Wes and some of his fraternity brothers were visiting the SMU chapter this weekend and came by for lunch with us on Sunday afternoon. They tried to get Miduk to kick the soccer ball around with them, but he was being kind of shy.
The shyness ended when Matt offered to take Miduk for a ride in his new Mustang Cobra GT. Didn't have to ask him twice! When Miduk got out of the car he acted like his heart was beating out of his chest, haha what a ride!
This is Linley and Miduk with Dr. Russ Wagner, an orthopedic specialist in Ft. Worth. Dr. Wagner was a big contributor in helping to fund Miduk's trip to Dallas, and we wanted to meet him. Linley also brought scans of a five year old Indonesian girl for Dr. Wagner to look at, in hopes of bringing her over sometime soon for treatment at Scottish Rite.
Linley joined Miduk and I at our bible study on Wednesday morning, and here is part of our group! She captivated all of us with her endless stories of the people she is helping in Asia. Talk about an interesting life! We told Linley that someone needs to write a book about her and all the work she does.
Linley with Tim, Miduk and myself
Before Linley left, she took some photos of Miduk to show his family when she returns to his village again. We told Miduk to look tough so that his brothers wouldn't pick on him when he gets back home, ha! So he gave his muscle some special effects.... Linley couldn't believe how much Miduk has grown! (11 pounds and 1/2 inch taller) and how much healthier he looks. :)
Linley flew from Singapore to Houston to take care of some personal business this past week, and with her crazy schedule she still made the time to rent a car and drive to Flower Mound to see Miduk. It was less than 24 hour visit, but so worth it! Linley put Miduk's mind at ease about returning home and getting a job right away. Miduk has been very worried about that lately, mostly because every time he talks to family on the phone his mom tells him to hurry home so he can get a job and help out the family. This has been weighing heavily on his mind, and he is feeling a lot of pressure in that regard. Linley assured him that he is not going to jump right into a job when he returns, that he will have several months to adjust to being back home and to enjoy time with his friends first. She also stressed that he will have several different options to choose from, and told him about some of the apprenticeships she was working on for him. We want him to choose what he wants to do, what interests him and what might be the best job for him in terms of being able to sit down and not too much manual labor. He could possibly learn how to become a tailor, or perhaps how to make braces for some of the patients in that area. Miduk was quite relieved to learn that he won't have to start a job as soon as he gets back home. Of course, his parents may have other plans for him but there won't be any backing from Linley for at least three months. She explained to me that typically when a child returns to their village, they go through a period of adjustment and many times just fall back into their old ways in their previous lives. They may choose not to attend school or not to get a job. They might decide to be lazy and just get by. But, having experienced "the good life" and wanting a better life for themselves, they are usually more motivated and ready to better themselves and seek to learn and to work and to try to make a better life for themselves and their family. It may not happen right away. But hopefully Miduk will find something that he likes to do, something that he is good at, that will bring him an income and allow him to be independent someday. At least that's what we hope for.
Miduk has finally tired of Eggo waffles for breakfast and has switched to bagels, which he calls "beagles". I keep telling him that a beagle is a dog and he finds it hilarious since some people over there do eat dogs! He also drank 2 quarts of Welch's grape juice in 3 days.
We attended a funeral on Tuesday afternoon, as the husband of my dear friend Orbie from bible study passed away last weekend. Of course Miduk had no problem dressing for the funeral, as he prefers to wear black most of the time anyway. (We have told him he will not be wearing black on Easter Sunday so he needs to embrace color!) Jack's service was a graveside service at the Flower Mound Cemetery, very simple and very meaningful. His sons told stories about their father and we were both laughing and crying. I wish I would have known Jack. On the way home Miduk said "Mom I laugh and I'm cry too". He said he has attended funerals before, and said they bury bodies but I couldn't really get much more than than out of him.
Following the funeral was a marathon dental appointment in which nothing was accomplished! Miduk was scheduled to get 4 of his 8 cavities filled, but as it turned out we ended up not doing it that day. Dr. McClellan was concerned that Miduk was only two weeks post-op and that his knee was still healing, and recommended we wait a few more weeks and also to pre-medicate him with antibiotics before doing the fillings. That was a relief actually, but now we have to go back again in a few weeks. I had already discussed with him what to expect, and he was ready with Kasey's ipod and her "dental playlist" that she uses when she goes to the dentist! :)
Miduk is doing his exercises each day, and is definitely getting more movement and flexibility as each day goes by. He cannot bend it completely but is making a lot of progress-and the swelling is starting to decrease too.
Yesterday we told Miduk that we are taking him to Florida for Spring Break and he said "What is Spring Break?" :) We set our countdown clock for the day of departure and he likes watching it count down. Only 13 days, 4 minutes and 8 seconds until we leave for Destin!!!!
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