Dear loved ones,

First off, here’s the photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zny67PyQmPNv6aJj6

Life is slowing down. The first few months after moving are always so busy with thousands of new experiences and things you have to do and buy, but now we’re settling down, beginning to build friendships and trying to do life here. It’s healthy and sometimes challenging. But it’s good. ❤️😉 The first photo is of Benjamin riding his balance bike with the little boys that live down the street. It’s so hot right now that the kids don’t always come out to run and play until sunset.

Lukas designed a hand pump that only costs a few dollars to produce. He used PVC pipe and a marble. A pump is often necessary when setting up water filters for poor communities that don’t have electricity or money to buy and maintain a generator. Another piece of the Water Project that we are currently focusing on is how to test for a broader variety of harmful pollutants. Before, we mainly tested for bacteria, but now we are expanding our testing ability to include Arsenic and other harmful pollutants. We have to figure out where to buy different chemicals which we need to test the water. Previously we brought our water testing materials from Switzerland, and we were very limited, but now we are trying to expand and buy locally. We found a company in Phnom Penh and hope that we can order what’s needed from there. Lukas will visit them for a second time in a few weeks. These things take a lot of time to figure out, especially in developing countries, but using what’s locally available and making it affordable and easy to repair is a small part of how God is asking us to love the poor as we build a Clean Water ministry.

In 2010 I read “Out of Poverty” by Paul Polak. At that time, it was revolutionary to me, because it presented an approach to ending world poverty that honors the entrepreneurial spirit of the poor themselves. Since then I’ve collected an entire row of books about helping the poor – both secular and theological. It’s so exciting to finally have “boots on the ground” and begin to implement and share our assets.

We celebrated Easter and Khmer New Year, and the whole week kind of ran together into one long celebration. Khmer New Year is a celebration of the end of the harvest season, and it’s three days long. Traditionally, people would pour perfumed water on each other as a blessing and a sign of cleansing as they being the new year, and also apply talcum powder, but now it’s turned into three days of water fights! 😂 I stole some photos from Facebook to show you, they are pictures from our city where we live, but I didn’t take them myself. 😬 😜

We’ve found a cool church that we really like, it’s very organic and completely Cambodian lead (no missionaries preaching). Every week someone comes over and gives us a little translation support, and we’re meeting a lot of great people.

We had a very special visit from our friends and mentors, Jim and Linda Thomas. When they retired from their job as pastors in Eugene, Oregon 10 years ago, they decided to start a new ministry. They now oversee a “Missionary Care” ministry which provides emotional and spiritual support and accountability for Christian workers all around the world. We were so encouraged and blessed by a visit from them. We spent a few days at the beach with them and one other family. We played and ate and talked A LOT, and ate some more 😜 😋.

Well, that’s it for April, it’s hard to believe that it’s already May!  Here’s the photo link again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zny67PyQmPNv6aJj6

Blessings,

Jenny, Lukas and Benjamin