“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” (‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20-21‬ NLT)

Today, we finished our work at Teen Challenge Cambodia. The water supply was connected to the new toilet/shower facility and we were able to use those toilets for the first time. The waste from these toilets is flowing directly into the biogas digester tank.

Teen Challenge staff and students will continue to work on the piggery after we go home. We anticipate their work will be complete by the end of November. Then, additional pigs will be purchased and installed in the new pens built inside.

The site is undergoing a wonderful transformation. It’s cleaner. All of the animal waste on site is being collected and added to the biogas digester. Even human waste is now being diverted to the digester.

In the kitchen, the cooks are no longer spending long hours everyday laboring over a wood burning stove, breathing in the fumes. The kitchen is no longer smoky inside. Last year, I could hardly see my hand in front of my face when I went into the kitchen. The methane gas stove does not give off any smoke or fumes.

Once again, I am sad to leave Cambodia, but I am going home enriched with an expanded vision. We are all going home enriched. We built buildings and relationships, taught hand washing and shampooing, delivered school supplies and de-worming pills. We built each other up.

(Photo credits: Linda Freeman and Amberley Lania, Takeo Province, Cambodia, November 2014.)