The volunteers spend these final days in Cape Town having some fun, as well as debriefing our experiences and preparing to tell our stories when we return to the United States.

Volunteers, both new and returning, learned so much about these global women. Many of our attendees were from various African countries that have been devastated by war and AIDS. Consequently, the population is quite young, with many street children, orphans, and single moms. One forty-year-old woman at the retreat said she was considered an elder where she served.

In many ways, these women are much like us, raising busy families, grocery shopping, caring for aging parents, dealing with relationship problems at home, at work, or in the neighborhood. They also love chocolate!

But they are very different too. One woman drives 3 hours every 6 months to stock up on groceries. Their aging parents are on a different continent, a 20-hour plane ride away. They are learning one or more languages (and living everyday life in those languages). They live in a location that is not safe, so they can’t exercise nearby or even take their children to a playground. And some countries don’t even have chocolate!

Most global workers have said “Goodbye” so often that they find that they hold back, wanting to avoid the pain that leaving brings. When they find themselves at a Thrive retreat, however, they quickly bond with other like-minded women. They feel comfortable and relaxed here and discover a safe place to share some of the difficult situations in which they live. Thrive and their fellow attendees “get it” and understand when someone cries over a gift of chocolate. Their challenges have become our challenges, and we want to carry their stories with us as we go.