Moving on

Last fall I wrote that I was concerned about two sisters and now it's time for an update. Here we are picutred in Ron and Laurie's home for a Christmas party in December. I'm the pale one in the middle in case you didn't figure that out...



Fatima Ezzahara (left) got married this August (see August entries for details). Expecting to join her Moroccan husband in Germany within weeks of the wedding, she got a cruel surprise when she found out from the German embassy about a new law requiring her to pass a German competency test first. So off she went to Rabat for a three-month intensive German course (which included unhelpful vocabulary for Muslims like memorizing German beer names) and took the dreaded test in December. Although almost half of the students failed, she passed it third in her class of 180. I'm sure brains and a lot of lovesickness motivated her! The very next Saturday she left for Germany to join Farid and is happily settled there now.

Rachida (right) has been through a lot of hardships inculding 12 surgries for colon conditions - most of which were mistakes. She has since been told she should have had only 3 surgeries for the same amount of help. Her sickness (chrones?) struck when she was a teenager meaning she never finished high school and here there is no way to complete your education once you have 'aged out.' So her possiblities for a meaningful job in a land of high unemployment were basically nil. Until, that is, we finally talked a wonderful center for the handicapped into accepting her for training a few weeks ago. Ecstatic at the idea of having a future and fulfilling the dream of hers to help others overcome their handicaps as she has hers, she is ready to begin a new phase in her life.

I helped Rachida move to Meknes (1 hr away) yesterday. She brought with her 1 carry-on size suitcase, a backpack, two blankets and a pillow. I took her to a large store in Meknes and told her to get what she needed because the apartment she moved into with another girl is almost completely empty and cold. Although she was moving, she only got a tiny little mattress and barely had anything in her cart while mine was loaded with one month's worth of my own shopping! I actually tried to pay, sneak out to the car and return to get her stuff, but she caught me with all my stuff and joined me in line. Sigh!

Anyway, she should have started her new training a few minutes ago and I'm so excited for her! Please pray the trial period will go well and that she will be able to stay on and get the full two years of training. Thankfully for us, she has only moved an hour away.

Fatima Ezzahara and Rachida have both been wonderful friends and we miss them already, but are thrilled the future is much brighter for them now.