Kalena Gugliuzza is the daughter of Steve and Lisa Twinem, who served alongside Bert and Colleen Elliot for the last dozen years of their lives. She knew Bert and Colleen as “Grandpa” and “Grandma”. Kalena wasn’t aware that Bert’s mother always grew geraniums in her enclosed front porch in their home at 7272.
Geraniums always remind me of Bert and Colleen Elliot who I knew as my “Abuelito” and “Abuelita”. These flowers filled the garden in Centro Biblico Trujillo (the church they planted) which also doubled as El Colegio Cristiano Elliot (the school they founded) both of which I attended. I never used to like them, geraniums that is. Their stems were a little fuzzy and they smelled a little funny. One day while standing in the courtyard by the garden, Abuelito walked by and he paused to admire them. He called me over to admire them with him. He said, “Look, do you see how a geranium is a bunch of small flowers that make up a bigger flower? Aren’t they beautiful? Isn’t God so creative?” He was genuine in his delight and it bubbled over in his voice. I hardly knew what to say. In all honesty, I had never looked at them that closely. To me they were just a flower. Ordinary because of their abundance in the place I found myself every day.
The memory has stayed with me and I wondered why, because there are so many wonderful memories. As I have mulled it over throughout the years it has become more clear to me that it stuck because it was a profound reflection of the Elliots themselves. They were amazing people who accomplished great things for the Kingdom, but they saw themselves as a small part in God’s beautiful plan and they were delighted to be a part of it. The Elliots lived as though they were ordinary people serving an extraordinary God. Abuelito was gentle, passionate about ice cream, and noticed all the simple things in life. He would stop to count how many pelicans were in a pod. Abuelita could tell stories so vividly that the memory of them still brings laughter. She liked her toast nearly burnt and for there to be more stuffing than turkey. “Side by Side” by Brenda Lee was their song as they were an inseparable pair keeping God at the center of it all. If you spent the night at their house you knew you would wake to the sound of them reading Scripture or singing a hymn before ever leaving their room. Anyone who came to them was heard and their individual needs were cared for with a humility they never abandoned. People were able to experience God’s personal attention and unconditional love, because no one was ordinary to them. They were the other small flowers making up the larger flower that God had created, and the Elliots took notice of each one. It is hard to truly put the Elliots into words. There is so much that could be said and anyone who knew them would have something to contribute to the telling of their story. For now, I will sum it up as best I can by saying, they were beautiful. God was so creative. From Kalena Gugliuzza
Bert and Colleen truly delighted in the beauty of God’s creation. Their love is evident throughout their story in Love So Amazing: The Missionary Biography of Bert and Colleen Elliot.