On April 5, I went over to see the family and we had fun with them telling me how to say some things in Karen and me telling them how to say the English word for items in their apartment. I also took them some clothes and it was good to see I got the size right on a lot of them. We made plans for me to go back on April 10 so one of them could get shoes and I now know the Karen word for shoe: "kaw pee".
On April 7, Ron and Judy and the case worker Win met with the family and made plans for them to deliver some bicycles sometime in the next week. We had been hoping to find a television for the family, so I sent an email this week to some people in the church and awaited a reply.
On April 10, I went back and brought along a book of the alphabet. It turns out the children had learned the alphabet in the camp and they had good pronunciation of some of the basic words by sounding them out. So that was good for them. Using my grasp of the Karen word for "shoe" and the help of the little 10-year old neighbor friend, the oldest daughter (Mu Doh Paw) and I finally got on our way to find some shoes, and she found what she wanted pretty quickly. Later that day I got great email news that someone had a television for the family. She would bring it to church on Sunday.
April 11, we received the tv. The challenge was how to get the tv from the car to the upstairs apartment. My husband has a bad back and so does Ron. I called HaRon (who has been mentioned in earlier blog entries) and asked if he and a friend could help me. In the end, he said he could do it alone so we got to the apartment at the same time as Judy & Ron. They had an antennae for the tv and I had purchased a converter box. HaRon carried the tv on his shoulder up the stairs and then had the added benefit of finding out that even though he doesn't speak Karen, Mying Mying did understand Burmese but didn't speak it! So he was able to explain things a little more quickly than we would have otherwise, and also interacted with a neighbor who speaks Karen and Burmese. He was also able to give encouragement about learning English since he came in January 2008 and couldn't speak English and now can act as translator! (He has done super at learning English and taking classes and practicing.)
What joy there was at receiving the tv. The neighbor children came in and the family hugged Ron, Judy and me. Ron and Judy also brought 3 bikes. It was fun to have us all there at one time. I am happy we have a group helping. Giving felt really good.
I am including a picture of everyone in front of the tv.
The Ah Mee Family has come a long way since they first arrived almost 2 years ago. They are contemplating moving to Minnesota to be closer to other family members, and with all that they've learned since they arrived, we are confident they will do well. Po Lone came to church with Jill, Ron and Zack last Sunday, and it's amazing to hear how fluently he speaks English now.
Here is a picture of the Ah Mee family. For the picture, they are wearing Karen shirts, which is a design of the Karen people. They also gave Ron and Jill a gift of Karen shirts. Jill and Ron were incredibly blessed by their generosity and so honored to receive a gift that reflected their homeland.
