Peter, the Quiet One

About 12 hours after our arrival here last month we had the privilege of meeting Peter. This quiet, very shy, boy of 14 years approached us and asked us if we wanted to buy "bread buns" from his mother who was selling them out of her house across the street from us. We purchased a half dozen warm delicious buns and thus began our relationship. Peter rarely says more than a few sentences and his shyness can easily be seen in his eyes, as he holds his gaze down often. Peter lives with his mom, step dad, and 4 siblings, one of whom is severely handicapped (2 other siblings have grown and are out of the house). Being 14, Peter is finished with his education (many children do not finish beyond 8th grade). Yet, he is unable to read or write. Peter certainly is not a "normal" child, as you would have it. His step dad explains, "Peter is just a dummy." When he would attend school, he would hide in the bushes, run home for lunch and then return only to hide in the bushes once more. When you live in a country with no special education, this is what happens--your future becomes even more bleak. But, his parents say that he is gifted in the kitchen and perhaps, this will help to pave a future for him.

As we currently have 4 house guests--staff members of a group called Catholic Missions Trip--the house has been a bit more lively than usual. Peter stopped by today, selling bread pudding, a bit curious of all the activity. As he returned with the bread pudding that we purchased Andy invited him into the kitchen to help with dinner. Andy showed Peter how to squeeze limes with a juicer to make limeade. He also showed Peter how to make spaghetti, of which Peter says that he has had only once before. Since he helped with the dinner preparations, we invited Peter to stay for dinner and he quietly agreed. Just as we were setting the table, Peter shot off and said he had to finish selling bread pudding for his mother and would be back at 7. A few minutes after we all sat down to eat Peter showed up again, peering his head around the corner of the top steps. We asked, no insisted, that he sit to eat with us. He timidly sat next to me (Julie) at the long table and we began to serve him up--garlic bread, sauteed vegetables, and spaghetti. He asked for a large serving of spaghetti, something I found to be very normal for a 14 year old boy. Then he began to eat. When I watched Peter eat, it was almost a bit awkward--he would have a bite here a bite there but nothing you would expect from a hungry teenager. (It was also very apparent that he had no familiarity with how to eat spaghetti). All the while, Peter sat quietly as the rest of us had a discussion about some of our favorite foods from the States. Then it was time to serve up dessert, Peter's mom's bread pudding with some caramel sauce we'd made. Peter wanted dessert on his plate but it was strange, he still had most of his food still on his plate (except the seconds of garlic bread which he'd already eaten). Something tells me that in all his silence, Peter was very happy there, he was enjoying this moment. Still, I couldn't quite figure out why he wasn't eating very much, and so slowly. As the meal ended many of us jumped up to clear our plates and the table. And then I watched Peter--he was taking the leftovers from his plate and putting them into a bowl which he'd used to bring over the bread pudding in. And then I realized what he was doing, Peter was taking his food home to his family.

Not acknowledging that of course, it was confirmed when I asked him if he wanted me to put more food in his bowl and he quietly said 'yes.' We gave him all that was left of the vegetables and spaghetti and went into the kitchen to give him more leftover pasta from our refrigerator. Fortunately, Peter left with a large bowl of food, to which he was very gracious.

Our hearts ache for all the Peters of the world--the gentle spirit, quiet personality, and generous and sharing heart. If only we could feed them every night. Thank you Peter for enriching our lives today.

just added: Peter graciously agreed to let me photograph him from our veranda.  That is his house in the background (the chalkboard lists what things his mom is selling that day).

Sarah's Report after visiting a Mayan Funeral

Sarah and Andy accompanied Fr. Perl into the village of San Pedro Columbia while he conducted a funeral Mass.  It is rare for the priest to travel to the villages for this, but the funeral was for the mother-in-law of a church catechist.  Catechists are lay ministers trained by the church to lead prayer services and perform other church functions in the villages.  Sarah will tell you about this and more in her first internet news debut.  Enjoy!

Our House is a very very very fine house...

...with two cats in the yard (and some dogs, and a couple of lizards, and some roosters, bats, and some giant cockroaches.
  So now that we're a little bit settled I wanted to tell you a bit around our home.  We basically live in a two family flat on the second floor.  We've learned quickly that this is a good thing as we tend to catch quite a bit more breeze up here (that and the 1st floor seems to smell very musty because of the rain).  Space wise, it's not bad as we have about as much space as we did at our house back in the States (less the basement).
   We've got a living room, kitchen, eat in area, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a veranda.  The veranda has quickly become the choice spot for playing, drying clothes, and sitting.  We hope to get a hammock soon as the choices for seating appear to be limited to resin chair or hammock.
   The house came furnished but we would definitely consider it to be sparsely furnished as you can see from the pictures (the bookshelf in the living room photo was made by Andy from some reclaimed wood and the blue tubs are luggage we brought with us).  Still, as I'd mentioned before, our apartment is obviously one of the nicer homes around.
   One of the things we are quickly learning about living in a 3rd world country, with limited resources, is that things often don't work (or work regularly).  Blackouts are common (in which we lose both electricity and water) as are what we like to call "water outs" in which we lose just water.  Between that and the regularly non-functioning bathrooms (neither has worked fully since we've lived here), we've quickly developed the family motto, "don't let it brew if you don't have to"--you never know when the toilet will stop working.
   It's not about the lack of effort to maintain things, it's really just the inability to do so as the caretaker (who also works another job) has been working many hours to try to keep our house up.  Our plumbing has broken pieces which have been hard to come by along with the fact that it lacks proper ventilation for it to really work  well.  In fact, many things around here seem to be jerry rigged--as can be noticed in the random holes in the walls, and the wires that poke in and out of the house with no apparent rhyme or reason.  Our master bedroom has a wire that goes from the top corner of our room, across our wall, and out our bedroom window to who knows where.
   Another thing you might notice in the photos of our house are the bars on the windows.  While the town feels relatively safe, theft and burglary seem to be an issue here.  Nearly every house has bars on their windows.  We try to be positive and look at it as a way of preventing small kids from falling out the window.  Plus, several of our windows have missing or broken screens so we like to think that it also keeps some birds and bats out.  Our entire yard has a fence and gate around it as well for added security.
   In spite of the nuances, we are working to make our house a home.  The country here is absolutely beautiful--the birds are beautiful, coconut trees and mango trees abound, we live just minutes from the rain forest, blocks from the ocean, and can see the Maya Mountains from our kitchen window.  It really is a blessing to be here.
Here is our mailing address should you wish to contact us:
The Kuhnert Family
St. Peter Claver Church
P.O. Box 25
Punta Gorda, Belize
Central America

We made it!

Well, after a tremendous amount of work, we have landed in Belize and hope to stay here for the next 12 months. Speaking of which, we are STILL, yes still, looking for a renter for our house in the states. We lowered the rent quite a bit so if you know of any (responsible) people looking to rent in south St. Louis county, please let us know.
Our flight from STL to Belize city via Atlanta went smoothly--almost. The desk attendent at STL originally refused to issue us boarding passes as we did not have a return flight. (technically a rule to enter Belize). She was very adament that we not get on the plane. Fortunately, a much nicer employee came over and overrode that decision. Needless to say, that had us a bit nervous about how immigration would be once we arrived in Belize. Fortunately, upon arrival, bags were searched and passports were stamped and we were on our way.
We were greeted by our priest friend, Fr. Perl and hit the rode. We had a lovely detour at Blue Hole National Park which is situated in the middle of the Maya mountains among a beautiful rainforest (probably the most beautiful area I've ever seen). The kids noticed the leaf cutter ants right away and were pretty mesmerized by that. We grabbed lunch and a quick swim before hitting the road again.
We finally arrived into Punta Gorda (PG) at about 6:30 p.m. where we immediately went to our new "home" that we are renting for the next 12 months. Let's just say, it was a bit of a shell shock for us. Pluses--4 bedrooms, 2 baths, beautiful veranda, 3 blocks from the ocean (no beach though), beautiful wood doors. Minuses--bats live in the attic that is open to the main bathroom, water is a trickle, electricity does not always seem to work, hot water randomly works, yard is litered with trash including broken glass throughout, multiple holes in the walls, neighborhood roosters crow starting at 3 and stop around 5 or 6. Really, those are just the top of the list. Andy and I would have to say that we've stayed in tents that are nicer than this. What's most amazing is that we get all this for about $300 more per month than our house in the states. But still, it is very apparent that our house is one of the nicer ones in town so we certainly cannot complain.
We still very much feel like a fish out of water here but slowly but surely we are getting our bearings. Hopefully within the next week we will have internet at home (I'm currently typing at an internet cafe in town) and will get all of our utilities and money situation worked out. It has also quickly become apparent to us that we must have a bike and hope to be able to purchase one soon from the donations that we have received thus far. Please still keep us in your prayers as we adjust to this very different lifestyle and work to put together our house.

Thanks,
Julie & Andy Kuhnert and kids

Time to Purge

So many details are coming together for us as we have just 4, yes I said 4, weeks left here in the States. We've got our airline tickets booked for a departure date of 6/28. Due to some incredibly generous donors (whom we've never even met), our tickets have been paid for. It is truly amazing what some people are willing to do for a cause that they feel is worthy and we are so grateful for that.

Lately we've pretty much been working around the clock getting our house ready for new renters to move in. The family who was originally going to be renting the home had to back out a couple of weeks ago due to unexpected circumstances. Once we got past the initial let down of finding that out (think slight freak out mode), we really stepped it into high gear and started packing, pitching, painting, and cleaning. Needless to say, it has actually been good for us. As we sit here praying and hoping for God to plop some new renters in our lap, our house is now the cleanest and least cluttered it has ever been in the 11 years we've lived here.

The thing that we find to be most amazing amidst all this "chaos" is the sheer amount of stuff that one family can accumulate in just over a decade. Every box and piece of furniture that leaves our house gets cataloged with a number. Four truckloads later, we have already cataloged into the 50's. What's worse is that we feel like we've barely made a dent in all of our "stuff". Worse yet, we actually began purging our house of stuff last summer via Craigslist and Goodwill and have cleared out countless truck loads of stuff that way. Yet who knew that ridding oneself of "stuff" could bring about such an attitude of relief and gratitude? I find myself actually being grateful for this opportunity to purge. In fact, I think it's probably something everyone should commit to doing at least once every 5-10 years. All of that stuff, even the stuff that we were using (especially the kid's toys) before we purged really just gets in the way. In a family with 5 children it takes a great deal of time organizing and picking up all that stuff. So much in fact, we find myself with less time to do the other things that we should be doing--playing with my kids, maintaining relationships with friends or having some down time for prayer or relaxation. Really it's the "stuff" in our life that often keeps us from allowing ourselves to be full. There are so many things that weigh us down in our lives and our possessions should never be one of them. It's taking a move across the globe for the Kuhnert's to finally realize this. Open yourself up to becoming more full and if it's "stuff" that's in the way, now is the time to purge.

Fundraiser Results

The numbers are in and the fundraiser dinner proved to be a HUGE success. So many people came out to support our mission efforts from all of our circles and beyond. The cafeteria was so full that we even set up tables outside for diners. We had so many great volunteers help to make it such a successful evening. Many thanks to Adam Kreft and the Muddy River Ramblers (http://blog.muddyriverramblers.com/?p=5) for their great music. We went in with some projections for the evening and were blown away at the money that was raised (more than double our projections). Almost $12,000 was collected for the mission efforts! It's absolutely amazing to see the power of so many come together for one great cause. Many people have asked who the winners were of the "big raffle" so we have decided to post them. Please note all of the items were donated (most by the businesses themselves) so feel free to thank them with your support if you are ever in the St. Louis area. Drumroll please...and the winners are:

Ted Drewes' Cardinal Tickets--Marty Stephanitch, 2nd prize tickets and dinner--Joanne Harder, 3rd prize tickets--Justin Wagner, 4th prize tickets--Brian Donahue, 5th prize California Pizza Kitchen cookbook--Tim Ode.

We also had several mini raffles and the winners of those are:

Chicken Dinner at Lodge at Grant's Trail--Agnes Kelly, Kenrick's BBQ basket and Johnny's Market GC--Ken Kinzel, Are We There Yet day trip--Ray & Shirley Brinker, AB products--Ken Fisher, Cardinals Fan Pack--Janet Ardenrieth, Schlafly Brewery Tour--Jack Magee, Pottery Bowl--Sue Klenc, Xmas giftwrap--Jan Casey, Psghetti's family dinner--Jan Casey, Muny tickets/boxed lunch--Cindy Eatherton, Mary Engelbreit tour/basket--Michelle Artz, BeautiControl basket (from consultant Joanne Harder)--Nathan Barger.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks again to all of our supporters.

Two More Days!!

As I sit here writing this I'm also running through massive to-do lists in my mind. We've got just 2 more days until we begin what will probably be one of the busier weekends in this mission journey. On Friday we're anticipating feeding 400-500 people at our Mission Fundraiser Dinner & Raffle (see previous post for updated info)--amazing especially since I don't think we really know that many people. On Saturday we're having our second of two "Spring Spruce-ups" to get our house ready for our 1 year absence (see spring spruce up post for more info on that).

Preparing for these events has been, at the very least, quite time consuming. Admittedly, Andy has found it to be a bit more rewarding than myself. He's the grand "people person" and has found it very uplifting to be able to use this marketing opportunity to talk to people and spread the Good News of this mission--he's the Mary from the Mary & Martha story in the bible. I'm definitely the Martha and am more of a behind the scenes kind of person. I tend to use my creativity and talents on the planning side of things (if your child has had the privilege of attending one of our children's birthday parties you might know what I'm talking about). The planning and preparations that have gone into this upcoming weekend have been huge. Don't get me wrong, I can plan almost anything and do a very good job with it. But the Martha in me has found myself wondering why I'm spending so much of my time planning for these events when I should be preparing for the "big send off" in June--just 7 weeks away mind you.

But then it's become more clear to me over the last few days. Our mission trip doesn't start when we get off the plane in Belize. It started when we decided to spread the news about this trip months ago. That was the ultimate transformation from a "calling" into a "mission."

We've already heard countless stories of people whose hearts have been moved in one way or another to be called to action because of what we're doing. And while this weekend does have some focus on support raising it goes way beyond that. The Kuhnert family is not going out in our name to do our thing. The book People Raising has reminded me this week that we are going in the name of Jesus to do work which He has called His people. This weekend is about bringing awareness. It's about giving God's people an opportunity to fulfill their responsibilities to help the "least of our brothers." There will be more than just food and labor flowing from our resources--we're really hoping to make the dinner and the work day a focus on what our mission is and help others to see how they can become a part of a "team" that will impact the world.

Forgive me if the Martha in me sometimes seems to get in the way of that focus. I thank God that He constantly brings me back and reminds me not to worry about such things and instead turns my head towards that which is most important--serving Him.

Of course we certainly hope that involves you coming out to eat with us on Friday and work with us on Saturday!