Last weekend was a total whirlwind. After running around all over the place in and around Durban, we managed to put together the supplies she wanted with the exception of a glass fridge. Although we did find a few, they were just cost prohibitive. Nevertheless, she came up with another plan. She contacted a young guy locally who builds glass displays and we walked all over Mokhotlong gathering the supplies -- metal poles, glass glue, etc. We found her a cabinet with a sink which she can use to store her supplies as well as wash her dishes. That was such an exciting find! We bought her a nice table and six chairs for the sitting area. And over the weekend, the guy built her the display case. Her borrowed fridge is in place and her new stove should be connected to the electricity by the end of this weekend. For now, she's using my small but functional toaster oven.
All day Monday, she and I worked in my kitchen preparing loads of goodies to stock her shelves. We made over 200 cookies, 50 muffins, 15 cupcakes and 3 cakes. She opened for business on Tuesday. So far business has been good and she is encouraged. Also she received news that the rent for the shop went down by 25% so she was thrilled about that! We have been battling colds all week, so I haven't been able to do some of the things I want to do for her. I'm planning to print up flyers she can hand out and/or post around town to raise awareness about what she is selling. Once her oven is connected, she also plans to start selling pizzas. I know, that doesn't exactly fall into the sweet category, but she's convinced they will sell because there is only one other place in town selling pizzas.
A sign for her store is still a necessity. She is looking into that. And she wants to try more recipes and see what else might be quick sellers. Currently she is selling chocolate cake by the slice, chocolate cupcakes, ginger cookies, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and vanilla muffins. To drink she is offering homemade ginger soda because it is summer. In the winter she plans to offer tea and coffee. If you have any other fabulous recipes which are inexpensive to make, feel free to share them with me!
~Abby
I just want to say ... until you've been somewhere in Africa (basically, about anywhere in Africa) and witnessed the ingenuity, creativity, hard work ethic, and ability to do SO MUCH with so little ... you may not be able to fully appreciate this whole story! But this just thrilled my heart to read this morning ... it's almost like I was picturing it chronologically in my mind taking place ... building up ... seeing God fulfill a dream and bring such joy to a dear lady's heart (actually, I might say to TWO dear lady's hearts)! This is one of the reasons why we SO love the African people WHEREVER we have met them! They are such a source of conviction and challenge to our hearts (and our lifestyle here stateside)! Abby dear ... thanks for sharing ... and thanks for investing in these dear people ... our brothers and sisters in Christ ... halfway around the world!
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Dad (& Mom, I'm sure)
This makes my heart HAPPY today :) Oh my Goodness!!! I still want to send a donation for this SWEET endeavor and look forward to hearing more about the success of it all :) Do you have a Toll House Pie recipe? It's like a chocolate chip cookie in a crust and SO YUMMY. I can send it to you if you want it. Give my love to dear MaMopeli :) Wish I could visit and give you both a (((HUG)))) in person :) Debbie
ReplyDeleteHad to add another comment about the RED POLKA DOT table cloth :) LOVE LOVE LOVE it :)
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