I met Jim and Roberta in Guatemala in 1998. I had planned on travelling from Belize to Panama in three months. But two weeks into my trip I rolled into a little town in Guatemala called Antigua and completely fell in love. Cobblestone streets, colorful colonial architecture, bugambilia flowers hanging over stone walls, all at the foot of a beautiful, misty volcano. I had to stay. So I looked for work. I found volunteer work with an organization called Nuestros Ahijados. I became a liason for needy Guatemalan children and their US sponsers and tutored in an after-school program. At night I waitressed at the Cafe Arco Iris, a quaint beautiful little outdoor restaurant for tourists.
It was a magical time. One of the best things that resulted from that experience was meeting Jim and Roberta, who had been living and working with Nuestros Ahijados for a couple of years. They lived there and spoke Spanish and were amazingly hard-working and kind. We became quite close through an unfortunate effort trying to prosecute and remove one of the founders of the organization, whom we had very good reason to believe was sexually abusing some of the boys in his care. I have so much respect for how much time, energy and money Jim and Roberta dedicated to the effort. We later met up in the states in Albuquerque and San Francisco and have maintained a good friendship.
I was honored to be able to attend the 50th wedding celebration of this fantastic couple.
At the dinner, Roberta went around the room and briefly introduced everyone.
I took the opportunity to say my feelings about them. In the past 20 years, they have been living abroad in the poorest nations in the third world, helping bring education and a higher standard of living to people. They integrate, learn the local language and do wonders. They have lived in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bolivia, Guatemala and Cambodia (I hope I got that right). I said that they gave me so much inspiration to keep caring and maintain idealism. So many people do service once in their lives or when they are young and then join the mainstream and forget about all of the poverty and desperation around the world. Jim and Roberta have given their lives to those in need. They provide a template for my hope in goodness.
The dinner was delicious. Sweet Maya serving herself.
Their wonderful family. They have three kids + spouses and grandkids.
The night ended with dancing. Always a hit with our family.
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