HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! (YEAR OF THE ROOSTER!)
THE EXCITEMENT OF THE TRADITIONAL New Year is over, and now, we have Chinese New Year to deal with. It is not a good time to travel. I was contemplating on going to Bangkok for a Scripture seminar, but decided against it. I don’t like teeming crowds.
I thought the population of kids was going down, but kids keep coming. We are back to over 160 children. Folks like you make my work so much easier.
The holidays are over, and the kids are back in school until early March. Before we sent them back to school, we herded the older ones out to the fields to plant sweet corn. We have a fish pond there that is made up of water and pig poop, and will empty the pond, pumping the liquid on the sweet corn plants. When ripe, the kids will eat sweet corn for days.
About 6 weeks ago, we took in a lovely little girl baby named Nicha. She joins another new baby, Miss Honey. Also, last week I picked up another baby girl. He mother is a “lady of the night”, and also a minor wife of some guy in Chaiyaphum. He tried to force her to get an abortion, and when she would not, he forced her to give up the baby. The Welfare Department in that province contacted us, so we now have 3 week old Miss Michelle with us. She is a tiny thing; just out of an incubator.
This is the time of year when the kids finishing M. 6 (senior in high school) begin to ponder their future. The ones with the best grades will go on to college. Others will opt for vocational school and consider their options as to what courses to take to fulfill their needs and wants. Some of the others, few in number, but still our kids, will be given a chance to study in week end courses and work for Sarnelli during the week. We currently have 6 boys doing this.
Our two blind kids, Mr. Bank and Miss Nut, are in special schools for the Blind, and doing really well. They hope to get their University degrees and a decent job. Both are great kids, with a super sense of humor. The Redemptorists in Pattaya have a school for the blind, but won’t take children who are HIV positive.
Our nurse Kate went to Australia for a month to be with her mother, and visit all her relatives. Her husband Brian just told me that she also has received another one year visa to stay and work in Thailand. Our volunteer from Oberhausen, Lara, is getting excited, as her folks are coming to visit her at the end of the month.
I pray that the Good Lord bless you all with good health and happiness throughout the year 2017! Again, thank you so much for your generosity and interest in the children!
Father Mike
