Moving day! We do things a little differently here 😂

Hello hello,

I feel like the summer flew by, how about you? Hard to believe it’s already September!

Our big news is that we have finally moved into our new house, what an adventure that was, wow!  And we are absolutely loving it! It began almost a year ago when we were able to purchase a piece of land using some pre-inheritance money from Lukas’ family. We didn’t have a lot of money to work with, but we wanted to build something that was well insulated and elevated to protect it from the annual flooding that is part of life here in S.E. Asia. We also wanted a western style home, like a kitchen inside the house with cabinets and a bathroom that has an enclosed shower and a sit-down toilet 😜. As of last month “all our dreams have come true!”
Just joking. But we are enjoying our new place very much.

Work update:
We were invited back to the Friends Church where we installed a water filter system. We were able to provide hygiene training for about 50 children, including packets with hygiene supplies, school supples, a booklet and a poster to take home. These hygiene training days are so much fun for everyone, but they have a secondary purpose, and we’ve started to do them on different days than the filter installation day for a reason. Research and our own personal experience is proving that the more trips we make to a site the greater the chance that the filter will be valued and used correctly by the community.

We were also presented with another certificate of thanks for the water filtration system. When we received our first certificate a few years ago we were so excited about it and hung it on the wall, but now they are starting to pile up😂 and we might need to make a box for them in the attic.

Moving the Warm Blankets laboratory and work room took some time. We were able to borrow a car from some friends here to move the sensitive instruments from the laboratory, so that was great! As you can see from the first photo, when you hire the locals to help you move, it’s more about how much they can move in one load, and less about being carful. 😂 So we wanted to move the laboratory ourselves.

Finally, we also spent some time getting ready for our first short term volunteer, she will arrive in a few days and be with us for two or three months. We are excited about this new opportunity for people from Europe and the USA to come and work along side us for short sessions.

Family news:
We’re doing well, still recovering a bit from the intensity of building a house.  We are thankful that Benjamin can stay at the same school, but he is missing his old neighborhood friends. However, we decide to let him get a puppy, and she is providing him with a lot of companionship and puppy love.❤️ Her Cambodian name is “Chu-ung” which means “Bones” but Benjamin has been calling here Bella.

Well, that’s it for this month, have a great September. Here’s the photo link for more fun pictures from our month.

Blessings!

Jenny, Lukas and Benjamin