Exciting News!

Hello All,

I have a post written up for today but it is at home, so I am just going to give a short update while I am here. We just got some exciting news that Heather and some of the others doing their placements in China will be coming to Thailand for a weekend in May! We are both super psyched and hopefully can get all of the same days off so we can enjoy some Canadian company, relaxing on the beach.

Also, more good news. Our fellow Mercy runaway has been found. She was found at 10 am this morning at one of the major bus stops. When she was found she was okay but hungry. She is back here at Mercy well and doing great.

Some of my students in Accounting gave me a little more information about her. She came to Mercy a few months ago after having been raped by her father on several occasions. When she first arrived she was scared of everything and often hid in cupboads or dark places. They spent a lot of time looking for her. They think a lot of the psychological problems go back to the incidents with her father, which is no wonder. Since arriving at Mercy she has taken on the mothering role to one of the children on Mercy 6. Even though she seems to be well liked by her peers, she spends a lot of time alone and does not engage with them as much as she could. You can often see her watching other children have fun from the outside, but she needs to really be encouraged to join in.

Another thing I want to add. It may seem weird that we can just tell you the life story of the children here at Mercy. However, the Thai culture and the culture here at Mercy is very different than what we know. The way Mercy runs, if you know a story about someone, you share their story with others. It is not uncommon for us to be walking around Mercy and for someone to randomly tell us someone's history. You can also read a lot of their histories in Father Joe's Book "Welcome to the Bangkok Slaughterhouse" or online on the Mercy Centre Webpage. The only way to raise awareness about what goes on in the world, and what children have to experience in places like Khlong Toey is to share their stories.

We are heading home in a few minutes to do some more planning for our weekend getaway. Misty and I have plans to head to Pattaya for another relaxing beach weekend. Pattaya is only about 2 hours on the bus from Bangkok. We are both excited about the beach but are doing a lot of research while booking as it is also a popular spot for foreigners to go to pay for women; not only Thai women but people from all around the world. An International House is not an international house as we know it, but a place for men to go to find women from all over Asia. This should be an interesting weekend. Hopefully we can avoid it all by staying on one of the more family friendly beaches.

Sending Love from Thailand!!