Margarita’s Story

Margarita

by Bob Utter

It is nearly impossible to visit the Guatemalan highlands on a Pura Vida trip and not be deeply affected by the experience.  What I saw on my first trip in 2008 was a beautiful country of truly remarkable people.  People who lived a very simple life without the trappings that we consider “necessities”, but are happy and worship the Lord on a level that was humbling to me.

My first visit to the John Wesley School was equally enlightening.  Here was a school filled with bright young minds eager to learn and determined to better themselves, if only given the opportunity.  We were treated like royalty, but their faith is firmly planted in God and His work. It became immediately obvious what a tremendous impact a small contribution can make in the life of child.

When I returned to Guatemala in 2009, I had my first opportunity to meet my sponsored student, Margarita. A precious little eight year old girl, who was so shy she could barely look up at me to meet my gaze.  With my lack of language skills we weren’t able to communicate much, but it was clear she understood that she was going to be able to stay in school.  Again, I was humbled and slightly embarrassed by the gracious appreciation shown by the family.

Margarita wrote to me often and I was able to visit her one more time, this time in her home village of Paquixic.  The group had already loaded back onto the bus when Margarita’s mother remembered she had brought a gift for me and dashed off to retrieve a red Guatemalan T-shirt.  We gathered up for a photo and I gave Margarita a hug, not knowing it would be our last.

Two months later when tropical storm Agatha stalled over the highlands, most of the world didn’t notice, but anyone with a connection to Pura Vida paid close attention.  When the news came, it was not good: serious flooding and mudslides throughout the area that Pura Vida supports.  The damage was widespread and extensive.  Then the call came: it was more than loss of property.  Little Margarita lost her life along with four family members in a horrific mud slide that destroyed three homes.  My sense of loss approached that of losing a member of my own family.  The world that I lived in suddenly looked very different.

So often at times like these, the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming because there is little that can be done to help; but again Pura Vida provided the avenue to make a difference and quickly assembled relief efforts, in some cases being the first to reach the now isolated villages with supplies.  But the sense of loss and helplessness still loomed heavy for those of us with such strong connections to the people of Guatemala.  Pura Vida trip leader John Williams closes every email with this thought: To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might be the world.  Almost imperceptibly, Margarita and her family had become my connection to my own faith.  It was obvious that more could and should be done.

Pura Vida then undertook the daunting task of locating suitable property and lining up contractors to rebuild Margarita’s family home.  Individual contributions and corporate matching funds were assembled to move the construction forward.  In March of this year I was able to reunite with Margarita’s family along with several members of my family at the site that would be their new home.

There is no greater grief in life than the loss of a child, and that understanding came crashing down while standing with Margarita’s mother and young sister at the site of the new home and presenting her with a framed picture of Margarita.  While it seemed the grief was insatiable, it was clear we were joined together by a higher power and that there truly was much to be thankful for.  The families, Pura Vida team members, and local contractors spent the next two weeks joined together by this higher power working on what we were so clearly called to do.

At St. Luke’s UMC in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Reverends Janet and Dave speak of the “thin places” that bring us closer to God.  They can be anywhere or no place, but I found my thin place in this beautiful spot in the Guatemalan highlands surrounded by people that will forever define my role in God’s world.

Bob Utter now sponsors the education of Margarita’s younger brother, Felix.

[ View slideshow of more photos from this story ]