Dear Friends,
It is late in the year, and each year around this time, Mother Hubbard’s cupboards begin to empty. Also, we were down to 135 kids in May, but our little crowd has increased by leaps and bounds since then!
We received a lot of rain, and the Mekong River was way up. People want the rain, but not to the point the Mekong River floods. It has flooded twice, since we began this work 15 years ago. Thank God we have the new Gary & Janet Smith building, in case we have to move the Viengkhuk girls. Right now, the mentally challenged kids go to Nong Song Hong’s Vocational school. It is a free government school, teaching boys to weld, be mechanics, A/C repairmen, electricians and brick layers, etc. It is a really practical school for slower kids, and teaches them a trade, and they will have a place to call home at the Gary and Janet Smith building until they get jobs.
This weekend of September 6-7, Father Ole and Brother Keng went to Bangkok, loaded with banners and photo boards, to preach the “Missionary of the Month”. Every month, on the first Sunday, one of the Redemptorist priests and/or brothers, talk about their work. Holy Redeemer parish, in Bangkok, is a Redemptorist Church, and has over 50 nationalities going to Mass every weekend. They had a total of 10 Masses over the weekend; 5 in Thai, and 5 in English. At the same time, Fr. Chuck was fund raising at St. Michael’s Church in Wheaton, IL. Ole and Keng, together with Chuck, did just great in their fund raising, and we are able to chase the Wolf from the door!
We have taken 8 of our new arrivals to the Khonkaen University hospital, called Srinakarin Hospital. We find out who has HIV/AIDS, and who also has TB. Two of them for sure have AIDS and TB, and the blood tests will be sent to Bangkok to make sure who is infected, and who isn’t. We also took in an eleven year old girl with Down’s syndrome, who had been severely beaten and raped for several years. She has some real health issues which we are addressing right now.
We will also take in a little boy of 2 ½ years, and he will have to get tested for AIDS and TB, since his mother has both. The mother has moved on to Bangkok, and the child has been tied to a post while the two old people try to find work. Their poverty is awful. We will try to get the old grandparents into our Catholic Old Folks Home, in Udorn.
We still look forward to the three babies about to be born. The mothers do not want them, so we will take them in.
Again, thank you so much for your concern and compassion for the children of Sarnelli. We pray for you at our Masses and every evening, at night prayer.
Gratefully,
Fr. Mike
