Carla wrote:

Primary Care Physician has already been assigned and is on 43rd Ave, south of Northern. AHCCCS assigned them to Dr. Kevin Cleary. Tika and Kamala both have appointments on 1/22/09 at 2:40 pm. The girls don't have to have "new patient appointments" but can wait until there is a specific need. Tika has some personal health issues he is anxious to get help with so this is good there is no more of a delay.

Kamala and Uma are now on long term treatment through Maricopa Health Center. They each received two prescriptions. We discussed the meds, the side effects to be aware of and when the best time to take would be (per dr. order's). Will provide one of our extra pill splitters tomorrow as Uma's supposed to take half of a small pill. It was tough to split. They received the pills two days ago but had not started taking any because they weren't sure of the directions.

Tara received another shot today. Next one due Feb. 13. Tika is taking shot record to the school tomorrow to keep them updated, as they requested. Tara starts an after school program tomorrow so she'll be busy most days until 4 pm then she rides home with the other kids who are also in the program.

Tomorrow I am taking Tika to turn in apps for possible jobs. Already picked up applications.
Keep in mind that the Indian School/51st Ave. DMV is closed on Mondays, as Tika found out today.

Carla

Team:
There are several items of news:
1. Not sure if all of you are aware that Frankie Brown broke her wrist over the weekend. It is in a cast. I spoke with Emery on Sun. and she was resting comfortably.
2. Carol will be picking up Tika and Uma and Purna for their eye Dr. appt. on Thursday at 2:00 pm.
3. Tika gave me the phone number for the Bhattrai family on Sunday and asked that I contact them. When I called Bhophal, the elder son, this morning he said that his mother and father are feeling somewhat isolated and wondered if we could bring them to church. I said of course and asked if the rest of the family would like to come and he said yes. There is a need for transportation for 6 on Sunday. If we need to split this between 2 cars I'm willing to do that. They live on 23rd Ave. and Glenrosa. I told him I would call him back on Friday to let him know what arrangements have been made. Please let me know if you want to volunteer for this.
4. I will take Tika to MVD when I go and we can take care of business together. It will most likely be one day next week. I will follow up on the exact day later.
Thanks, Kathy

Ann Wrote:

This morning I took Tika and Kamala to Penney's to exchange the pants and shirt she got for Christmas. It went well, she was able to get the same thing in a smaller, and petite size. It looked like the pant legs were still a little long but the next size was too small. I asked if she would be able to hem them and she said "yes" but I'm not sure she understood. I don't know if they had ever been in a department store before. Tika said that it was a "Big" store!
Ann

Helen wrote:


Our goal is to teach this family how to fish so that they will be fully functional in their new country There are activities that many of us are doing each week that are essential for their orientation to life in Phx.
Recent activities that that are essential to their success include:
-providing them transportation to learn how to return/exchange an item with a receipt
-school lunch routine
-interpreting the dress code at Cortez
-providing assistance in customer complaint with telephone provider
-encouraging Tika to buy a bike lock at Frys
-job coaching and related activities since these are not being provided to our expectation by LSS
-celebrating the new year with family fun without alcohol
-identifying and using tools
-learning the names of the city streets

Additional/continued help is needed in these areas
-Kamala's English
-one-on-one time with Kamala
-job search for Tika perhaps a record keeping system with business cards from contacts
-budgeting and money management
-letter writing. I am not sure if they have written a letter using the stamps we bought them
-file management--Tika has important papers in several different places need little file cabinet

I guess I could make this a huge list. In summary, I believe our work with this family is a work in progress and we would be remiss if we thought we had accomplished our mission of teaching them to fish,
Helen
P.S. Kathy, missed you in Sunday school class this weekend.

Carla wrote:

Amen.

Re: records management...I provided file folders and purple file box when they arrived. I think the file box has been used for laundry. I have shown them how to use the file folders, wrote the topic on the top of the folder. This apparently needs to be revisited. Perhaps the drawer under the TV would suffice as "data central"?

okay with everyone if I address this with them this weekend and set up more organization? Helen, if you get a business card holder we should ask him to keep it in the same drawer, right? I'll also give him a binder to keep job info in....if at all possible, he should copy (xerox) every application before he submits them. This will help tremendously to avoid recalling the same info for each application and in case he needs to follow up with a company he'll have the app. handy. We could easily access TBC office.....I am sure the office staff would copy for him. He could easily get there on his own as long as we lay the groundwork with the office staff.

Carol has graciously offered to get more shirts for Tara for school. I hit a sale at Kmart this morning and found some blouses for the girls. Now they actually will have enough for five days of acceptable clothing. Such a bummer the rules are so tight, but I can understand the school's need to draw a line.

Carla wrote:

Hi all!!
Helen and Elvern....I heard so many great stories of the parade! Tika thought the Sun City Twirlers were especially funny. What a treat you gave them in taking them to such a big event!

Monday the girls were up at 5:30 am, Tika said. A bit anxious! Tara was placed in the same class as the boy Tunka, who lives upstairs. Her teacher is Mrs. Murphy, and she has a room full! At least 5 languages represented. Pray for her! Mrs. Murphy was very thrilled to know that there is a support team around Tara and her family. Backpacks are not allowed at Cactus Wren, but there was a binder in the closet at home so she is set for school supplies. I reminded him that she needs a bike lock and told him that Fry's sells them. He wanted me to take his cash and go buy one but I said no, he needed to do it.

Then we hit Cortez High School, and met some confusion, but worked it all out. The girls have 4 classes together, and lunch. We walked through their schedule so they could find their classes easily. Cortez has 1300 students. My high school had 700. I felt anxious more than they did probably!! Their classes are very close together so it should be easy today. Lunch presented a brief problem as they had not been given the free lunch application on their visit in December, so they would have had to pay $3 each for lunch...that would have been $30 a week, until their application was processed. I pushed for a quick answer so the cafeteria manager said they could have free lunch this week and she would push their application through faster. They only have one textbook, Algebra I. They had to buy gym clothes so I'll submit the receipt for reimbursement. Cortez has very strict dress codes, including NO clothes with any writing on it. So upon our return to their apartment we went through their closet and had to eliminate about half of their few clothes, including that cute Roxy t-shirt that Uma got for Christmas.

Tika went with Billy and me to meet the Iraqi family and to deliver some clothes for one of the families. We also went by the LSS office to meet Ganga who had the paperwork for DES financial assistance for Tika to sign. He is to go over to Ganga's today, on his own, to get the application for the janitorial service company that has hired several Nepali's. Ganga said those applicants who go down there with an LSS worker generally do not get hired but those who go down wtih an American friend and who don't mention LSS generally get hired. To my knowledge, Tika has had no contact with any jobs placement staff from LSS. Neither have the Iraqi families. Thaer told me the jobs placement person told him to find a job on his own. Who really knows what is true, but it's obvious Tika has not had any assistance from the job developer. Tika and Thaer were commiserating about how little help they are getting. Tika was supposed to help Billy and me move some donated furniture but we ran out of time. Billy and I checked out the stuff....there is a dining table and chairs, though I don't know how large because we didn't get to see it. We did see a hutch and a very large entertainment center that will take a truck to move. But it's all free! So if you know who could use it, let me know.

Ann, thanks for taking Kamala to exchange the pants.

I continue to be impressed with how well supported and encouraged this family is and how much they appreciate our friendship.

Have a good week.
Carla

Tomorrow morning I am accompanying Tara and Tika to Cactus Wren Elementary. Tara has three days' worth of school uniforms. If anyone frequents Savers or Goodwill and wouldn't mind spending a few bucks, please check for navy blue, light blue or forest green collared "polo" shirts. She has three but one just barely fits her.

After getting her situated we'll return to take Uma and Purna to Cortez to register for their classes, which start on Tuesday.

Tika and Kamala can both apply for the janitorial jobs mentioned by Helen....Mike, I'm wondering if you worked up a resume for Tika? I don't recall.....I know you mentioned something about wording his work experience at the camp. It'd be helpful to have that info for whomever takes them to apply. I can do it on Tuesday if no one else can. Also, he should go back to Goodwill and apply for that janitor job.

They are REALLY getting into those ESL DVDs we got at Burton Barr Library! Uma was watching them again today when I stopped by to drop off Tara's uniforms. Cactus Wren Elem. may also have ESL classes. Glendale Community College (all MCC colleges, I think) have more structured ESL classes that get into writing, grammar, professional english, etc. Tika and his friend Chate are interested in taking a class there. Chate was a high school teacher in Nepal. It'd be an easy bus ride. Any concerns/objections? I realize it may conflict with a future job, but it's something to think about.

Have a great Sunday......

Carla

January 2 and 3

Friday
We picked up Tika and Kamala and proceded to pick up Ghanga to go to 15th St and Thomas to DES Office for cash assistance. When we arrived we were told that the case manager assigned to them was taking appointments for next week. Ghanga politely said that the directions in the letter did not say that. The receptionist seemed to blow it off. I was offended and said that as a taxpayer I expected that the refugee families needed to be treated with respect. Ghanga thanked me as we returned to the car and re-read the letter. Elvern will take them to the appointment on January 8th at 10:00 a.m.

Next we went to optometrist to see if their glasses were ready and they were closed on Friday. Then we went to the dentist and he also was closed on Friday! After I returned home I reflected on the three strikeouts and determined that they need to begin to keep business cards from each of their professional appointments and use their telephone to make and confirm appointments. I will look for a business card folder next week.

Ghanga hopes to provide us with additional information about GSI (?) Janitorial Service. She has heard that they are hiring. She also said that Nepali people tend to get hired when they show up with American friend rather that LSS case manager. Details to follow on this job prospect.

Saturday
We picked up the Acharya family at 8:30. They were not quite ready. We learned that Uma is still taking a prescription given to her on December 21. ???? It seems like Purna is the pokey one!

The neighborhood children are frequently in their apartment, Wednesday night Elvern learned that Tonga loves basketball so we gave Tonga a Phx Suns basketball to play in the park. He may have well been the happiest boy in the complex!

We arrived at the parade route at 9:00 a.m which was two hours before the parade began. They loved hot air balloons --this may been the first time they saw them up close. Elvern and Tika walked to the staging area for an hour, so I got out the dominoes. They new how to play since Frankie and Emory had taught them. The girls are very good but it has difficult for Kamala. She really needs one on one time without the help of her children covering for her. Next we played Jacks, learned to play with the YoYo, and strategized very well with Connect Four game. I don't believe they had ever seen a parade in Nepal. The girls loved the flag twirlers in each of the marching bands. Tika and kamala siad the best part of the parade was the horses. We were exhausted after we got to their house around 3:00 p.m.

Tika is still having trouble with the $30.00 phone card. The line is always busy to Nepal. He was able to call Nepal when he used the 2:00 phone card which was good for 15 minutes. We don't know how to help. Will someone please take on this challenge? It is extremely frustrating for Tika. He wants to call his parents.

Took the girls, Tika and Ganga to the County Health Department .......the three gals needed two more shots. Poor kiddos!

Went to DMV but the line was out the door, down the sidewalk so we agreed to go back another time to get Tika's AZ ID.

Ganga said it would be best if Tika applied for any jobs, even part time. The job at Goodwill is 25 hours per week. She said he should apply and take it if he gets the chance. I'm taking him with me tomorrow to move some furniture for the Iraqi family so I will discuss it with him then, after I talk to Emory to get the full picture of the info Goodwill gave them.

Also will ask him to do some work for me in exchange for the bike for Tara. In my humble opinion, I would hold off on giving him a computer.

FYI for future refugee ministry.....the main library has scores of ESL and ELL resources....dvd's, cd's, audio tapes, books on tape, even some language specific, i.e. arabic/english ELL. Alas, no Nepali/English ELL, but did find a couple Nepali/Enlgish dictionaries. The same one Paul and Ann gave them in fact!

They were quite impressed with the Burton Barr library. Anything from there can be borrowed to other branch libraries through interlibrary loan to save a trip downtown.

Ganga always states how much she appreciates our team and all the work we've done with the A. family. She case manages all the Nepali families (30 or so!) and is only paid part time though she may be full time soon. That is a huge case load. If anyone knows a mechanic, their family car has a broken power steering system and the estimate they received is $750, which they don't have. Anyone know someone who could help out???Carla

Carla wrote:

Funny moment: last week I had to stop Kamala from putting the eggs in the freezer....she ran out of room in the fridge, so that was the next logical place, I guess.

I think our team has done an incredible job of embracing this family and getting their feet on the ground and walking. The great number of hours that have been spent with them has helped them tremendously, and Lutheran Social Services likely wishes every refugee family could have this kind of support and intense introduction to America as we've given to this family. The ultimate task is NOT to get them employed and off the public welfare system...our ultimate task is to show them the love of Christ, to show them that there is a God who loves them and ultimately has their lives in His hands. Along the way, we get the privilege of helping them become independent of the welfare system. Any secular team can do the latter, but we get the incredible privilege of doing both. And I say "KUDOS!" to all of you for taking the time to make a difference in one family....just wait and see the incredible ripple effect that will have!

Helen wrote:

We ate Christmas dinner early. Elvern picked them up a little before 11:00 and Komula was preparing a huge batch of rice. Elvern thought maybe they had planned to eat rice prior to our dinner in case our Christmas foods were too strange. When they came in the house
Elvern and Tara lit the dozens of candles which she enjoyed imensely. Purna and Uma poured the water glasses and the goblets with sparkling cider. We teased about working for their dinner!

Tika and Komula took seconds of most of the foods. Everyone especially liked the creamy fruit which was yogurt and Cool Whip mixed with a variety of fresh fruits. I showed them the Cool Whip package so I think they will be buying some. The girls chose peppermint ice cream rather than apple pie. All were very observant at the table as to use of utensils etc. We noticed that the girls each drank 3-4 glasses of water which seemed unusual for teenagers. And Carol I was complimented in that Komula licked her plate! We had a lot of fun at the table. We are concerned that Komula needs one on one conversation or she does not get involved. We usually play games on Christmas afternoon but due to the fact that we wanted to see Larry, we brought them home at 3:00.

Friday
Elvern took Tika to Wireless Toys to discuss the "malfunction" of his new Cricket phone. After considerable experimentation and ice it was determined that Tika was shouting to the long distance family menbers creating a problem echo. All is well and Tika said I am happy now.

Saturday
Tika and Komala are taking the bus all by themselves to the B family. They are excited to be doing this alone without assistance. They are to call Elvern if they have a problem.

Christmas Eve

Mike D wrote:

Delivering the Christmas gifts to the Acharya family was great. The caroling was pretty poor and we lacked two of the girls when we got there, but things got better. We were almost out-hosted when Kamala served us Cokes, pinapple, and grapes. Tara was the most ecstatic opening gifts but everyone in the family loved it. Pretty funny when Kamala and Tika opened the wrong stockings! The girls were instantly in their new clothes. I talked a little about the tradition of opening gifts. Ganga offered to translate. Then, later Ganga translated the Christmas story from Luke 2. I accused her at one point of preaching instead of translating. She loved doing it and celebrated her success at the end. We spent a lot of time there so only part of the group went to the other family. Someone else will need to write about that since I was one that had to live for family obligations.

What a great Christmas!

Carla wrote:

Hi all,
I visited our family's friends, Bhula and her husband and two sons just briefly tonight. Gave her some learning games for her kids that my little friends have outgrown and told her Savers and Goodwill often have great used teaching tools. Bhula taught kindergarten in Nepal and loves to engage her kids in games and learning. I invited her and her family to church, but she said that First Christian Church's team takes them to church. Then she pulled out a Nepali-English New Testament!! Wow. There is a Nepali Bible Society that publishes Bibles, so perhaps we can find one online? I think what Bhula was saying also is that there is a missionary couple at First Christian that is going to Nepal for two years, or actually going BACK to Nepal to continue serving there in the mission field. Those missionaries are here for now and are the ones who gave her the New Testament. She said she would share it with the Achyara's since they read Nepali pretty well. So another option would be to contact this couple and get their help in getting our family a NT. What an amazing thing to find right down the "hallway"....the scripture in Nepali! Perhaps we could get this couple to meet with our team and give us some insights?

Also, Ganga said that for now the Achyara family did not get picked for the matching grant program so they will not have that extra money or their rent paid in full for three months. Soon their DES general assistance should arrive, with which they will pay their rent but have not much at all left over.

Also followed up with the Iraqi family that is in need of some furnishings. I took over the loveseat and a cabinet from Paul and Beth Dreshel. Emery, he may need some help re-building the cabinet if you would have time....all the parts and hardware are there, but no instructions. The Dreschel's have a couch also, but this family has a very small apartment and there are only three in the family so they are okay with just the love seat. They also have a nice sofa chair. I am sure I can find another family within a few days who is in need of the couch. My mother had a roll-away bed stuck back in a closet so I took that as well, since they live in a one bedroom and one of them has been sleeping on the floor in the living room. Took a sheet set and two comforters, and a pillow. I asked them what they would like or need and they were very reluctant to ask for anything, but finally got out of them that they would like an iron, ironing board, vacuum and a blender. So if anyone has any contacts for those items please let me know. I will keep their case manager apprised of everything that is donated.

This family also has an amazing story. They are from Baghdad originally. She worked for the government for many years doing data entry until she had her son 12 years ago. He ran a restaurant at Baghdad airport, called Ishtar's. Once our military arrived and took over the airport, he returned to his restaurant and kept it open by feeding our guys great food. He made a lot of friends among the US troops. He said it was extremely dangerous to keep his restaurant open, and every day he told his wife goodbye as he left for work, and would think that it could be goodbye forever because the threat of death was all around. She got misty eyed as he was talking about those days of saying goodbye like that. Some days the military would not let him go home as it was too dangerous, so he would spend several days at the airport. His son was not in school very much during these months since it was so dangerous, and later when he rode the bus to school he would hear machine gun fire and bombs going off. He and his family were also in extreme danger for helping the US military. He showed me his airport ID card, and said if the extremists had ever found that in his possession, they would have killed him on the spot. Three of his friends who ran the business with him were killed because of their associations with American military. Soon after he was able to escape with his family to Jordan where he lived with his brother. His brother may be able to immigrate here within the year. In Iraq, he had a nice house with a garden, two cars, computers, tv's, etc., but he said that he is happy to be here "starting from zero" so that his son and wife can be safe and his son can have a better life. In Jordan he was able to work in a multi-national business, so he seems to be very skilled.

Again, this family, like our family, was so gracious and insisted that I stay to eat even though they had already eaten dinner. And when I say insisted, I mean insisted....I think he actually would have been mad had I left, so I stayed but then I insisted they eat with me. So she served up beef kebab, something like a little egg roll, some flat bread, salad and really great tea. I wasn't the least bit hungry but tasted a bit of all but the salad...it was pretty good. I figured if I didn't touch the salad they could put it back into their supplies! He said he was given $75 upon arrival, but he didn't know how long it was supposed to last him. I didn't have the heart to tell him how long things take to get going because just like Tika, this man wants a job TODAY!!! I am going to put out a broader email to hopefully get him some "payback" from patriotic Americans who feel like I do, that he helped our troops, and now we should help him!! Maybe some veteran will give him a job!

This family lives on 28th Street and Indian School. There are four other Iraqi families in the complex, one of whom is Christian. He asked me again if we'll help anyone or only the Nepalis. I told them a bit about the conditions that the A. family came out of and they were quite impressed with what the Achyara's have been through. Isn't that amazing, considering what they've lived through??? But they realized and we talked about how far "ahead" of the Nepalis the Iraqi's are, since at least these folks had so much technology, work experience, literacy. The wife even drove, which surprised me, given all we heard on the news about the strict rules there in Saddam's day. Their last name is Hussein, but I get the idea that they are changing it, for obvious reasons! But that might change after Barack Hussein Obama is inaugurated....then it will have a better connotation, maybe. I saw a news piece not long ago that Iraqi school children in Phoenix are the target of bullying more than other ethnic groups, especially in areas with higher numbers of military families. So I would change my name too, if it were Hussein.

So what an adventure this all is.....fascinating how God is bringing the world to our very doorstep. Carla

I missed posting a few days so we will need to double up on some posts:

Carla wrote:

I followed up on contact I made earlier this week at the LSS office....with Mr. Rahmad who just last week moved to the US with his wife and son. I visited their apartment to get an idea of what they need....they live on 28th Street just south of Indian School. There are four other Iraqi families there. Mr. Rahmad is Muslim but one of their friends said he is Christian. I took them so basic necessities and a few games for his son. They have a nice dining table and two nice oak chairs, and a very large comfy chair and ottoman in the living room. I think they need a bed, but I am not sure. A roll away bed would be perfect as they live in a one bedroom so that way their son would be able to put his bed away out of the living room. I took them a folding camp chair so that at least they could all three sit at the table for meals. They were so gracious and so extremely appreciative. I intentionally took along the two boys I babysit, to broaden their world views. The 8 year old was a little scared of them when he realized they were from the war zone, thinking they were the enemy in Iraq, so it was good for him to get a better understanding of the situation and to see the friendly smiles and gracious attitudes towards us. . Kathy, just let me know what you have leads on.....I"d like to know how big the stuff is as their place is very small. The end tables and lamps would be a sure bet. I have time this weekend to make a trip and can fit a lot in my van. Anyone have plans with the Achyara family this weekend? I'd like to do something with them but don't want to interfere with anyone else's plans......Movie review: we saw "Bolt" today......very funny, good family movie!Carla

Mike wrote:

I spend Saturday with the Acharya family. Tika showed me the materials he had from the Sheraton Crescent. I decided to bring everyone to my house so Tika could complete the online application. The rest of the family watched "Polar Express" while Tika completed the application with some help from me and Uma. Uma is their family computer geek. Her English is also quite good. She acts as translator in spots. It was challenging to complete a very long application. We tried to make the work experience fit. Tika was part of a team of four that distributed food and other items to about 700 people. We made some attempt to describe distribution of bamboo, thatch roofs, and food in HR terms with strong skill terms like "supervise, organize, submit reports, etc." There was also a quiz of 54 questions asking about work ethic, honesty, punctuality, and response to specific scenarios.

Next I decided to give them more driving experience. We all piled into my truck and went to CCOJ. Tika's driving improved from last time. We decided to give Kamala a try. It was very funny. Since Purna was 17, she got a turn too. Purna was almost as good as Tika. When we were done, Kamala learned to say, "Today, I drove for the first time." I also prepped her for Sunday when I explained she would say, "Yesterday, I drove for the first time." She was able to tell this to Frankie on Sunday.

After driving, we went to a very busy Arrowhead Mall. Tika and I were walking in front of the rest of the family around the mall. He told me that one day he wants to take me to Nepal to show me around!

We then went back to my house. I invited them to stay for dinner. We played dominoes for a while. It seemed really good for Kamala. Uma, Perna, and Terra caught on very quickly. Tika was on the phone a lot all day. I understand why he might need unlimited minutes. We made them chicken enchiladas and a cottage cheese/jello salad. They ate a lot and had seconds on the salad.

The girls got on the computer together. They were checking email and sending instant messages to friends in Nepal even though it was very early in the morning. I asked how they got computer access in Nepal. They told me you could get 20 minutes for 30 rupees at an Internet Cafe.

By then it was almost 8:00 PM. We took three cars back to CCOJ to go through the lights. Then we crammed ten people into the bed of my pickup with lots of blankets. Tika, my daughter Naomi, and I were in the cab. At the end we all crowded into a photo with Santa. Kamala and the girls really like our young grandchildren! It was after 10 when I got them home. It was a great day!

Thursday

Carla writes:

Had some extended time with Ganga (case manager) today. She explained that she has requested grant money to cover expenses for the A. family and will know within a week if they are accepted. If they are accepted, their rent will be paid for three months, in full, and they will receive cash monthly for other expenses. Tika and Kamala will EACH receive $200 and each child will receive $40 per month. If they are not accepted to the grant program, they will get DES cash assistance of which nearly all will go to the rent, and they will have very little left over for non-food items. Instead of cash gifts, cash would best be directed to buying non-food items in the future such as soap, paper goods, hygiene items, etc.

We attempted once again to enroll Tara in school but she is short one shot, believe it or not. So I'll work around Elvern's schedule tomorrow (Thurs) and get the girls and one of the parents back down to the county to finish the shots. The school office is closed after Thursday until the morning of Jan. 5 when school resumes.

Kamala got a good report from the dentist, but Tika will need some fillings. Have to wait on pre-approval before those appointments can be made. The girls actually missed their optometrist appointment due to a miscommunication between the doctor's office and Ganga, so that will have to be rescheduled.

I met a family from Iraq, who have been here just 6 days. They escaped Iraq and lived in Jordan for three years. He seemed to have been a very accomplished businessman in Jordan, so I could sense a great deal of shock over leaving all of that and coming to a basically empty apartment, with no job, etc. He said three of his friends were killed before he left Iraq and they had a lot of sadness in their lives at that time. If there were any chairs, a tv or other living room furniture available, this family could use any available. He said they each have a bed, they have two chairs and a table. There are three of them in the family.

Tara learned a very important lesson today......do not, repeat DO NOT, open the door of the vehicle while we are going 35 mph. I guess she just wanted to see if it would open if she pulled the handle any other time besides when the vehicle is stopped. Guess I need to engage the child safety locks when Tara is in the car!!

Carla

From Helen:
Elvern is picking the family around 12:30 tomorrow. They will be going to the scheduled interview at the Sheraton. Elvern is intrigued with the HR director. She clearly stated that they do have not openings but still wants to interview them... Could it be that she has a plan? Does she just want the three for occasional banquet servers? After that the are going to the Marriott just a little further North to inquire/apply.

After that Elvern is taking Tika and Kumalo to the Phoenix Workforce Connection at 7th Street and Mountain View. Carla, this would be in our strange little neighborhood! We received some positive information about their services and negative information about their case load. We are going to be like secret shoppers of their services and my friend, the Phx One Stop Director, is anxious to help us through the system.
Pray and stay tuned for the report.
Helen and Elvern

Carla writes about Monday night:

Last night the Achyara family attended our small group Bible study Christmas party. We had a nice meal together then played a game that was really fun and that they really got in to, especially the girls. Ultimately they didn't win the gift prize, but the winner of the prize graciously gave it to them anyway (a gift card to Starbucks).
Today took Tika, Kamala and Tara to the optometrist....all three need glasses which were ordered and will be available in three weeks. Tomorrow Uma and Purna will be examined.

Tomorrow Tika and Kamala go to the dentist; Tika has cold sensitive teeth. The girls will not go to the dentist until they are covered by AHCCCS which provides comprehensive covereage. If Tika and/or Kamala need any extensive dental work, we will need to know if the Refugee Medical Assistance Program will cover it as AHCCCS does not cover restorative work in adults, only extractions.

Also today Uma and Purna had evaluative testing at Cortez High School. I picked them up there afterwards due to the rain, and met their academic counselors and the school social worker. Cortez HS hosts 48 language groups! The girls will be in classes together; four ELL classes, PE, and math (with non-ELL kids). On Jan. 5th they go to school only to register, then begin in earnest on Jan. 6.

Tara was nearly derailed by being referred to Cholla Middle School, but long story short tomorrow she will be un-enrolled from Cholla and I will go with Ganga, Kamala, Tika and Tara back to Cactus Wren and meet with whomever we need to meet with to ensure she is enrolled in 6th grade there. She was in 6th grade in Nepal and is in NO way ready for middle school so that was a big and unnecessary detour to Cholla. Tika and Kamala learned today that they have the right to question decisions made by "authorities" (in this case likely just the secretary at the front desk at Cactus Wren), and they learned that their opinion carries a lot of weight in the educational process. They did not want Tara to go to Cholla, but did not know they could question the decision either. Tara did not want to go to Cholla either! I haven't mentioned the option of Tara having a bike.....is that coming into reality or something we need to work on? Tara will need school uniforms, available at Target, Savers, Sears. Blue pants/shorts/skirts and white or blue or dark green shirts. Please let me know directly if anyone is interested in providing these so we can avoid duplicating. They have six backpacks and a year's worth of notebook paper, a calculator, plenty of pens/pencils, glue, folders, dictionaries.....they are set for now.

Tomorrow am picking Ganga up first then the family, then we'll go to Cactus Wren, then to their dental app'ts. Frankie emailed that she can take them later to the optometrist, which is at 6701 N. 19th Ave, just a bit south of Glendale on the east side of 19th Ave. It's a one story building, Frankie.....Tika will recognize it. I am hopeful the appointments will not overlap. Tika is careful to bring the RMAP cards but make sure he has them.

All but Purna had positive TB skin tests, which means they had contact with someone who had TB, which is very common in countries and living conditions like theirs in Nepal. They will all need to take medication for several months. They all had chest x-rays to clear them regarding actually having TB....they just had contact with someone else who had it.

I asked today if they wanted any help cleaning the bathrooms....Tika and Kamala said no. Tika said Kamala is "excellent" at cleaning.....a very nice compliment. Tika said that Sunday they will walk to church; he said they miss walking.

Take care, all.

Frankie writes about Saturday:

We picked up the Family Sat. morning . They had fun helping us with our tree. We made cookies and snicker doodles. They took home a container of them. Emery took them to Frys to shop for groceries, then took them home.

PS: We were irrigating that morning and it was time to turn it off so I took off my shoes and waded out in the water. I got to the valve to turn it off and looked back. Kamala had done the same as I did, but she was saying, "Cold!, Cold!" When I was finished I put my arms around her, and we walked out together. What fun! I forgot to say we had lunch also.

Saturday night Billy and I took the bus to the family's apartment, gathered them and four neighbors up, and took the bus back to our house. We had a blessing in that the fare box on the bus was broken, so we didn't have to pay! The little five year old neighbor, Robin, was so excited to go on the bus ...it was his first time and his eyes were so big! They are all so used to walking it was not a big deal to walk from the bus stop to our house. Then we had taco soup, queso and chips (which they all loved), played Wii (which was very hard but they loved it), roasted marshmallows, tried s'mores (which were just too sweet) and best of all, played UNO. They LOVED Uno. Card games are a big part of their culture and they caught on very fast and have quite a flare for throwing cards on the table. Robin even caught on right away and was quite a good player. I gave them the Uno cards as they left, then later realized the cards weren't mine, but were a little boy's I babysit. oops. Looks like I'll be runninng to Target today. I'll send pictures out when I get a chance. They went nuts over my camera........since you can immediately see the picture you just took....it was hilarous. Sunday night, Uma and Tara went with the junior high group on the Christmas lights tour and caroling. They seemed to enjoy it and actually did try very hard to sing along with the carols. Tika did not feel well Sunday, but by Sunday night looked and felt a lot better. Make a note for the next refugee family to make sure they have hot packs and Tylenol available after those immunizations.....and not much to do the next day in case they feel sick.

Carla

Carla writes about Friday:

What a long afternoon....picked up the family at 12:30, 5.5 hours and lots of immunizations later, dropped them off, with instructions for warm compresses for their sore arms from all the shots. All five had TB test started, and then the girls had to have 5 shots in their arms. Tika and Kamala had two shots. They squirmed a bit and yelped but no tears. All had chest x-rays and lots of blood drawn, so add another poke to the count! The pediatrician spoke Hindi, so they conducted the girls' screening in Hindi. The girls understand Hindi to a degree. The girls will have to have more shots in 2 and 6 months for the series, but for now they are good to go. On Monday a health worker will come by their house to check their TB tests and complete the paperwork. He knows that they are going to school to enroll on Monday so he'll work out the time around that.

The clinic is a cross section of the globe. All refugees have to have these screenings. We sat by a family from Thailand, and I taught our girls and their boys how to play tic-tac-toe. Then we had the world's first ever Nepal vs. Thailand International TTT competition, with Nepal the victor in the end! Someone at TBC had given me an Operation Christmas Child shoebox for a 7-10 year old boy, but had given me the box a week late with instructions to find a boy for it. So it absolutely met the need as the little Thai boys were having to wait so long and I was able to give them a gift wrapped box full of surprises. They were so happy!! It also had a gospel booklet in it, so who knows how that might plant a seed.

Our girls passed the time giggling and playing another paper game, and picking on Tara. She gets picked on a bit, mostly from Purna apparently. They had a scratch fight sometime in the last week. Being the youngest of three sisters in my family, I empathize with Tara.

I talked with Tika again about the phone card/cell phone issue. He is really desiring to call his parents in Nepal, which is so understandable. He has $50 so I told him if he wants to buy a phone card he can use my house phone tomorrow to call his parents. I don't have long distance on my house phone and feel that it's good for him to pay for the call. He agreed that he would like to do this. They need to gain a better understanding of contracts and unscrupulous cell phone sales people before they head down that path.

See you all Sunday........