By Michael
Wednesday I was in a meeting with Mike the architect, his employees, and Father Joe. Mike is an American architect working in Thailand who agreed to draw up plans to fix plumbing problems at Mercy as a donation to Father Joe. As the meeting began, Father Joe looked out the window and said to me, “Mike, the Israelis are here! Would you please go greet them.” This is typical here. We wear many hats. I walked out to the reception desk and laid my best Hebrew on an Israeli musician, apparently quite famous in Israel. He was here to entertain the children. I gave him and his entourage from the Israeli Embassy a tour of Mercy and then turned them over to a Thai staffer and jumped back in the engineering meeting.
By Deborah
We joined 100 of the children upstairs in the open-air deck area, off the children’s dorms. They moved the venue at the last minute because of mosquitoes! His performance consisted of the mastery of many instruments, including guitar, harp, saw, and bagpipes. He sang Danny Boy beautifully, and engaged the children by bringing them up front to play instruments and dance during his performance. He sang Hava Nagila and dedicated it to Mike [way to go Michael with the Hebrew]. He pulled out a regular-looking saw and played it like a fine instrument.
Father Joe had to rush off to the Spanish Embassy, so he asked Michael and I to “take care of the guests from the Israeli Embassy,” and asked us to please explain to the guests that when 40 of the children rose in the middle of the concert at three minutes to six o’clock to not be offended. They’d be heading to the infirmary to take their AIDS medication. The guests looked stunned when we explained why the children were suddenly rising, and it IS shocking to see that many infected children. One of the women looked at me like she was going to cry, and she said, “They just keep coming and coming…,” as the AIDS Brigade filed past us. But the show must go on, and the children soon joined the party again, the evening performance stretched on, many of the Thai staff got up and danced and sang, and a good time was had by all!
- Look closely at the front of the room, you can see Fr Joe dancing with a staff member!
- Israeli performer with some of the children and staff, after the performance
By Michael
The woodshop is back in full production! Tong Chai, my one-armed assistant, is working with me again. A new young man, Om, has come in to help. He is sharp and learns quickly! This week we made five bedside storage units for boys living in the house next to the woodshop. When I arrived this time, I saw they had nothing except their sleeping mats and decided the first thing I would build would be small pieces of furniture for them to store their few possessions in. I have high hopes for the boy Om continuing to run the woodshop when I leave.
- Tong Chai and Mike with one of the finished bedside tables
By Deborah
The traveling Klong Toey “Starbucks” woman seems to have a permanent post at Mercy now. So when things get tough ~ and we are hot or tired or sleepy, we buy a huge, sugary, cream-laden “frappachino” from her for 20 Baht (less than 50 cents). Starbucks, Eat your Heart Out! Her beetle-nut colored teeth, cracked and broken off from years of chewing, only adds to her charm!
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