As he prepared for his late nephew's viewing Friday, Kangichy Welle had bigger things on his mind than replacing the furniture and household items that were lost in a fire that destroyed his family's Salt Lake home on Nov. 7.

At the top of the list was 4-year-old John Rex Ceasar, who died of smoke inhalation. John's viewing was Friday, and tomorrow his body will be taken to Chuuk for the funeral.

Tomorrow also is the last day that the 25-member Chuukese family wants to be staying at a hotel. Welle said their target is to move somewhere by Tuesday.

Trying to find a four-bedroom home, or several smaller neighboring units to house 10 adults and 15 children has been a struggle. While the family has received many donations, not one of them has been a place to live.

The issue is becoming more urgent by the day. "The money that we're paying is not going to last long, not even for two weeks," Welle said.

Besides paying for hotel rooms, the mortgage on their fire-damaged five-bedroom home needs to be paid and there are still issues with the insurance company.

"Those things right now are overwhelming," Welle said.

Meanwhile, the family has received some donations it has no place to store, so Moanalua Mortuary has offered to store donations that come in before the family has a home to put them in. "As long as it's in a box, we can store it in the warehouse for them," said mortuary co-owner Claus Hansen.

Welle is grateful for the donations and the space to keep them. "When you are in a hotel, you don't have much room to even keep your personal belongings, let alone things donated by charity groups," Welle said. "Naturally, we would have to have somewhere where we can place those things, as we are still living the life of a nomad."

Donated toys have helped the children cope with the loss of John. "They just sat down on the floor and started playing in their own world," Welle said. When they refused to stop playing, some of the adults sat down to play with them.

"We have scars, but the people of Hawai'i have helped heal the wounds," Welle said.

What the children really want is a place to settle down and concentrate on school, though. John would have started kindergarten next year, and his siblings and cousins want to succeed in their studies to honor him.

"John's life will just be going in vain if the family doesn't do something positive right now," Welle said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.