For Jonathan Sake Outreach Day 23- Valendine

Valendine is an energetic, super sweet but slightly sassy 5 year old little girl. She has Cerebral Palsy that affects her left arm and leg but doesn’t let that stop her. During therapy we work on using her left hand to grasp & release objects during play. She now has 2 hand splints one to wear during the day that helps place her hand in a better position to grasp objects and one that she wears at night to hold her hand in a good stretch. This past week she was fitted with a foot brace to help her walk flat footed. She was so excited about her foot brace and kept asking for one for her other foot. Valendine used to be very shy and would only work with Presidue & her mother but now she takes off running when she sees me and give me a great big hug! Valendine has a smile that lights up a room.

Valendine started coming to the outreach program about a year ago. They live in PdP (which is about an hour from the mission). Her parents are together but her father is in the US working. She has 2 sisters one is 6 years old and the other is 3 years old. Her mother reports that though she likes everything about the program her favorite parts are the therapy and devotions. Valendine’s mother has seen great improvements in her language skills since she started the program. Before she could not talk and now she is starting to. Valendine started Kindergarten this year and even her teacher has seen improvements in her speaking better. 

Please keep Valendine & her family in your prayers

For Jonathan Outreach Day 22- Samuel

Samuel is an energetic & determined little boy who loves to bounce & jump. He has Cerebral Palsy that make it hard for him to control his body. He just recently started having frequent seizures and is now on seizure medication and will see the seizure team this week while they are here. Samuel first came to the program about a year & a half ago... 

But just recently started coming back on a more regular basis a few months ago. His family reports that their favorite part about the program is the therapy Samuel receives. They said when Samuel first started coming he was unable to stand and now can pull himself up onto furniture to stand. He has received foot braces that help him to stand flat footed as he prefers to stand on his tip-toes due to increased tone in his legs. During therapy he loves working on standing and spending time on the therapy ball. His cousin who is in 9^th grade brings him to the program.

She informed us that Samuels parents live together and they have 5 children and Samuel is the second oldest at 4 years of age. His other siblings are 8 years, 3 years, 2 years, and 1 years of age. His father is a teacher and his mother used to work at the AutrianHospital downtown but due to not having anyone to help take care of Samuel she had to give up her job. Samuel has such a fun personality and his smile radiates! 

Please keep Samuel and his family in your prayers.