How do I explain how we know Terri & Don Larson? To make a long story short, internet searching last year, I somehow came across their story. Don was a big wig working for Nestles, came to Mozambique to check out where Nestle was getting their cashews & was struck by the conditions of the almost farmers & how little Nestle paid them for their cashews. He returned to US & dug into his personal connection with God. Guess what God directed him to do?? Sell all his toys & house and move his family to Mozambique to set up a cashew business (The Sunshine Nut Co.) that would provide more $$ for the farmer and jobs for others. He also vowed to give 90% of the profits toward improving the community. WOW! I was so impressed that I wrote to them & they wrote back! Soon Terri & I were email buddies. Though we ended up in Egypt last year, Terri & I stayed connected. In March, Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique. When B & J said they wanted to go far away to place they'd never go again, I'd just heard All Hands & Hearts was going to open a base in Mozambique . Bingo. God always opens a door for us!
So here we are spending days with Terri & don & their son, William. We chatted freely over pizza the first night. The next morning, Terri & Delciu (local who helps her with everything) picked us up & we headed to out to see the 3 homes the Sunshine Foundation has purchased. At each home, they have hired a local woman (also in need of help) and ask them to seek out the neediest of the needy young children. They then live together creating a caring family.
As we pulled up to the first home, a gaggle of kids met us. Delciu had them line up. Rog & I scooped cashew pieces (rejects at the factory) into a small bag & passed them out to over 100 happy little ones! What a heathy treat! The kids in the 1st home were sitting quietly anxiously waiting for us. Today was a very special day! Each of the 5 year olds (in all 3 homes) got a book bag filled with crayons, pencils, ruler, erasers & a notebook and ta da...their brand new first school uniform!! Their eyes sparkled! After lots of hugs & photos, we headed to home #2 & home #3 passing out their new treasured backpacks & uniforms. At home #3, the parents had come and they clapped & were as excited as the kids. These parents oils not have had the $$ to buy the uniforms & backpack & therefore their child would not be able to go to school.
The Sunshine Homes had been nurturing their child for 3-5 years meeting their needs while the parents scratched out a meager living. These children had truly been given rich soil & solid foundation allowing them the best chance to bloom someday! It gave me goosebumps to see how the Larson's love & hard work made it possible!
We swung by the factory and did a quick tour before getting dropped off at our hotel where we quickly jumped into the pool to cool off.
Don picked us up at 6:30 and we spent another evening sharing stories. Don grilled chicken & Terri had made some delicious Parmesan potatoes & a bean salad.
How luck are we to spend time with people who've lived in Mozambique for 7 years and could fill us with information about this country & its people!
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, January 31, 2020
Update 12
Our two glorious days in the bush ended when Goodman met us as we left the park & took us on a almost three hour ride to our hut in Mozambique on the Indian Ocean on one side & a river on the other. Sound gorgeous?? Not. The "toll road" was worse than most roads in Mozambique which says a lot. Our hut was "well used" and showed lots of water damage...but it had air conditioning & a frig. And since it was about 100F that was good.
We were hungry so we headed to the restaurant. I ordered shrimp...which was a bit gritty and the boys got chicken. Jen was too hot to eat. Mosquitoes invaded us just as we started to eat so we finished ASAP & headed back to our hut (or shift house as Jen calls it)...and crashed.
Unfortunately, Ben woke up feeling crappy. The wind was whipping & waves crashing both on the river & ocean side. We all just laid around til. 10. Then we covered our eyes & lowered our heads to make our way to the restaurant/veranda area. No one was hungry so we just got drinks Cokes & beer & bought a loaf of fresh bread. We were the only ones at the hotel so it was like our own private place. We played a couple games of euchre but even a win didn't perk Ben up. About noon,he took a Capri & headed back to the room. Rog & Jen played Yahtzee & I sat by the pool & did some writing.
By now we all assumed Ben had food poisoning so no one dared eat in the restaurant. So we bought more bread, & opened a jar of peanut butter. Then Jen & I went for a long beach walk stopping to watch the red crabs scramble and look for shells. The waves were gigantic & the sand whipped across our legs. About sunset, we ate more PJ & bread & all went to bed early...hoping Ben would be better in the a.m.
Woke up next day to a calm ocean, blue skies & a smiling Ben. We savored a few more hours on the beach watching fishermen in their small bamboo, handmade boats throw out & retrieve their nets. A few walked by with bamboo fishing spears.
We enjoyed the last of our bread with PJ and some granola bars. Packed up & several lady waitstaff showed up to carry our luggage...on their heads!! Luckily our taxi was waiting for us when we got to the veranda.
Our taxi driver spoke good English & conversed freely with us as we slowly inched our way navigating the bumpy road. He talked about corruption in Mozambique and how the Chinese were building most everything using their own labor & crappy material.
When we got to the airport, Jen did a bit of last minute shopping & then we ate a delicious lunch. It was difficult to say goodbye to B & J. We'd so cherished the time & experience we'd shared with them. A few tears & long hugs & then we got into a taxi & headed for Matola to meet the Larsons & they headed home to be with their kids.
Sent from my iPhone
We were hungry so we headed to the restaurant. I ordered shrimp...which was a bit gritty and the boys got chicken. Jen was too hot to eat. Mosquitoes invaded us just as we started to eat so we finished ASAP & headed back to our hut (or shift house as Jen calls it)...and crashed.
Unfortunately, Ben woke up feeling crappy. The wind was whipping & waves crashing both on the river & ocean side. We all just laid around til. 10. Then we covered our eyes & lowered our heads to make our way to the restaurant/veranda area. No one was hungry so we just got drinks Cokes & beer & bought a loaf of fresh bread. We were the only ones at the hotel so it was like our own private place. We played a couple games of euchre but even a win didn't perk Ben up. About noon,he took a Capri & headed back to the room. Rog & Jen played Yahtzee & I sat by the pool & did some writing.
By now we all assumed Ben had food poisoning so no one dared eat in the restaurant. So we bought more bread, & opened a jar of peanut butter. Then Jen & I went for a long beach walk stopping to watch the red crabs scramble and look for shells. The waves were gigantic & the sand whipped across our legs. About sunset, we ate more PJ & bread & all went to bed early...hoping Ben would be better in the a.m.
Woke up next day to a calm ocean, blue skies & a smiling Ben. We savored a few more hours on the beach watching fishermen in their small bamboo, handmade boats throw out & retrieve their nets. A few walked by with bamboo fishing spears.
We enjoyed the last of our bread with PJ and some granola bars. Packed up & several lady waitstaff showed up to carry our luggage...on their heads!! Luckily our taxi was waiting for us when we got to the veranda.
Our taxi driver spoke good English & conversed freely with us as we slowly inched our way navigating the bumpy road. He talked about corruption in Mozambique and how the Chinese were building most everything using their own labor & crappy material.
When we got to the airport, Jen did a bit of last minute shopping & then we ate a delicious lunch. It was difficult to say goodbye to B & J. We'd so cherished the time & experience we'd shared with them. A few tears & long hugs & then we got into a taxi & headed for Matola to meet the Larsons & they headed home to be with their kids.
Sent from my iPhone
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