Last week over 650 poor children graduated from our 23 slum kindergartens in Bangkok. It was a fabulous day, truly glorious, and for the graduates of our three-year kindergartens, perhaps the most important and most triumphant day in their young lives.

Dear Everyone,

I already wrote to all you good folks last week, but life here at Mercy Centre moves so very fast. And we have to keep up. A couple days ago, we wrote about the new school in the Fresh Market. This is the 2nd week and there are more new kids coming to study each day. And we’ve got a most exciting school environment – fresh fish (and some not terribly fresh), fiery chickens and ducks, aromatic vegetables and heavenly fruit. It is truly a vibrant atmosphere – you really know you are in the market place.

At the end of the work day, when construction workers return to their campsite, a corrugated metal gate, marked simply with a "Camp 2" sign and list of safety regulations, represents a passage between two worlds.

Dear Everyone,

Happy New Year - the Year of the Monkey!

Dear Everybody,

The first rhythmic sounds started around 7:30 last Friday morning. Ta dah dum! Ta dah dum! Ta dah dum! Ta dah dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Gradually the beat of drums, tom-toms, and tambourines grew louder and louder.