Moderator

Well, Shirley and I are back home in Guelph, still feeling a bit exhausted from our trip but filled with many wonderful memories.  Our flights back (we had a brief layover in the Atlanta airport) went well as did our various checkpoints through customs and security (whew!).

I’ll continue to post stories and reflections from our trip in the days ahead, but I did want to first say a big “Muchas gracias!” — especially to Ken Kim and Barb Summers.  They both made the trip an experience of a lifetime.

First a heartfelt thank you to Ken Kim, Director of PWS&D.  Ken, you truly went beyond the call of duty both before and during the trip.  Ken was the trip planner, the tour guide, the translator, the driver for the Guatemalan leg of the trip (and believe me driving in Guatemala is an adventure in itself), the negotiator (when haggling with street vendors or ordering meals in a restaurant or figuring out exchange rates), the banker (whenever we needed a little extra money, Ken was there to provide the loan in whatever currency was needed), a nurse maid (when I spent two days in bed except for frequent trips to the washroom), and a good friend – all this while Ken’s father was undergoing major surgery in Canada.  Muchas gracias, amigo!

Next, a big thank you to Barb Summers, Communications Coordinator for PWS&D.  Barb, you were a great traveling companion; indeed, Shirley and I can’t imagine what the trip would have been like without you.  Your humour and honesty and positive energy made the trip and our meals together a real joy.  We also appreciated the perspective you brought as someone who has done a good bit of travel in your role at PWS&D and for making sure we made our flight from Guatemala City after Ken had left the previous day.

I would also like to thank my wife, Shirley, for joining me for the trip.  I’m not sure all the readers of this website know that Shirley has MS, so the trip was more than just arduous for her.  At times it was truly a painful ordeal.  But Shirley not only made it though the whole trip, she managed to do so with good spirits and with grace. She even found the grace to put up with her husband when he fell victim to Montezuma’s Revenge or to the sales techniques of another street vendor.  Thank you, Shirley, for making the trip with me.  It is so much better to share such experiences together rather than simply show you the photos and mementos when I return home (you know, the “My husband went to Central America and all I got was this T-shirt!” sort of thing).

And finally, a big thank you to The Presbyterian Church in Canada for making such international exposure trips a regular part of each moderator’s year.  Such experiences give the moderators and their spouses a much broader understanding of the ministry of the church and the way we do mission with our international partners.  I only hope that I can communicate effectively to the larger church the incredible faith and commitment I experienced from our partners and the transforming impact they are having in the most challenging of circumstances.

Muchas gracias!