The final stretch.
A week and a half ago, Josh and I welcomed in what would be the first of our last five teams to host here in Cambodia. A few of the team members had been here a year ago and the leader of the team, an orthodontist from Iowa, (drcallan.com :) has been here several times to translate Khmer for us (he practices at home :) and to bless Josh and I as team leaders, along with being a blessing to countless numbers of kids who he lovingly serves through fund raising for practical needs (such as bicycles, uniforms, and solar panels), as well as being perhaps the first dentist these kids (and staff) have had the opportunity to encounter.
Dr. Mike is a huge inspiration to both Josh and I on so many levels and he brought with him this time around a team of 7 wonderful people including his two daughters, Laura and Kate, who came last year as well. The team also met up with our new instant friend Allie, who is spending the month with us in Cambodia (which works well since we like her so much) and will be going out on the next team (Santa Rosa!) with us too :)
This group of people served lovingly, selflessly, and whole heartedly throughout our time at the Phlov Trea home in the Kampong Thom province.
One of our orphans, Ratah, is currently in his fourth year of dental school and got to help out for the week getting wonderful hands-on experience and insight from Dr. Mike.
Over all, the two were able to see 4 of our orphan homes and over 70 kids and staff, and every child was given a toothbrush and toothpaste.
The rest of the team spent their week getting to know the kids and helping with projects at the orphan home including painting, putting in a cement kitchen floor, building a brick wall for the front of the home, and finding creative ways to move large piles of sand from the front to the back of the property to help prevent excess mud in the rainy season.
Mixing cement on the ground is one of my favorite parts of Cambodian construction.
Some people pay good money to have fancy patterns in their kitchen floor, but this one came for free. 
Our week brought with it all of the above, in addition to a guest house with only squatty potties and no sinks (because the Mike Callan team is just that hardcore! :) a few post-dinner Tela Mini-Mart runs, no shortage of Callan movie quotes, ("Wafer thin mint perhaps....") amazing kids we got to know, and some absolutely beautiful Cambodian skies as seen from the back of the truck we rode in every day.
Dr. Mike is a huge inspiration to both Josh and I on so many levels and he brought with him this time around a team of 7 wonderful people including his two daughters, Laura and Kate, who came last year as well. The team also met up with our new instant friend Allie, who is spending the month with us in Cambodia (which works well since we like her so much) and will be going out on the next team (Santa Rosa!) with us too :)
This group of people served lovingly, selflessly, and whole heartedly throughout our time at the Phlov Trea home in the Kampong Thom province.
One of our orphans, Ratah, is currently in his fourth year of dental school and got to help out for the week getting wonderful hands-on experience and insight from Dr. Mike.
Over all, the two were able to see 4 of our orphan homes and over 70 kids and staff, and every child was given a toothbrush and toothpaste.
The rest of the team spent their week getting to know the kids and helping with projects at the orphan home including painting, putting in a cement kitchen floor, building a brick wall for the front of the home, and finding creative ways to move large piles of sand from the front to the back of the property to help prevent excess mud in the rainy season. 
Mixing cement on the ground is one of my favorite parts of Cambodian construction.The neighbors in our eventual neighborhood at home will embrace this method when I choose it as a hobby one day.
Some people pay good money to have fancy patterns in their kitchen floor, but this one came for free. Our week brought with it all of the above, in addition to a guest house with only squatty potties and no sinks (because the Mike Callan team is just that hardcore! :) a few post-dinner Tela Mini-Mart runs, no shortage of Callan movie quotes, ("Wafer thin mint perhaps....") amazing kids we got to know, and some absolutely beautiful Cambodian skies as seen from the back of the truck we rode in every day.
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love, Allie's mom