July, 2023
Dear all,
Sorry again for being so late with our monthly newsletter. But in the last couple days, we’ve had a bad storm that took down trees in the narrow road leading to my house, and our power and internet went with them. Great news for the rice fields, but bad news for us folks lurching around in the dark and lacking Internet.
In the last month, we have picked up two children. One is a 12 year old girl who never went to school, and was badly beaten at home. Her folks were arrested for selling drugs and went to prison. The government gave the girl to us to raise. The second girl is a one-month-old baby girl, who is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, with little cupid lips. Her parents both have AIDS, and we are praying the baby is healthy and has escaped AIDS. The parents are both in jail for selling drugs, and the chances, in both cases, of being returned to their parents are slim.
We have been praying for rain to keep our rice paddies full. Our latest storm did just that. Filled up our rice paddies and took down trees, power lines, and cut down our Internet. We got loads of rain. I live in a narrow lane, and it is the duty of our tractor to pull off trees, so that the local Power and Light people can come and repair the downed lines.
Ben, our Dutch assistant physio and his wife Angelique, who come for 8 months each stint, are doing a great job with our small group of disabled kids. We have four kids who are physically and mentally challenged, and they have made great strides in the therapy. It is a shame they must leave us and go back to Maastricht in Holland. Since I lost my ability to walk thanks to Covid, Ben has been helping me as well.
Some of our youth volunteers are also leaving. Brian and Kate are both home on medical leave, and will be back by the middle of the month. We hope to get more German youth volunteering. Right now, we have both Lutheran and Catholic, all from Germany. We are to get Spanish volunteers, but I am not sure of how many or for how long. We take what we can get!
That is the latest news I have. I hope all are healthy and having a good summer! God bless you!
Fr. Mike, staff and kids of Sarnelli
