HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We finally had a healthy Christmas/New Year with the children, as during this time, there was no flu or Covid to put any of us in isolation. We have many new kids who hadn’t known about Christmas and never expected gifts. Many people from Nongkhai, Udon Thani, and Thabo came with gifts of clothes, food, candy and games. After Christmas Mass, and before a lunch of grilled chicken, sticky rice and Som Tum, the kids got on stage and sang and danced. After the meal, we gave them their presents.
On December 24, we had a Christmas party for our Outreach folks; children and kids who are afflicted by AIDS, or who are orphaned or abandoned by parents. We had cold weather clothes, gifts and food for them, games for the children and prizes. These people are seldom welcome at village parties, and their children are shunned at school. So, it is heartwarming to see them playing, eating and laughing happily.
The cold weather doesn’t seem to bother the kids, but for us old folk, it can be grim. Brian O’Riordan, who comes from Cork in Ireland, brought me back from Ireland a couple of pairs of long underwear that I cherish greatly, plus an Irish football jersey from Kerry, the county from which the O’Sheas and O’Conors left to immigrate to America. It is nice and snug, and I wear it proudly.
The new year is here, so the books for 2022 will be closed, reports made, and budgets done. All work I detest. I am really blessed by the staff. They do incredible work, and have more or less taken over the whole operation. As president of the Sarnelli Foundation, I have to sign documents and do the budget. I also accept new children and take responsibility for them in the name of Sarnelli House. But at age 85, memory problems are surfacing, and agility is gone.
May the good Lord bless you with good health, and success in your work, throughout 2023! Again, thank you so very much for your generosity and kindness for the children of Sarnelli House!
Gratefully,
Fr. Mike, children and staff
