Greetings from Sarnelli!  

I am writing to apologize for not writing sooner to keep you abreast of current news. I went to the U.S. on June 6 to do fundraising. It was a good trip, and I met a lot of really neat people. I was supposed to be back here by early August, but then my brother Jack, who is 2 years younger than me, went on a horseback ride to view the Great China wall in Montana . He was gone for 10 days, and when he came out, it was evident he was very ill. They had to medivac him by plane to St. Luke's hospital in Milwaukee . I was on my way out in Minneapolis , and returned home to be with him. He had a heart operation, but died of complications 2 weeks later. I had the funeral on Sept. 7, and came home to Thailand on September 9. Jack was not only my brother, but my best friend. It was hard to accept his loss, since we went to the gym regularly and had a lot of fun together. I shall miss him terribly.

I arrived at Don Wai Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM. All the kids were under the guest house, waiting for me, and we had a tardy birthday party. Many of the children were very uneasy about my one month delay coming home. They remembered Father Dick last year. We kept telling them that Dick would be back, but needed more time. Well, only his ashes came back, and the runts were very relieved to see me. It was really humid and about 6:00, before a storm rolled in, the power went off. There I was, windows open; no breeze, pouring sweat and with a lit candle. Thank God the beer was cold. The storm finally moved in and cooled things down a tad.

Again, thank you so much for your kindness and consideration. The kids are all relatively healthy, and no one is in the hospital. They love going to school, and we love seeing them go as well. There are kids at the kindergarten that are too small to go, as there are AIDS infected kids who are too sick to go. But we have plenty for them to do at home. Our new dorm is nearly done. We need electricity (and also permission, since someone forgot to submit the plans to the village board). Next will be the computer room for the girls. But I will wait until the monsoons are over. We are getting good rains this year, and it is impossible to dig a foundation until late November.

Since I just got back, I don't have any stories. It was just good to see the kids healthy, and to know that our latest little guy "Johnny Bill" is a healthy little rodent of 5 weeks. I shall write again, once the cobwebs of jet lag have disappeared, and when I can concentrate a bit. The kids and I pray for you and your family daily.

Fr. Mike

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