Our Sunshine children get a well deserved two-week break after their second semester of school each year. While they love this time to sleep in, play, and have fun all day long, this second semester break is an emotionally trying time for me. It is during this time that we do home visits where we take any children who have extended family members to visit. We are required to do this by our governing body, Social Action. They believe that it is important for the children to remain connected with their family. And while this sounds like a good idea in theory, for our children, I do not find it to be a positive situation and am thankful that we only have four sets of siblings with known family members still living. I find it very difficult to take our children back to visit the places where they have suffered and to see the people who, in some cases, caused this pain in their lives…a father who kicked his sons out of his house so he could bring in a new woman after their mother died; a grandmother who tightly tied her granddaughter with ropes and beat her; a little boy whose father would lock him in the chicken coop.
Yet, what I see year after year, is that these visits are important to the children. No matter what was done to them, family is still family, and the children want to see them. They put on their best clothes, fill their water bottles, and hop into the car excited and full of anticipation. This year, one of the boys even thanked for me taking him to see his father, for whom, I must admit, I still have a hard heart towards. So I take my thoughts captive and try to make the most of the day for their sake.
We do our best to track down these family members and notify them that we are coming. Some do not have phone contacts, so we then enlist the help of the local village chefe (leader). If the person we are going to visit happens not to be home when we arrive, the children are sorely disappointed.
We called the father of two of our boys to inform him that we would be coming the next day to visit. Yet when we got to his house, we found it empty. The neighbors said we should try looking for him at his "new wife's" house. The boys remembered exactly where her house was, despite the fact that they had not lived there in three years! Thus began a trek through the village, across the railroad tracks, past a witchdoctor's property filled with drums arranged in a semi-circle, and through yet another village as we continually asked the boys, "Are you SURE you know where you are going???"
Along the way, we were encouraged by all the "shout outs" the boys got from local people who remembered them and called greetings to them by name. In the end, we finally did arrive at this woman's house. She told us that she also reminded the father that the boys were coming to visit and she could not understand why he went out instead of waiting for them. The boys were clearly upset to have come all this way and not find their father. We visited with his "wife" for a bit of time and then trekked alllllll the wayyyyy back to our car. The positive in all of this was that we stopped by the all-girls Catholic orphanage where the boys stayed until they were placed with us. The sister who cared for them was as overjoyed to see them as they were to see her. So the day ended on a happy note for them all.
These days are also emotional for me because I find it an absolutely humbling privilege to go with our children to these places. My feet literally go where no white woman has most likely ever walked before. You should see the curious looks I get from people as we walk along the paths. I get to go out into the most remote of villages and sit alongside people who literally have nothing.
During one visit, the aunt of the children brought out a large bag of sweet potatoes grown in her garden. She dumped them on the ground and began picking through them, selecting the biggest and best ones, and placing them in a bag for her nephews to take with them. Truly it was the most giving thing I have ever witnessed.
One benefit of these trips is that the local village leaders always tell us how good it is that we bring the children back every year so that everyone can see them. They are often accused of having sold the children. This brings home the sobering reality that children here really are sold and trafficked. Because we visit annually, the people see how well the children are doing and know that they are being well cared for. Our children always go looking their very best. It does my heart good to see them proud and confident in who they are growing to be. They are no longer the hurt, sad, rejected children we brought to live in our Sunshine Homes. They are now healthy, educated, and flourishing.
We are required to bring a Social Action case worker along with us. The man with us this year asked to stop by a house to check in on three teenaged girls (18, 16, and 13) who had lost both of their parents. Only the oldest girl, Maura, was at home. She was gracious in bringing out their only plastic chairs for us to sit on, while she herself sat on a water jug. We learned that their modest home of two rooms had been built by a local Brazilian missionary. She had completed grade 12, which is no small feat for a child in Mozambique. She was so gentle and kind. When it was time to leave, the case worker told us that Maura had only one parting request from us. Delcio and I knowingly looked at each other, assuming it was money. His answer shocked both of us. Her only request before we left was...a hug. I was so very humbled...and put in my place! I wrapped my arms around her, prayed over her, and encouraged her. I left very impacted by this young girl. We did come back later that day with a food box and a warm blanket for her and her sisters. I have no doubt that I will be stopping by her house each time we travel north to our Villages Project in Muchenguentava.
So what does all of this have to do with you? And why would I be publishing a blog like this for you to read? It is because during these visits, I take you with me in my thoughts. I am beyond grateful to each of our donors and supporters. If it was not for your support, these children would still be living in these terrible circumstances. If it was not for you, we would not be able to offer them a safe home to live in with a mother who loves them best of all, a private education so that they can break the cycle of poverty that has run in their families for generations, medical care when they are sick, clothing to wear, food to eat, even the gas to fuel our car to get us to these locations…the list goes on and on.
So again, please accept my deep, deep thanks and appreciation for your giving, your prayers, and your spreading the word about our foundation. Thank you for being the sunshine for our children.
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