Mercy Centre/Human Development Foundation

I am happy to announce that Mercy Centre/HDF is the charity for this project! There are so many causes near and dear to my heart, but the children of Thailand hold a very special place. Mercy Centre is an amazing safe haven in the middle of the worst slums of Bangkok for street children, orphans, and abandoned/abused children and those with HIV/AIDS. But is it so much more than that. It was started by Father Joe Maier and Sister Maria  - two incredible, selfless people - against all odds. It has grown over the last 30 years to become a loving home to many, many children. See full description and mission statement below. 

"Mercy Centre is a shelter for street kids, four orphanages, a hospice, a home for mothers and children with HIV/AIDS, a 400-pupil kindergarten, a community meeting place, and a serene haven in the slums with small gardens and playgrounds. Originally built on a former Buddhist Temple site on port authority property, Mercy Centre has stood in some shape or form for 30 years. In 2000, it was rebuilt through a generous gift to accommodate our expanding services to orphans, street children, and children with HIV/AIDS. 

We work to help the children and communities of the many slums of Bangkok. Together with our neighbors in the slums we create simple-but-progressive solutions that touch the lives of thousands of the poor every day. We build and operate schools, improve family health and welfare, protect street children's rights, combat the AIDS crisis, respond to daily emergencies, and offer shelter to orphans, to street children, and to children and adults with AIDS - always together, hand in hand and heart to heart with the people we serve. WE ARE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POOR."

There is a great book called "The Gospel of Father Joe: Revolutions & Revelations in The Slums of Bangkok" that tells the whole story of how they came to be and the struggles to start the place and daily heartaches and obstacles. Really an amazing story. Eye opening, to say the least. (See link on side bar - available at Amazon). This is how I first came to know about Mercy Centre and I haven't been able to get them out of my mind or heart ever since.

I am so glad to have this opportunity to work with such a great organization and hope I can do a lot of good for them and sell lots of CD's! They gave me the go-ahead today to put their logo on my CD and tell people about their cause...so we are going to press!

Butterfly Moon: The Song

It's hard to put on paper or into song the emotions that come with adopting a child. When I wrote Butterfly Moon I was thinking "fairy tale". To me, the song is about adoption and all the magic that happens behind the scenes to form a family this way.  Sort of in the same vein as a "cow jumping over the moon" being fantasy, I felt "hey, why couldn't there be butterflies and flowers and birds at night?" In a dream, all is possible! So the song was inspired by a mom's dream....her sleeping baby all the way over there on the other side of the globe, what she might dream about, and the thought that she will someday soon be home in her arms.

Cover Art

Front cover

Back cover

Here is a sneak peak at what the CD will look like.  I found a wonderful NYC artist named Edie Pijers on Etsy.com. Her whimsical style and beautiful use of color is exactly what I was looking for. I asked her to do two original oil on canvas paintings for me and they were commissioned, discussed, and done in a week. I am so happy with them!

In order to send out some promotional copies, I did a quick mock-up and short run order of 100 CDS. The final product will have distributor or a charitable organization's information inside it and will be a much higher quality 4 sided Eco-jacket. The Eco-jackets are really nice. They look good, are light weight to mail, and better for the environment! The final CD will actually be higher quality, too, and will be pressed individually. This first batch will be great for the purposes of pitching the product and getting it out there. Hoping to get a little pre-release press to get some excitement going!

NOTE TO THOSE RECEIVING THESE COPIES:

These first CD's are just reproduction, not pressed CD's. They do not reflect the quality of the final product. They will play on most, but not some CD players - not on an older car CD player, for example. Most players and computers should have no problem. These are only for the purpose of giving the listener a taste of the album and what's to come. 

How It Began

In 2005, I decided to put my singing career on hold. I had released two independent CD's - A Very Good Night, 2001, & Take A Closer Look,  early 2005 - to moderate success. I toured 5 star hotels far and wide singing my jazzy little heart out. You can see macimiller.com for music, pics, and reviews. It was a great ride, but I was ready to stay home and start a family. We started trying to have a baby, but quickly realized fate had other plans for us. Our "having" a baby turned into to "adopting" a baby. A disappointing heartache...that turned into a wonderful, glorious, emotional roller coaster... that turned into the best thing that has ever happened to us. BY FAR. The adoption journey has been a long one and we are currently still waiting to travel for our little angel from Thailand, but we feel incredibly lucky to know this beautiful little girl is going to be our daughter. My singing took me to Thailand many times and the love of the people and culture made choosing adoption from there an easy choice. Going through the process has been a big learning experience, and our hearts have been opened to a new capacity. Loving more than we ever thought we could. 

I wrote Butterfly Moon for our little Ruby Kate, but it didn't actually spawn the album. The whole thing started with a simple 5 song recording I did last summer (2008).  I wanted my daughter to know her Mommy's voice. I longed to sing to her. Thought it might be of some comfort to her and for all the babies who were waiting for families. It also helped me feel productive during the very LONG and hard wait, when all we could do was sit around and hope for an update and that elusive referral saying we had a child and she would soon be ours. 

I recorded the first few songs - Baby Mine, Twinkle Twinkle, Over The Rainbow, Hush A Bye Baby, & Brahms Lullaby - then shipped them off to Thailand along with a CD player for the orphanage. Months later - and still waiting - my husband suggested I do a whole album. The only way I wanted to do this is if it could benefit children and make a difference. I was inspired. I wrote Butterfly Moon with a wonderful and talented cat named George Mesterhazy. I had most of the tune down, but George lent his incredible talent and writing abilities to polish it up a bit. I couldn't have been happier with it and all the music he brought to life on the project. Not only an incredible musician, he is one hell of a great guy and THAT speaks volumes to me. He came into the first project (a few simple songs from mother to child) with all the enthusiasm of a major label project! And George has played for many a major label. We started out with a real "organic" feel with all live instruments then later added some lush instrumentation on the songs that lent themselves to it, like Butterfly Moon and Baby Mine. With a keen ear and loads of experience, my uncle, Bob Kimmel deftly engineered and guided us every step of the way. It was truly a great collaborative effort.  I am pleased with the outcome and happy to share it with you and your little ones. I am also excited to share the rewards with orphans and children worldwide that really need it. Currently looking to find a charity to receive half the proceeds and team up with. Hopefully more on that soon...