This month's highlight was a family trip to a local amusement park. The kids played into the evening hours, returning home tired, but happy.

All the kids love ice cream, a special treat

Sophal and the kids work on a banner to send back to Prek Eng 2's sponsoring church in Ohio

The kids enjoy a trip to the water park, a favorite destination

The kids are thankful for the musical instruments provided by their sponsoring church, and practice nearly every dayThe kids and staff are all anxious to learn English, and participate regularly in classesThe kids ride their bikes to and from school every dayDoing laundry is one of the many chores necessary to keep a large family up and running

The kids pose with giant fruits at a local parkThe kids at BB6, our newest home, are quickly becoming a real familyJust a few months ago, a hot, delicious meal was just a dream for many of these kids. Today, they're well-fed and well-loved.The kids enjoy an afternoon at a local water parkThe kids pray together before eating dinner

Judy Bechtel, a teacher from Ohio, works on a craft with the kids

The kids enjoy coloring and doing crafts in the large foyer in the front of their houseThe kids enjoy making jewelry and other fun handicrafts

Nothing beats a dip in the pool on a hot day

These kids pose beside a new shipment of fresh milk

The kids help with the landscaping choresThe kids say "Thanks" before a birthday celebration.The kids pose with guests in the foyer of their home

The kids enjoy popcorn, an unusual treat in CambodiaAll of the kids love the monthly birthday celebrations

Some of the girls pose with Rachel Fields (team co-leader and wife of board member Sherrod Fields)The kids pose in front of their house, showing their new football jerseysMom and some of the girls pose at the water parkAll of the kids enjoy having their photo taken, some more than othersThe water park is a great treat on a hot day

The kids are thrilled to receive packages from their sponsoring churchAll of the children enjoy the monthly birthday celebrationsSome of the older kids make a mess with the cakeA trip to the water park is a hit

One of the staff members tends the garden.Some of the kids play in the beautiful front yard of the home.These little hams love to pose for the camera.The children gather to sing a song before bedtime.The kids dress in matching uniforms and head off to school.Hilltribe widows live and work on the grounds of our beautiful Wiang Pa Pow campus.

Mike Flinchum translates a message of encouragement from Eddie Hastings, a pastor from Chet's Creek Church in Jacksonville, Florida.Kids from the Hot Springs orphan home relax in the cool of the evening.Tim and Eddie from Florida chat with Pastor Suradet (the home's father), Mike and Deb Flinchum (ministry advisors) and Pak McCollum (son of Executive Director John McCollum) in the dining pavilion. Pastor Suradet leads the band during a service at Hot SpringsThe kids from Hot Springs enjoy the new games brought by visitors from the U.S.

The staff and kids enjoy an outing to a local pool.The kids love learning new songs and dances.The kids prepare to sing in church, many of them in their traditional tribal attire.The staff prepares a delicious spicy meal for guests.

In August, the kids and staff at DS3 welcomed two new children, Tep and Bow. You can read more about them here.

Tep and his new mom.

These girls sit in the shade and escape the hot afternoon sun.

Pastor Boon stands in front of the nearly-constructed new home.The new home is pictured on the left; the old one is in the background.

The kids join together to sing on Sunday morning.

Boys at DS2 enjoy playing soccer after school

(front to back) Dob (Asia's Hope staff), David (Director Tutu Bee's son), and Pak (Exec Director John McCollum's son) seek a little shade on a hot Thailand day.The DS2 girls enjoy playing with Xiu Dan McCollum (in orange shirt), a visitor from the U.S.

The kids from DS2 join all of the other Doi Saket kids for a Sunday morning service.

The kids and staff enjoy beating Executive Director John McCollum in an evening game of Skip-Bo.The children enjoy dressing up in their traditional tribal attire (plus some decidedly non-traditional tiaras) to sing a song in church on Sunday.

Kids from Doi Saket 1 enjoy swimming at a local pool

Boys from DS1 enjoy playing "Takraw," a popular and difficult sport that has been described as a mix between soccer and volleyball.The kindergarten and preschool kids prepare a special song for church.

The girls enjoy hanging out on the porch in front of their home.The high school kids play and sing for a Sunday morning service

The middle and high school boys love playing soccer on the large field at the back of our DS1 property. The new security wall -- provided by funds raised by Asia's Hope Canada -- can be seen in the background.

Thanks to generous contributions from the Grace Community Church in Goshen, Indiana, Crossroads Church in Mansfield, Ohio and the Van Voorhis Family Foundation in Jacksonville, Florida, we've been able to complete the purchase of a 2.7 acre plot of land immediately contiguous to our existing Battambang Campus.

This land will one day house up to three orphan homes, and will allow us to expand our vocational training and agricultural eforts in Battambang.

Praise God for his faithfulness and the generosity of his people.

The Battambang 5 and Battambang 1 orphan homes can be seen in the background, as can the multipurpose facility.

Pastor Mike Flinchum and I spent the afternoon at a hospital with Michelle, Zack, Ying and Tutu. She is still experiencing seizures, and the doctor has increased her medications.

The doctor has also asked the family to accept that there is a long road for Michelle ahead, and that she will likely experience a variety of developmental issues.

Please continue to pray for healing for Michelle. Pray for her parents, Zack and Ying. And pray for Tutu and Asia's Hope's leadership as we consider how best to help Michelle and her parents as they face an uncertain future.

Michelle with her grandmother, Tutu (Director of Asia's Hope Thailand)

Please join me and Asia's Hope Thailand in prayer for Michelle, the 5 month old daughter of Zack (one of our staff) and granddaughter of Tutu, our Thailand director.

Michelle has suffered from seizures since birth. She also has some other delays. Her medication has for some time helped to control the seizures, but last night she began to experience some seizures again.

She was admitted to the hospital today, and is currently in the ICU. We are all very concerned about her. My wife and I will visit her in the hospital tomorrow and ask God for a miraculous intervention.

Please pray for immediate and complete healing, and for rest for her family's bodies and minds.

Thanks,

John McCollum, Executive Director, Asia's Hope International

The kids perform the Passion narrative during an Easter service.

The kids get treatments to prevent the spread of lice and other nasties.

Savong, PE3's dad, leads some of the older kids in a Bible Study.