My Stateside Visit: Food, Fundraisers, Family and Friends
My Stateside Visit: Food, Fundraisers, Family and Friends
Well, after two years and a global pandemic, I finally made it back to visit my family and friends. I did not realize how much I missed while living in Tanzania. My time has been busy, starting in Boston to attend a wedding. It was great to spend a few days there enjoying both Asian food and seafood.
My next stop was Michigan to prepare for the MGRC fundraising tour and to enjoy some time relaxing and eating Sushi and BBQ. We had two events to introduce MGRC to potential donors and to update existing sponsors on our progress.
The next event was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and it was nice to see old friends from my corporate days at Rockwell Automation. The event was very successful and we are excited to welcome new donors and sponsors to MGRC.
“I have heard of the MGRC, but until I had the chance to really learn about the girls, the mission and the work, it was “just an idea” to me. Meeting Rick and learning of the passion, love, encouragement and caring he is creating for these very young women turned my heart in a moment. We are very happy to help with this!”
~New MGRC Donor
I headed to Phoenix where I spent time with friends and my daughter’s family and got to attend my grandson’s 13th birthday celebration. I took an overnight trip to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet with two board members. While there, I also spoke with a potential missionary family about volunteering at MGRC and enjoyed seafood, pasta and Carolina BBQ.
The last fundraiser was in Scottsdale, Arizona where I was proud to see my granddaughter speak about her time volunteering at MGRC this summer. I ate too much Mexican food and have gained 10 pounds!
One of our goals for this trip was to raise funds to continue building the MGRC ecoVillage. The ecoVillage will be a sustainable way for us to provide even more girls a path out of poverty. I am very excited about our future!
At the end of the month I will fly back to Boston and have a chance to catch up with my son the day before I head back to Tanzania. The MGRC staff is doing a great job keeping things going in my absence. Though the food might not be as tasty, the roads not as smooth, the shower not as comfortable, it is still my home and I am looking forward to my return. It has been a very pleasant trip, but I miss my MGRC grandchildren. All 54 of them!