Our past two days at Iris were Saturday & Sunday which was great because the kids weren't in school and we could play most the day...plus the weather has cooled to 85-90 degrees with a sprinkle in the air so we weren't so lethargic! I even got the caregivers (tias) to play Memory game with me. The laughed & played for almost an hour. The playground which is entirely sand & now a bit moist made a great place to make sand houses, garages, roads, etc. and flip flops are perfect trucks. Kinda like a beach but without the lake! There's a toy cupboard in the visitors hall so each time we'd go out, we took something new to do: puzzles, play dough, books, crayons, various games & the boys' favorite, frisbee. We also blew up the rest of the balloons we'd brought. Hopscotch, jumprope, 4 square & tag also was happening. Busy playground! The disabled kids came out to hang out in the covered pavilion & it was heartwarming to see the other kids toss balloons to them.
In the babies' dorm, riding toys were out and they were crashing & hilariously laughing. The tiny ones crawled to my lap safe from the crazy drivers. Later, they went out in their own sandbox & tossed sand all over each other. Soon my lap too was covered with sand.
Sunday at church, we were asked to come up front to speak. We thank them for opening their hearts to us & giving us so many experiences. Then they wrapped us in capulanas and prayed over us. I felt very blessed.
As evening drew near, we had to start saying good bye to the missionaries, tias & kids. I choked up many times...especially when on particular girl who'd seemed to seek me out all the time, hugged me & said "I Love You." As tears rolled down my cheek, another girl w/ special needs said, "Why you cry?" All I could say was "Because I care."
One of the missionaries, Jez came to say goodbye to us. She told Roger she'd seen him playing with kids that she'd never seen spend time with a white visitor. She was touched by how Roger so easily drew them in to play with him.
So we leave Mozambique. A country with so many needs and now so many people we have come to care about.
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