Hello, 

This newsletter is a bit late because we just arrived home from Thailand. Yahoo for holidays! More on that in a bit.

July was busy and wonderful! Lukas’ brother and family flew out on July 5th, and our very first team arrived on July 7th. We’ve had a lot of wonderful visitors in the last year and a half, and some of them helped us with the Water Project, but this was our first official team of volunteer workers!

Tinu, Silvia, Esthel and Léanne spent nearly two weeks helping us with our work and enjoying some adventures as well. We installed water filters in three new locations, and we also replaced filters in two old locations. One church was so remote that we had to walk the last kilometre because our rental van couldn’t make it over the washed out road. It actually turned out to be an amazing experience. To get to the church we walked through bright green rice paddies with palm trees swaying in the distance. If it wasn’t for the heat and the  mosquitos, you’d think that it was paradise.  😂

In addition to the the water filters, we also taught a children’s hygiene program in five different communities. We’ve learned through the years that good hygiene and safe water storage is a key element for success. This curriculum was developed and implemented  2016 after a children’s home complained that the filter wasn’t working and they were getting sick from the water. We did a followup visit and discovered that they were storing the filtered water in a large ice chest and dipping it out with a shared plastic cup. We tested the water coming out of the filter, and also the water in the ice chest and the water in the ice chest tested positive for E coli. The filter was working just fine, but their storage system was reversing the results. So now we teach about safe water storage and good hygiene 😉.

We also spent two wonderful evenings at Safe Place Children’s home eating and playing games with the kids. Safe Place is a small group home with 23 children and run by an amazing couple  from Brazilian.

And finally, we tried to do some tourist activities with the team at the end of their visit, but it was raining non-stop for the final five days. They didn’t complain, and we even went to the beach one day, with rain jackets and umbrellas. ☔ Lucky for Lukas, Tinu and I, kitesurfing is a sport that can be done in the rain! 😂

We’ve been friends with Tinu and Silvia for around 9 years, this was their 4th trip to Cambodia. They went with us on our very first water project trip in 2016. We are so blessed by their ongoing support and encouragement, and want to say a HUGE thank you for organizing and bringing our very first team. 

Three days after the team left we got on a plane and flew to Phuket, Thailand!. We were generously invited by the Foursquare Church Denomination to join their Asia Missionary Care Retreat. They went all out to make us feel loved and valued. The retreat was at a beachfront Marriott hotel where they fed our tummies as well as our souls. It was encouraging to be together with other people who are living and working in Asia. In addition to our rooms, they also provided childcare, counselling, meals and teaching sessions, all free of charge. We aren’t Foursquare missionaries (we’re working in Asia as a non-profit organization) but  Foursquare included us, as if we were their own ❤️. It was amazing!!!

Since we were already in Phuket for the retreat, we decided to stay a week longer and enjoy some family vacation time. After a long layover in Bangkok so that Benjamin could get his passport renewed, we flew home to Cambodia on Sunday, August 4th.

Well, that’s about it for July. The month of August looks like it will be busy too, but we’re refreshed from our vacation and ready for it! Thanks for taking the time to read and be a part of our lives. 

Here’s the photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nvtFDQVM9EH1ZSK56

Love,

Jenny, Lukas and Benjamin