to reflect and remember what happened to you here.  Share your stories with those who are ready to listen, just a little at a time (like Kenia's hot sauce).  Learn Spanish!!!  Give away your abundant life there, like you did here.  Go to church, an imperfect institution but still a good place to remember that God is always with you and a good time to thank God for all things, including beans and rice.

Until we meet again,  Gordon and Louisa (Ardell)    (Dominicans had trouble saying her name so she selected another name.)