So it
has been over a week since our last update (and even that was just a video), I
wanted to catch up on what has been happening here in Cambodia. God has been
working, and it is extremely exciting to see how He does things and to be
completely dependent upon Him. Again, we will be giving you guys the down low
with categories. You can read which ever you like or all.
Babysitting
First of
all, I thought that I would explain why we were unable to update the blog this
weekend. As some of you already know, Kels and I adopted seven children this
weekend… just for the weekend J The missionary couple we are working with here, Mark
and Rhonda Benz, had their thirty year anniversary this past Thursday!
Congratulations to them! They had planned a getaway weekend to the beach, and
we babysat their kids—all seven of them. It was more shocking to take on
authority of seven children than all the culture shock of Cambodia combined
since we have been here. I don’t think that parents realize how amazing God is
with his plans for families. You have your first child, and then you are unable
to have another for at least a year spent with the one practicing how to be a parent.
Then you add another one, and you have a year to practice with two… I think
that it is quite like juggling. Yeah. Definitely juggling. You have to add one
at a time. So now you have the mental image that is accurate to what Kels and I
went through this weekend—just picture someone throwing seven bowling pins at
us at once ;) Really, it wasn’t that bad and the kids are great. Mark and
Rhonda are great parents, and so the kids hardly needed to be told what their
responsibilities and chores were. And a trick that my mom created, I think, was
already implemented with the Benz kids—the older kids all had one of the
younger to take care of during the day. So in reality, Kelsi and I played a lot
of cards and Kelsi cooked a lot more food than she was used to cooking—and let
us not forget that at the end of the day we were both way more exhausted than
usual. It was a great experience, and it was great to serve Mark and Rhonda in
this way, so that they could have a much deserved break. Also, Kelsi did Mary and Madi's hair :) When they let it out, their hair was curly... I got in trouble, cause I suggested that someone needed to brush Madi's hair... apparently... it was curly! :) lesson learned.
Money and Internet Café
This
section is going to be for all of you school people ;) Mark and Rhonda came to
Kelsi and I, and asked if we could incorporate some aspect of the school that
taught the kids financial responsibility, because they tend to just spend their
money as soon as they get it. This was not a difficult task, because Kels and I
both came from schools that implemented PBIS in different ways. The school that
I student taught at used what were called Eagle Bucks as a way to encourage
good behavior. Kelsi’s school used Eagle Feathers, but the concept was
basically the same, because the feathers gave the student extra privileges. So
we started in on the project of making our own currency. The end product is
pictured below. Kelsi had already put together a Treasure Box for the kids to
pick something out of, if they finished their goals every day of the week. I am
not sure if I am supposed to talk about it, but I think that I will, because it
shows how awesome God is and how His plans work out in perfect timing. With the
money came the idea for internet café. The kids are allowed to come at night
from six to seven and play on the computers here at School of the Nations, but
they have been playing for free. So with the money system, we decided to make a
mini business model to help some of the older kids learn basic business
skills—such as balancing a cash register, keeping receipts, and depositing
money in the bank. Mark had a bank bag, so that was easy enough. As some of you
know, I worked at the Carthage Golf Course for five years. It was not the most
rewarding job—I spent my days following drunken guys around and trying to make
them obey the rules of the course. However, I did spend two years working the
cash register and knew all about book keeping for a small business. God knowing
that I would need this skill to pass on to these kids, put me through five
years of my life at the Carthage Golf Course! I printed up a sheet for the
“managers” to keep receipts. They take the money just like any other business,
and put into the register. I have been teaching them one by one how to balance
the drawer at the beginning of their shift, and how to balance it at the end to
find out how much profit there was for that evening. They then have to put it
into a monthly earnings book, just like I had to at the golf course, to teach
them that the owner will always want to keep track of how much money is earned
long term on different days. They also have to take the profit from the night
and deposit it in the bank at the end of the night—which is a box near my door.
The reason this was so exciting—other than the real life training they will
get!—is that a man came the day after we started this program, who is on a
vision trip to see what ministries he and his father would like to start supporting.
He and his dad own a school that trains people in practical occupations in
Australia—including paramedic, electrician back up, and drum roll please…
business! They have developed an online program that trains in these areas. He
was very excited to see how we have been teaching the kids money skills, and he
thought the internet café was extraordinary. Great guy, and he will be heading
back to Australia at the end of the week to bring the report back to his dad
about what ministries may be good to partner with—did I mention that he said
that he could look into giving accreditation for students in Cambodia, so our
kids might be able to have accreditation in business from Australia! If we had
not started the business and money in the school, this man may not have been as
interested. God has plans way bigger than we can put our brains around! Also,
the man’s name is Tim, and his dad is back in Australia because he just began a
fight against esophagus cancer—his name is Keith. Let’s come together in prayer
for this man that God would heal him. Tim said many great things about his dad
and the work that he has done for Christ, and I would love to see Keith live many
more years—as he is only fifty-six now. He is in God’s hands.
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| Ratana balancing the cash register :) |
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| Everything needed to manage an internet cafe :) |
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| Cash Register |
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| Work Schedule |
Niet, Roat, and Ratanak
While
Kelsi and I were in the States raising support to come here, people asked us
all the time “how many kids are in BYKOTA House?” We always had a hard time
answering that, and now I know why. BYKOTA has taken in three new children. Let
me share with you about them. Here is
how Niet and Roat came into the Bykota family as best as I know it. They were
adopted from an orphanage by a wife and husband. The husband ended up being
abusive, so the wife and husband separated. Well, I guess the wife did not feel
like she could take care of the girls on her own, and she was given an offer to
try to leave the country and couldn’t take the girls with her. By the grace of
God, one of the staff who takes care of the Bykota kids was the aunt of the
girls and was told about it, so she took them into the house. At first, we
thought that we only had Niet (the one year old in the picture below), and her
sister was still lost somewhere, but we recently found out that the girl who
came to visit her aunt at Bykota house, was the sister—it was very confusing.
The sister’s name is Roat (pictured with Kelsi), and she is three years old.
She has an eye that looks very interesting, and it is because she had a hatchet
accident when she was younger—not sure if it was abuse or simply an accident.
They are both safe here and the mom is still trying to leave the country, but
if she is unable, we will try to reunite them and help as best as possible. For
now, they are in our care, and they are both adorable :) We also recently
received a boy named Ratanak—not to be confused with our other boy whose name
is Ratanak-- he is ten years old and speaks no English. His back story is
harder to understand. I believe one of the staff found him digging in the trash
for food. We have paper work on him, so I am unclear how all it works, but he
came while Mark and Rhonda were on their anniversary weekend. I have been
trying to learn more about him, but have not gotten very deep. He is living in
the same room as Visoth and I know that he has already made a connection with
Visoth. He is in good hands, both with Visoth and most importantly God. Pray
for him as God continues to work out Salvation in his heart and His plans for
his life. Now you can see why we were never able to get a solid number. This
should also tell you that we have three new mouths to feed, Ratanak needs
shoes, Niet needs baby formula, shots, and cute baby girl dresses, and her
sister Roat needs dolls to fall asleep holding. We will continue to love on
these children as long as God brings them into our lives, and we are thankful
for supports back home who make it possible. If you feel so led, Mark and
Rhonda need some help supporting the needs of these kids financially. You can
email Mark, if you feel led to help. His email is mark@orphanaid.org
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| Roat |
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| Niet |
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| Ratanak |
I think that is all I have to share about right now. I
can’t express to everyone how much we appreciate your continuous support in
prayer and financially. Kelsi and I have been so amazed watching God work here,
and it is fantastic to be able to come. We could not have followed God’s call
here, without your help! Thank you!
BecauseHeLives,
Micah and Kelsi J
