The co-founder of our Mercy Centre, Sister Maria Chantavardom, celebrated her 84^th birthday last week. God bless her! She is still incredibly active… still dynamic... and still the very heartbeat of everything we’ve ever accomplished and everything we still endeavor to do for our children and poorest neighbors. She began working with Fr. Joe when he first arrived in Bangkok’s slaughterhouse Parish in 1972. Together, Sister Maria and Fr. Joe opened the first Mercy kindergarten in 1972, and in the years that followed they developed a system of preschool education and neighborhood support that now reaches out daily to tens of thousands of poor children and families.

As our New Year of 2014 has begun, I would like to greet you all in gratitude on behalf of our beloved HDF-Mercy Centre. 

There was so much joyous energy yesterday at Mercy... today we can still feel the vibrations.

Best Christmas and New Years Wishes from our House Moms, House Dads, Social Workers, and our Mercy Children. Photos of our Mercy Child by Taryn Wilson.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Angels travelled from high heaven to tell the news to a small group of shepherds guarding their sheep by night. And of course, the children woke up when they heard the angels speaking to their parents and then singing their heavenly song about the birth of the holy child, and the children were dazzled by the light of an unknown star in the sky.

A super special day and honor! Yesterday the Israeli community celebrated its 60^th anniversary of friendship with Thailand at our Mercy Centre. And what better way to celebrate together than by teaching our youth how to create culinary delights?