Dear everyone

This is such exciting news, I simply have to tell you today. It’s not just ordinary day of the week news, but real exciting – like Saturday & Sunday news !!! – Even, to be bold and cheeky, Almost Christmas News. Yes, and I almost don’t dare say it: almost that exciting.

You already know the not so terribly exciting news, that most of our 23 wooden, tin (corrugated) roofed shack schools – after 25 to even 30 years of bare-footed kindergarten kids, day after day, sometimes need a bit of repair !!!!

Amazing,

But that the slum community have taken up the cudgel (hammer and nails and zinc (tin we call it- for roofing), and old second hand used, often discarded lumber, various dis-carded boards, pieces of wood, and are patching up everything, (almost) and are fixing leaky roofs and creaky wooden floors and fixing toilets plus paint. Any dabs or half-empty cans – not used – cans of leftover paint.

Now the latest news I want to tell you about is this. Two of our schools – well – what to say – the children were complaining –you would too - the roofs were leaking, the paint, not in good condition… so what happened. The soldiers heard the children complaining,,,, yes, the Thai soldiers …. the soldiers working in the area …repairing the shacks/homes of the old and indigent poor

They over-heard – saw some of the children crying – ashamed of their slum schools …

We can’t have this – e.g. unhappy children…… said …kiddies, we soldiers - we can fix your schools… so the Thai Military – properly so – repaired re-built really) two of our schools… at considerable cost (about 100 kindergarten age kids attend each school each day ) as I said, the soldiers rebuilt at their own official expense) (with new material and excellent workmanship with the community

and the children helping, and most of all giving encouragement.

Wow. What a fabulous Christmas gift. And I, the Catholic priest came and asked our
Blessed Mother Mary – to bless the “new’ schools” for Christmas, and the Buddhist Monks came – the Thai Soldiers also asked for a Buddhist Blessing.

And the whole slum community came to help, even the grannies & of course, afterward, we had Ice cream for everyone ….So it was an early Christmas / but there’ still time, if you want to help a bit, you can – there are more schools that lack this and that … and of course, you can always get some ice cream for the kids – we have two thousand going to our slum kindergartens this year. And that is terrific.

All for now. May you be blessed and live in the shadow of the Star shinning from the East – which guided the Magi to Bethlehem, and you yourselves be guided to Bethlehem…we here in Klong toey and you in your own homes and towns and cities.

Merry Christmas.

Fr.Joe and all of our 2,000 School kids and 120 kids who live with us at Mercy Centre.

–(included are a couple of pictures of the soldiers making our beloved slum kindergartens beautiful once more.