Symanzik Family Update

In October I had blogged about Flora Mae and Rico. To read more of their story go to http://reachinternationalhealthcareandtraining.com/content/mae-and-rico
But I wanted to give this update to you on Flora Mae's surgeries!

Mae, our neighbor's foster child, has a walker now! She has had two surgeries to fix her leg that has been broken since she was 5 years old. She's doing extremely well since her surgery last week! She has an external fixator (since the first surgery last Dec), but is finally able to start learning to walk again. Doc's say maybe it can be removed in a couple of months. What a day that will be for this child who has been crippled since she was 5 yrs old!!

It is so cool how God works. That walker Mae is using had been given to her a few weeks ago by the landlord of the house Dr. Sam and Sherri rent! At the time it was given to Mae it didn't look like she'd be able to use it for a long time. But this past surgery found her leg healing up better than the doctors predicted, which has allowed for Mae to start practicing walking now!!!!

"Lord of all to Thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise..."

The drainage system here is not the most efficient so when there is a heavy rain fall, the streets flood very easily.

Last night, Kurt, Kirsten and I were driving near a local mall during a very heavy downpour. As we slowly drove through the rain-flooded streets, the water was about 1 1/2 - 2 feet up the side of our car. Thankfully it didn't get into the car engine! We didn't stall!

The streets here flood easily. We are thankful our house is on top of a hill!!!

Mikayla's 10th grade class went to the mall and had photos taken
at a photo studio! What fun!!!! (one classmate is missing).

Well, after four years here, I took the plunge and got my driver's license today. You need to understand driving here is nothing like USA driving.
When we first moved here it looked so confusing and frustrating; but there really is a rhythm and rhyme to the flow (or non-flow) of the traffic - - you just need to remember not to be in a hurry going anywhere!!!!

_the waiting area at the LTO (Land Transportation Office)

Another angle of the LTO area. Thankfully, I was guided through the
process by a wonderful Filipino colleague who handles government
document issues for our organization. The whole process took about
three hours.

Come visit us! We'll be glad to show you around!!!!