Last Saturday night our children and the Nhoemvan girls performed The Sound of Music musical. They started preparing last spring, with in-person rehearsals during our trip in June, many home practices, and then many rehearsals once we came to PP. The final production was splendid! There was a good audience: Nhoemvans, Jensens, Pawleys, Kerns, Williams, Lims, 3 Korean Family Home guests who asked to attend, and 2 friends of the Nhoemvans. The play started at 6pm and last about 1.5 hours, with refreshments were served afterwards. The best way to summarize the production is to include the Introduction written and given by Kolianne.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome, welcome, welcome to The Sound of Music. We’re so excited to present our performance to you, and we hope you enjoy it. The Sound of Music is one of the world’s favorite musicals, a heart-warming story of how a young nun-to-be brings life and joy into the family of an Austrian naval captain. With a witty script and spirited songs, it has captured the hearts of many, and we are thrilled to perform it to you. 

Our Sound of Music had its start, naturally enough, in our letters to one another. We knew we wanted to put on a play, and after some consideration of different musicals, like the Wizard of Oz and Pete’s Dragon, we thought of The Sound of Music. It was perfect. The mixture of silliness and seriousness, the great music and the delightful characters, would be a joy to portray. More letters passed. Countless bits and pieces had to be decided upon. Who was to be who, for example? I can assure you, a lot of ink was spent discussing that. And even when that was settled to everyone’s satisfaction, we had to decide on the songs, choreograph them, and edit the script. Then the costumes, the sets, the lights and sounds and acting advice – “Speak clearly! Speak loudly!”  I truly appreciate how hard everyone has worked on this play, and I think their efforts are going to pay off beautifully tonight. In fact, I think they already have. It isn’t all work and then one glorious hour of performance. No, the fun and smiles come all along the way. We learn to work together, to try again, to make do with and without, and to laugh, as a team. And we’ve made memories that are going to be lots of fun to talk about. “Remember that time when we did The Sound of Music . . .?” Yes, this has been fun, and we hope you’ll have fun watching it.

And last but not least, thank you to Aunt Amy and Uncle Josh and Mama and Papa for helping and advising us, scheduling practices, and dealing with all the pros and cons of your children being in a play that they’re directing themselves. It’s a wonderful accomplishment, keeping your children alive through the rehearsals, and offering practical advice. Thank you for making sure the programs work out and helping us with music. And also Papa, happy birthday! You’re a great Papa and I’m sure the Jensens think you’re a great Uncle Nal. Thanks for letting us perform today. We hope you enjoy it!

We hope all of you enjoy it. And now, as it says on your programs (but I’m going to say it in English here, ‘cause I can’t pronounce German) – ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we are proud to present – THE SOUND OF MUSIC! ~Kolianne Nhoemvan

Cast:
Becca Jensen – Maria & co-director
Isaiah Jensen – Captain VonTrapp
Kolianne Nhoemvan -Louisa & Baroness & Nun & co-director
Anna Jensen – Reverend Mother & Liesl & choreographer
Mileah Nhoemvan – Brigitta & Aunt Maxine & Sister Sophia & choreographer
Clara Jensen – Marta & Frau Schmidt & Sister Berthe
Jodanai Nhoemvan – Greti & Rolf & Sister Margaretta
Ezra Jensen – Friedrich
Micah Jensen – Kurt
Maria Jensen – “Margret” (an extra vonTrapp child)
Script edited by Becca & Kolianne

Priscilla had a full second week of life. She went to CCOP for the first time to hear her daddy preach. She attended two dinners with friends….they came to us and brought the meals. She had her first home bath. She is doing great at night (except for last night). She is loved by all.

October 14, 2026 – 5:25pm

Weight: 7.6 lbs Height: 19.29in Head circumference: 12.9in

We arrived in Phnom Penh last Saturday afternoon and are now waiting for Baby #8’s arrival. Now that we’re in the big city, the baby seems quite content. Everything checked out great at the doctor. So now we wait. The kids have been enjoying being here. They were able to have two different days with their friends down here. Besides many other things they are rehearsing to perform The Sound of Music musical with their friends. They have been working on this since before June. Josh is still able to work with the translators over the internet, so he’s been doing that everyday. We’re not on a normal school schedule, but everyone brought some school to focus on and get ahead with during our time here. It’s nice to work on a few subjects without having the pressure to get everything done everyday!

The kids have enjoyed playing outside with the other people who live on campus (mostly people related to the Antioch Bible School). The other day the boys got to play bocce ball with two older men. It was so kind of the men to include the boys, and I heard the boys played quite well. Last picture: we can’t get real ice cream where we live and once I have the baby I can’t have milk products as long as I’m nursing the baby…..so we splurged, and I’m enjoying my last real ice cream for a long time. 🙂

Last week we had our annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day celebration. In my current state, I was not sure I could work up the enthusiasm to talk like a pirate or do a bunch of pirate-like activities. Thankfully, our older kids were enthusiastic about the day and kept the energy going. We divided the kids into three teams for cookie baking: Becca, Clara, & Maria made chocolate chip cookies; Isaiah & Ezra made peanut butter cookies; and Anna & Micah made molasses cookies. While the boys were working on their cookies, the girls were writing clues for a treasure hunt for the boys. The boys wrote their clues for the girls treasure hunt after snack.

For snack we had cookies & milk and watched pirate videos (mostly educational). After snack, each group did their treasure hunt. The kids wrote some great clues.

Girls’ Clues for the Boys
Come and hear, Sea chanties with your ear, Lift up the cloth, That’s infested with moths And Ho! You’ll know where to go! Arrrrr

Down in the dark hole our prisoner spent his days. He heard us tramping up and down; He scribbled a clue on a scrap of sail and grabbed at our feet in a craze.

When yah come to blow yahr nose, Don’t look down at yahr toes, Just look inside,  And await your prize.

Avast! Me friends, the storm has past! Our goods were drenched in the salty sea, but we’ll dry them by the mast! It’s there ye’ll find yer clue.

Boys’ Clues for the Girls
Where the black chronicles are, look in 10 to find the next clue.
Four legs but can’t walk is standing on the next clue.
Look for the place of all the colors with M’s, P’s, C’s covered with planets that UJ gave.

In the afternoon I read to the younger kids and the 4 older kids played games,and everyone then went outside. For supper we had hotdogs, mac&cheese, and beans. After supper we watched our 2021 Pirate Day Presentation video and then did our pirate dancing. We ended the evening with cookies! It was a fun day and I’m thankful that all the kids were helpful and easy to please. Arrrrrrrrrr!

After Josh took this picture Tuesday, I was surprised at how much smaller I look than I feel. Maybe we should have taken the picture straight on. We’re about a month away from hitting full-term, so I’m happy for this little one to come anytime after the next 9 days. By then we’ll be in Phnom Penh, waiting for the baby to arrive. Waiting in PP is not the easiest thing to do: it’s hard to be away from home and my own kitchen when making meals, it’s hard to have to watch kids constantly (instead of just being home), it’s hard to leave normal life and live somewhere else….BUT we’re very thankful for the place we get to wait and the wonderful people who work there and live nearby who are so kind to us. The guesthouse staff said they are hoping I deliver the baby there again – they are so sweet.

The kids are planning to do a performance of The Sound of Music with some of their friends in PP. They are been working on it since before June.

Everything with the baby seems to be going well. This little one is very active, and my Braxton Hicks started weeks ago. I’m getting very in shape to have this baby! People say I have short labors….little do they know I’ve been in labor for 2 months by the time the baby arrives!

These are the strangest grapes we’ve ever seen. Not sure where they were imported from (they don’t grow grapes in Cambodia). Micah lost another tooth on August 14th. There are lots of neighbor kids coming again to play. Usually they play marbles, but other times Capture the Flag and other group games, if it’s not raining.

Maria is a hoot. She loves swinging and sometimes falls asleep in the swing. What she really needs is a nap, but she’s given up on those!

Check out Micah’s symmetry! I recently had Becca make a gift for one of my friend’s birthday. We turned it into a fridge magnet!

When your husband and daughter take a 37-hour trip to Phnom Penh (nightbus) and back and it totally confuses your week and you have no idea Thursday is already over…..

This school year I was hoping to have the kids give more presentations on a regular basis. However, once the school year started, I realized there was no way I could help everyone prepare and practice their presentations and keep up with all the other school subjects, so we adjusted. This month Clara gave a science presentation on dolphins. Then we added a few other things that the kids were ready to do: Clara performed a piano piece. Anna sang an original song she wrote for spelling, played a flute piece, and read us three chapters of a story she’s writing. Isaiah read a poem he’d written for Omnibus and played the recorder with Clara and then Anna. Becca read part of a poem she’s working on. Micah played a piano piece (this was an impulsive decision, and when I asked Micah when the last time was that he’d played the piece, he said at the June recital!). Micah, Ezra, and Becca read the monthly family newspaper, and Maria joined in on the recorder playing.

Throughout July most of us contracted dengue fever. I ended up missing church for the whole month, being sick myself and then being home watching sick kids. One Sunday Becca and Anna took my place leading Jr. Church. Becca took my place running it, and Anna took Becca’s place, leading a small group. They both did a great job. It was Anna’s first time. After two Sundays of being sick, nine of my ladies came to see me. I was not feeling up to visitors and the hour they stayed felt like 10 hours – but it was really sweet of them to come. They told me to just lay down on the floor, but I told them that wasn’t my custom when having visitors. 🙂

In our backyard we had a very tall kapok tree that was rotting. It took a long time for our landlady to find someone to cut it down. When the three brave (or foolish) men came to cut the tree down, they didn’t believe Josh that it was rotting inside. They were quite surprised when they hit the rot about halfway through, and the tree came crashing down. Thankfully no one was hurt!

Recently the Young Ladies Literary Society of Oyadao had a tea party sponsored by Lady Anna Jensen at her lovely home. Refreshments included tea with honey and peanut butter cookies. All the ladies in attendance behaved perfectly.

The YLLSO holds meetings every Monday and Wednesday evenings. Their meetings included reading aloud through works of literature, crocheting an afghan, and reading the YLLSO Journal aloud.

Ezra wanted the Queys to come and celebrate his birthday, so he got an all-day celebration! He started his day with some breakfast cereal and birthday pictures before his guests arrived. His birthday cereal was part of his birthday countdown calendar, which included the normal: little gifts, Saturday morning bike ride, movie night (Monster’s INC.), and other small things. Ezra chose a rabbit cake this year, and we ate chili for lunch and spaghetti for supper.

When I asked Ezra if he wanted to have any special party activities when the Queys were here, he said no, “just play.” The boys ended up building towers with magnatiles and having a battle with rolling balls to see whose tower would remain standing the longest.

After the Queys left there was a little while to play outside before supper. Ezra had a rousing time with some neighbors on a tree-swing (two tires with a board in-between) singing songs at the top of their lungs. Then we had a nice dinner, gifts, more cake, and then Ezra’s birthday slideshow.

Ezra is a great young man. He loves to be outside and do things. He enjoys building, playing games, and reading in bed. He also is a buddy to Micah and Maria and to many of the younger kids outside. He’s a really kind older brother. We’re thankful for Ezra – 8 is great!

With Maria’s and my birthdays being so close, we decided to delay my birthday to the end of the week and celebrate her’s first. This made things much simpler with focusing on Maria. It also allowed me to celebrate my birthday without thinking about everything that needed to get done the next two days.

We had a nice meal of chicken parmesan, salad, and fruit salad. Clara made a yummy apple pie for dessert. The kids did gifts and cards before dessert, and then we had a slideshow. I was very thankful everyone was healthy enough last week to celebrate both birthdays.

Maria celebrated her 3rd birthday this week. She has been looking forward to her birthday for a long time. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, multiple times she said “cards!” This year Maria got her first birthday countdown calendar. She loved opening the doors for a week. One of her days said, “New bed.” We finally moved Maria out of the pack-n-play and into a bottom bunkbed!

Maria started her birthday morning early with excitement about the signs and balloons, including a special ladybug balloon, at her door. She played with Clara and Anna in their beds and running back and forth letting the balloons hit her head.

Maria was delighted to decorate her cake. The day before we baked the cake, and on her birthday morning Maria put the sprinkles on to decorate her princess’s dress. Maria ate many sprinkles saying, “I’m just testing them.” This is our first child I let help decorate his/her cake this young.

In the afternoon, the kids played with Maria, and Anna gave her an early birthday present – bubbles, so they played with that. Dinner was hotdogs, mac&cheese, beans, and veggies, with a special drink. After dinner we gave Maria her presents. She was very happy with all her cards and gifts from others. I gave her one of my childhood dolls that was still in good condition. Then we had cake! And we ended with Maria’s birthday slideshow. It was especially cute to watch her laugh watching videos of herself.

Maria is a sweet, spunky little girl who is loved by all. She’s very clever and has an advanced ability to listen and follow books above her age level. She loves to be read to and is currently enjoying our reading of the Little House on the Prairie series. Maria also has a good imagination and does well playing with Little People or Playmobil and having her own adventures with them. She also loves listening to kids songs and singing along while dancing.

We started the new school year on July 6th. It was a bit of a wobbly start, and we actually weren’t sure until breakfast that morning, if we’d be able to start. I came down with dengue Friday afternoon and was out of commission Saturday and Sunday. But on Monday, I was at least headache-free and decided we should at least do what we could, since it was likely others would get sick later in the week. So for most of the week, I pressed through teaching in the mornings and then slept a good part of the afternoons. We cancelled all our afternoon appointments with our Khmer/Jarai friends. What a way to start the school year!

So – this is the reason we only have pictures of some of the kids and their signs. The others were still working on their signs when they got sick. Turns out Maria was the next victim (though a very short case), then Clara on Friday, Isaiah Saturday, and our latest to fall is Ezra this past Monday. Actually Micah was the first one to be sick before me. The rash and itching has been bad for some. Maria was up crying two nights because of itching, and I didn’t sleep well two nights due to my own itching (especially the feet). Hopefully we can post them next week. We’re looking forward to everyone feeling better and recovering full strength from post-dengue fatigue.

Clara just finished her sign today and even could smile for a picture!

Last week we celebrated 12 years in Cambodia. We celebrated a day early, since the next evening was our Khmer service. I made chicken cordon bleu, and we had salad. Then in the evening we had popcorn and played a game together. It was a fun time. We are thankful for God’s care, direction, and love for us as we’ve lived and served in Cambodia these past 12 years. Our family has grown, and we’re all grown in maturity and in loving God and others.

Sadly, during the late afternoon, I started not feeling well. We suspect I either had dengue or chikungunya. I’m recovering, but it’s slow going!

Sunday we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Sundays are usually very full days for us, but my reading ladies canceled, so we had some extra time together. We played two games (both I’d not had a chance to play yet and one Josh hadn’t played yet), and we made and wrote our anniversary cards to each other. We bought beef for dinner for everyone for a family supper.

Thankful for the marriage and friendship God has given us. Thankful that we have each other “till death.”