Yesterday we had our dear friends, JD & Kim, over for a last lunch before they head back to the States to start their retirement. We had beef stew, and Isaiah made challah bread. We hope to have more times together, as they plan to return to Cambodia once or twice a year in the future.

Last Friday night the Ban Lung expat community met for a fellowship meal to say goodbye to the Crowleys – they have ministered in Cambodia over 32 years. After we ate there was a lovely time of testimonies, memories, and Scripture.
Becca painted a card for the Crowleys as they head back to the States.

We took our yearly trip to PP between last week and this. Our two main goals were dentist appointments and spending time with the Nhoemvan family. Two of the Nhoemvan girls had put their birthday celebrations on hold for a few weeks so they could celebrate with our family. Kolianne took the older 4 kids out to breakfast and then returned for cake at the guesthouse. Jodanai wanted everyone to go to the Phnom Penh Safari. The kids really enjoyed the animal shows and taking pictures with the animals afterwards.

Our kids spent quite a lot of time with the Nhoemvans practicing for the Sound of Music musical that they will perform together in the fall. We also enjoyed seeing the Queys during their time at the guesthouse. Always nice to see friends from our Ban Lung.

This week we celebrated Isaiah’s 14th birthday! We’ve been enjoying his countdown calendar with daily challenges from his siblings. Maria did a dice challenge and was very pleased to win. Clara also whooped him on her jumprope challenge. But at the end of the two weeks, Isaiah still came out on top and won the game of Risk.

Isaiah made his cake – he’s a minimalist when it comes to frosting. He chose a brownie cake with peppermint frosting. It was very tasty. On his birthday he made a Magnatile tower with the boys that reached the ceiling. He chose hamburgers for his meal. We had his meal, then gifts (he really wanted a black cape), cake, and then ended with his birthday slideshow.

Isaiah is a great young man, and we’re so proud to have him as our firstborn son. He’s a good rolemodel to his younger brothers and takes time to be with them, even has a Boys’ Meeting Club with them once a week. Isaiah is very creative and makes all sorts of things from bamboo. He also is an avid reader. He has a tender heart and meets weekly to have a Bible study with Josh. We’re thankful for our son!