Happy Hollidays!

Did all of our American readers have a nice Thanksgiving? We celebrated with a few other American families like ours that are a multi cultural mix :-D. We had a turkey, mashed potatoes and the works. It was delicious and fun to be together and to be thankful for all that we have. And now we’re moving on to Christmas!

While much of our energy and time goes towards the Water Project, not all of the support money goes there. Warm Blankets Switzerland also support other ministries and projects in Cambodia. Safe Place Mission is one of those projects. It’s a home for at risk children, especially those at high risk for trafficking. In the last few years we’ve build a friendship with the directors and we are genuinely impressed with how well they care for the needs of the  children. In 2025 they were gifted a piece of land and they hope to begin construction on their new home next year. We are excited to support them as much as possible in the years to come. 

Work wise we were busy in November. Lukas needed to build a new batch of filters. Except for the filter membranes (donated from Pall Inc. in Switzerland) all of our materials are locally sourced. One piece is specially made for us at the University of Technology in Phnom Penh. 

We installed two new filter systems in partnership with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and will do one more with them later this week. One of the locations had an old water filter installed that they were using with city water, but when Lukas tested the water it was worse after the filter than before, meaning that the city water was safer to drink than  water passing through the old filter. We now have them set up with a new, safe filter and have recommended that they throw out the old one. It’s fascinating but also disturbing how unregulated the drinking water is here. Anyone can sell a filter and tell you that it’s safe and good, but the tests tell the truth. 

Lukas also tested some new water filters for the Kampot Pastor’s Association. The filters were donated by a Korean ministry, and they wanted to know if they were safe to distribute to the poor. Lukas was happy to test the filters for them, and we were all happy to discover that the filters remove all bacteria and parasites. Yahoo! Since Lukas is testing more water now, we’re exploring our options and trying to figure out the best way to get more chemicals and laboratory supplies here in Cambodia. If we buy them here they are taxed at 100% plus the importing costs. Currently we try to have people bring things over when they come to visit, but there are a few chemicals that you aren’t supposed to fly with 😉 Next week we will try to meet with another NGO laboratory in the capital city and discuss buying supplies and look for ways to possibly share some costs or buy some supplies from them. We want to use our donor’s money wisely and not waste it whenever possible. Heart. 

We received a certificate of thanks from the public school where we helped drill the well, installed sinks and a water filtration system. It was a half day ceremony that we got to attend, and of course we had to dress up and sit in the front row and listen to a lot of important people talk. But it was also an honor to be invited and presented with the certificate. 

Well, I think that’s enough for this update. Be sure to check out the photo link, because there are some fun daily life photos of Benjamin playing soccer and my doing my best to chop up an enormous jackfruit! https://photos.app.goo.gl/F8LkzhBW4BXDaB416

I hope you all have a wonderful December and many many blessings on you in this season.

Merry Christmas,

Jenny, Lukas and Benjamin