Meet the Guatemala Mission Team

From top left: Jon Schmick, Brian Dirks, Larry Schmick,  Rueben Weeks,

Maxx Snyder, Steve Drury and Doug DeVries. Missing from photo is John Kirk.

A couple of months ago I asked my Guatemala teammates, via email, to send me a little background about themselves, what they do, who they are and why they are going. I didn't receive response from all, but feel the need now on the eve of our trip to make these introductions the best that I can. Over this time I've learned a little more about each one just in the course of talking to them and, of course we expect to get to know each other much better over the course of the next 10 days.

We are really just everyday people, some with jobs and families, some retired and one team member just starting in the big adventure called adulthood. We are all connected somehow to Marine View Pres, but not all of us attend regular services there. I guess we all must carry the motivation of helping others, which is why a few on our team are what in the world of justice are know as "repeat offenders" or, more politely, veterans of missions past. Others, like myself, are total newbies to this.

Earlier this week I wrote about Rueben, whom I interviewed over pancakes on Easter morning. I'll go next to Maxxwell Snyder, whom at 23 is the youngest member of our team. 

Maxx Snyder

Maxx recently earned his B.A. in mathematics from Western Washington University, with a minor in accounting, which more than qualifies him for his role as our team accountant. His fine Viking education recently landed him a position with Boeing! Maxx recently moved back in with his parents Jody and Don Snyder in Tacoma. His hobbies are reading, hanging out with friends and family, play golf, watch sports, and working out with a friend in the mornings at an athletic club in North Tacoma. This will be Maxx's first time in Guatemala but not his first mission trip through the church. In high school he went to Mexico with the youth group where they taught vacational bible study wto the locals and helped with building repairs.

Maxx says this about his involvement in the mission:

"I have always loved going on mission trips. I have always loved helping people and hearing about the different lifestyles they live compared to how we live in the USA; it really makes you appreciate the vast amenities we have in our own lives compared to what they have. Going on several mission trips before I have always loved to see the enjoyment that the locals got when you gave them something simple as antibacterial hand wash and/or a soccer ball where kids in the U.S. are always complaining about not having the latest and greatest new toys when they have a million of toys in their room to play with."

Next up is Jonathan Schmick, 64, the pastor of Marine View and our spiritial leader on this mission. I believe this is Pastor Jon's 22nd year as head pastor at the church, and this is his fifth mission to Guatemala. He first went to Barillas in 1995 to help build a school, and has been three other times to install stoves in villages.

Beyond his labor, one of Jon's outstanding contributions to these missions has been his photography, which is one of his main hobbies outside of the church. In fact this year he compiled a large collection of some of his best nature shots from Guatemala and these images were placed on cards, which were sold to raise funds and proved quite popular as the supply sold out.

Pastor Schmick on the road

Other hobbies of Pastor Jon's are road cycling and backpacking. In fact I know from personal experience that Jon rides his bike a lot - he and I have completed many long rides together but there is no way I can keep up with him on the hills. He lost a lot of weight a year or so ago through a rigorous diet and cycling and has managed to keep it off (unlike some of us who struggle in that department). Jon and his wife Shirley live in Federal Way.

Here is what Pastor Jon has to say about why he is drawn to go to Guatemala:

"I think is a worthy project for Christians to make a difference in the lives of others. I am also going as the pastor of the church to model and encourage others to do this kind of work."

About the mission itself, Pastor Jon says:

"I believe these stoves will make a differenc in the lives of the villagers by allowing them to inhale less some, use less of the wood, spend less time getting the wood, and not having the risk of falling into the fire. I think our presence is also positive as we model sharing with them. I hope that somehow we are the presence of Christ and we do more than just install stoves but we also give the gift of God’s love and presence."

The thing I admire most about Pastor Jon is his spirit of life. He is inquisitive, always eager to learn new things, has a friendly,welcoming presence and a sharp wit. He can take it as well as dish it out, which is why he and Associate Pastor Jesse Skiffington are so compatible at the pulpit - they tease each other endlessly and it really helps to make the services entertaining as well as meaningful. I have come to know Jon as a friend as well as my pastor and am very much looking forward to making this journey with him.

Jon's older brother, Larry Schmick, is also coming along. Larry did not supply me his official bio and I haven't had a chance to interview him so I'll just make some stuff up. Seriously, Larry is not a man of the cloth like his brother, but rather a retired  United aircraft mechanic who lives with his wife out on Lake Tapps. Jon tells me they are of oppositive political persuasions (Jon being the more liberal one) but despite their differences you can tell these brothers are very close. They grew up together on a farm in Colfax, Washington, two of four siblings I believe.

Steve Drury, left, with Reuben Weeks and Larry Schmick during
our packing party last week.

Larry puts those skills to work twice a week at the Marine View bike shop. The bike shop is located in an old dump of a house on church property out back. The house was about to be condemned before some guys got together several years ago, fixed the leaky roof, shored up the floor with plywood and filled the place with bike stands, tools, parts and bikes. The busy crew of volunteers there fixes up the donated bikes and gives them away to needy kids in the community. Larry is their star mechanic, and, like his younger brother, does a little cycling himself. He's also an avid bow hunter and also enjoys boating on the lake. Larry is one of the toolmasters on our mission, along with Reuben. He has been at least once before, maybe a couple of times. He is a grandfather and his grandkids have been seen in tow at the bike shop.

One of the reasons I think our team leader, Doug DeVries, and I are going to get along on this mission is because we are both COUGS - graduates of Washington State University, that is. He was a few years ahead of me but you know, WSU alums have that something in common that just isn't shared by alumni from other institutions.

Beyond that,  Doug, 56, has been attending Marine View most, if not all of his life. He and his wife Carol are both very active in the church, in fact Doug has taught children's Sunday School for 22 years.  He has served three terms as an elder and on various church committees. Doug and Carol have two grown children.  When not at church Doug enjoys raquetball, skiing, sailing and scuba diving. And when not doing that he works in Seattle as the regional sales manager for ConGlobal Industries, that repurposes shipping containers for makeshift housing, storage, and transportation services.

This is Doug's second mission to Guatemala. He says:

"This trip brings a whole new dimension to serving the Lord and his children on a very real level, and is a big leap of faith at the same time."

We are very fortunate to have with us this year another veteran, Steve Drury, who lead the 2011 mission and is lending us his expertise once more.  In fact this will be Steve's fourth trip to Guatemala. He and his wife, Vicky, have been attending MVPC for about 19 years. Ironically, Vicky has worked for many years as a counselor at Lakeland Elementary, where both of my kids attended a few years back so I knew her when and was pleasantly surprised to bump into her at a church event a year or so ago. 

The Drurys have two daughters, Emily, (a middle school teacher in Federal Way) and Alice (an ensign with NOAA), both married. They are also new grandparents, with a grandchild born to Emily on Feb. 25. By day Steve is the applications director (I think) for a Seattle-based company called Sharpe Mixers, which makes mixing machinery and other equipment for industrial and marine purposes.

Steve tells us that “short term missions are a great way to get to know fellow MVPC members and to see how effective MVPC outreach programs are”.

As previously mentioned our newest team member is John Kirk, the son-in-law of longtime MVPC member Bill Baird, who had to bail from the mission unexpectely due to a leg injury. We all met John, who lives in Salem, briefly over Skype last week. He is a family man who is a Realtor and says he knows his way around tools. He is also a man of faith. We'll learn more about John in the days ahead.

Okay, a little about your scribe. My wife, Dee, and I started attending Marine View just a couple of years ago. By day I work as the communications director for Lt. Governor Owen in Olympia - you can find my professional bio on our web site and if you "Google" or "Bing" me you can find other info too if you must. Dee works for World Vision. She and I were married in 2004. I brought two kids into the marriage, a daughter and a son, and she a son. 

Our oldest, Hillary, 22, is working on her MBA in Health Care Administration at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Thomas, my step-son, 20, lives in Bellevue with Dee's mother and is working full-time at Target in Factoria Mall there. Kyle, 18, is an honors student at Thomas Jefferson High in Federal Way and plans to attend Western Washington University this fall. Perhaps he and Maxx should talk!

In my free time I enjoy skiing, cycling (both mountain and road), fishing and other water sports. I run half-marathons when I am in shape, which now I am not but knocked off two in 2011. Also get musical from time to time, playing the clarinet mostly around Christmas. One of these days I'd like to dust it off and join a church or community group.

Like Rueben, I was first attracted to the Guatemala mission a year or so ago when I started attending meetings and learning more about what we do there. I am 51 years old and have never been on a mission before - the closest I've come is visiting a brother in the Peace Corps in Nepal back in the 80s.

I look forward to this being a personal growth opportunity, to bond more deeply with the other team members,to help otheres and, most importantly, to help carry the word of Christ to another land. It is my hope that we can make a true difference in one community and perhaps that community can make a difference with us too.