Family Matters - November 14th, 2012

Khmer Phrases and Video of the Girls:

Hello Everyone!
The last post was very old... I have to admit that I wrote it a while back, just couldn't post it, due to internet problems. I wanted to give you a fresh update on what is happening here in Phnom Penh. This won't be a long post--simply some brief updates, mostly about our family. This post is going to be for those who are really curious about how things are going with the two new additions to our family.
It has been almost two months since we officially announced the girls arrival into our family. We have been pursuing adoption for a while now, and we are seeing God's hand working out awesome details. Everyone involved has been very gracious. But those are just technical details that God is in control of and will work out, so I will move on to more interesting stories and leave you with the simple update of "Paper work and such is moving smoothly. Praise God!"
ABIGAIL
Let me tell you a little bit about Abby first, because she is the oldest. Firstly, I do not believe that I have given the news that we found out the birth dates of the girls. Abigail Roat Bergen was born on February 14th, 2009. She is named Abigail, because it means "Father's Joy" and she certainly is my joy. She is extremely smart--picking up on English so fast you only have to tell her once or twice what something is and she is already repeating it. Some of my favorite moments with Abby have been during play time when she does something (like knocking her own tower of blocks over) and then looks up at you with this shocked but also anticipating face, and then she cracks up! I also love when you ask her a question that you know she won't be able to answer and she looks at you, puts her hands up, and says, "I don't know." I also love that when it is nap time, Kels asks her who she wants to sit with, and she almost always says, "daddy." I could not leave out that when she asks to watch tv, it always comes out as "my butt's hairy." Abby loves to color, and if you ask her what she wants to do at any moment, it is usually, "cawlor." These are just a few moments of Abby. She is the average three year old, with all the tantrums and language barriers--well extra language barriers... and the tantrums have gotten easier the longer she has been with us--and since we started using an alarm timer to signal when time out is over: who knew how well that would work! She also is blind in one eye, but I always forget that, until she covers up her good eye and says "I can't see!" or "I see you!" All in all, she is a joy to be around, and I love hearing her say, "Hey Daddy, look!"
LILY
Lily is the baby, and she knows it. She was born on January 20th, 2011. If you were wondering, all of our Birthdays fall between the months of December and February--and that is December 31st to February 14th... No swim parties for us...Anyways, Lily means innocence, purity, and beauty. Lily is a cutie. She has been the baby for so long, it is slightly difficult to help her understand that she is not entitled to everything she wants... or allowed to bite her sister and take her stuff... There are a few things that I love about Lily. She always wakes up happy... ok, maybe not always, but she generally pops up and smiles at you and blabs something in gibberish and smiles again. Some of my favorite moments with Lily have been when she gets really excited and hops until she falls flat on her butt. She also has a puppy dog towel thing that she carries with her everywhere. When she is drifting off to sleep, she takes its paw and touches it to her mouth, and then she falls asleep holding its hand. I also love the way that she waddles and toddles when she walks. Something else about Lily that is adorable is her love for the pets in the house. She is so gentle with them, and if one of them walks in the room she is all over it. Snap, one of the guard dogs in the courtyard always winces and closes his eyes, whenever she comes to pet him, but it is just because she sometimes pokes him in the eyes... on accident of course. She has also learned the phrase, "Muggy, no!" but is comes out all as one word and kind of like a drunk man--all slurred. She is also picking up words like crazy. Her most recent has been "no!" and "down" and "drink." She is also breaking in three new teeth this week, so she is eating ice like an animal that eats ice or one of the boats that cut through glaciers (not the Titanic)... insert some clever anecdote about Lily's love for ice and win a prize: "She is eating ice like a ___________" She is still sleeping like an angel though... just kind of whinny during the day, but I totally understand, because I have cut in one of my wisdom teeth--remember during our flight over here. IT HURTS! That is Lily, our little baby girl.
Now I will give you my deep wisdom and insight about being a dad... HAHAHAHAHAHAH! I am learning, and it is a blast. I always knew that I wanted to be a dad, but I never knew it would be this awesome. even with the lost sleep in days, and the tantrums, and not being able to go out on a whim anymore, being a dad is the greatest joy I have found--second to the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. When the girls first came, and I held Lily for the first time, and met the shy Abby that it is no where to be found anymore, I felt this burning in my heart like I had never felt before. I now understand that this was God planting them deep in my heart. At first it so odd to have them in our house, and it seemed like Kels and I were simply playing family, but now I can't imagine life without them, and I can't remember what it was like to not have them. They make life mean something, and they push me even more to be the man that God has called me to be. I love them more than I love my own life, and I would do anything for them. That is all.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported our journey here, and who continue to support us. I find it funny that God had planned all along to shut all the doors to South America, so Kels and I would come here instead, and then He would bring two blessings into our lives to change our family forever. We could not have been here without you guys, and we could not have made it this far without your love and support both in finances and prayer. Thank you all!
BecauseHeLives,
Micah and Kelsi.

Visit, Siem Reap, and School Craziness!

Hey Everyone!

I just want to apologize for not giving an update for many weeks now. We have had one of those months where everything happens all at the same time, and it seems like you don't even have time to breath... on top of that, my computer got some crazy Chinese virus that would not allow me to get on the internet--note to self, do not leave computer on all night long, apparently that is how I got the virus. That being said, I do have lots to tell you about.We had Kelsi’s parents come for a visit (Which now feels like ages ago), started a new school system, took a three day trip to Siem Reap, and have just generally been having really full days!

Visit

Like I said, we had Kelsi’s parents come for a visit, which was really awesome and just the right cure for homesickness. Skype is nice and I can’t imagine how homesick we would be without it, but it is nice to have flesh and blood sitting at the dinner table and speaking face to face. They arrived on Tuesday the 9^th and stayed through until the next Saturday (the 20^th). It was really nice having them here for tons of reasons—including help with projects that David’s handy man skills accomplished, and Kerri’s extra hands with big shopping trips with Kelsi… not to mention, I didn’t have to do dishes basically the entire time they were here… one word: Awesome. It was also nice to have them around, because Kelsi and I got to do some tourist things that we had not taken the opportunity to do since we arrived in Phnom Penh. It is funny the way things work, when you are going to be somewhere for a long time—you tell yourself, “the next time I am at Toul Tom Pong I will take pictures of the meat and stores” but then next time comes and you forget, and eventually, it is the norm… why would I take a picture of the grocery store? With Kerri, David, and their camera, we got pictures of all the things that we have wanted pictures of and, at the end of their stay, go to one of the seventh ancient wonders of the world (more on that next). Something else that is nice about Grandparents coming to visit was the extra help with the girls. Although I would like to say that Kels and I are perfect parents and need no help, we are new with parenting, and have two daughters—one of which is an ornery three year old. The help was amazing. I mentioned that David helped out with things around the house, so I want to brag on him for a minute. While here, he put three shelves in—one in our kitchen above our kitchen counter and doubled our counter space (THANK YOU!), and the other two in the Benz’s kitchen. He also helped me carry the girls’ new bed to the house (that was down four flights of stairs, and then back up five flights of stairs, and then back down one). On the note of carrying things, he helped me carry a sofa from the bottom level of the house to Kels and I’s living room (I am sitting on it now, and it is oh so much more comfy than the wicker one we had). Also, I think that I need to add that we had to take the door off to get the couch into the living room… this is a note to anyone who ever wants to get it out, because it is impossible to get it in the door without doing so… I mentioned the girls’ bed, so I should add that Kerri spray painted it pink and added bows and lights to it to make it awesomely cute. Also while David was here, he mounted a fan in our kitchen because the one we had was hugely intrusive—he mentioned that it was in the way and immediately came up with the solution. I joked at one point that the work that they did was what most college students do on short term missions trips, and college students would have taken time to sight see also, so this was really a short term mission trip. In reality, that is just how Kerri and David are—always wanting to pitch in and do work even while on “vacation.” We did do something very vacationy while they were here, however.

Siem Reap

Siem Reap: The home of one of the seventh ancient wonders of the world… Khmer temples… the most famous of all, Angkor Wat. Because I have been teaching the kids Khmer history, I knew a little of the background of these temples. We only had one day to visit, so we hit three temples of interest: Angkor Wat (of course), Bayon, and Ta Prohm. Highlights of Angkor Wat: palm juice, hundreds of feet of murals, and swimming pool. As we approached the temple, there were guys selling palm juice… if you ever visit, drink the juice and let me know what you think, because David and I both tasted a burnt, smoky flavor… mmmm. I love for my juice to taste like it has been taken out of a smoker. What I was amazed by the most was not how big the temple was, because anyone can make something really big, it was the detail of everything. The walls all had murals from the ground to the ceiling—not paintings, carved into the stone. I thought I caught a pattern of one of them that was recreated, but then there was enough difference that I couldn’t convince myself that it was duplicated over and over again, like a copy past job… I guess you couldn’t copy and paste into stone… it was pretty magnificent. And then there was the two swimming pools in the temple… I’m not exactly sure if they were swimming pools, but Abby and Lily were both convinced that they were, because they really wanted to jump in, even with no water. In one word, I will describe the highlight of Bayon: Elephant Ride… ok that was two words, but we road elephants around the temple. The guy steering the elephant had a place on the back of his shirt that read “TIPS” and had a five dollar bill sticking out of it. The last temple, I did not have a good look at, because I am now a father, and my daughter Abby had to “Chinome” or in English: Potty. I ran out of the temple looking for a bathroom. We made it back to the van and I asked one of the store owners where the bathroom was… they pointed to the woods behind the stores J My thought, “THERE WERE WOODS WHERE I CAME FROM!” The reason we stopped at that temple was because I had said that I wanted to see the old trees that grew through the temples… apparently they were awesome… the people in my group obviously didn’t know the rules about when someone misses something, because they all came back like, “That was the best temple of all. After you left we turned a corner and everything was more awesome than anything we have ever seen… oh but we couldn’t take any pictures, because they said that anybody not willing to come to see it was too lame to see it in it’s pure awesomeness.”  Ok. The last part was made up, but the first two sentences actually came out of my wife’s mouth! On a side note, I love being a dad, and I would trade any Hindu temple with trees growing through it for my daughter any day. Also, the fact that a temple dedicated to a Hindu god was completely desecrated by our God’s creation is totally great. That is the last thing that I want to add about the temples. While we were there, they had little places to burn incense and bow down and pray to a golden image of someone, maybe Budda (but that would be weird, since they are Hindu temples). I have been reading the old testament lately, specifically in the history books (1 and 2 Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles). All the kings of Israel that were evil in God’s eyes were the ones who erected temples to other gods. I don’t think that these structures are “wonders” in God’s eyes. I think that He would love nothing better than to see them torn down. I had a hard time being in awe of them for this reason, but I did have a nice anecdote to add to my Bible study with the boys about hating sin like God does in an attempt to live holier lives… Although the architecture was magnificent, what these temples stand for is the breaking of the first and second of ten great commandments that God has given us. If you say, “No, they are just buildings now,” you are wrong… I watched countless people bowing down in these temples to worship something that is not our one true God. (Soap box returned). We also took a boat ride, while in Siem Reap, that was awesome! Houses in the water up on poles. The people living there on the water just like a neighborhood, and everyone getting in boats to go from one place to another... really neat.

School Changes

Lastly, I will discuss the new school system. If you would like to hear more about the history of the kids schooling, you can visit Rhonda’s blog and read about it. I will simply state that the kids have begun Khmer school—not just the three boys you knew about form previous blogs, but all of them. The thing about Khmer school is that it is in the morning one month and then switches to the afternoon the next… so, we have one group of kids in the morning and a different set in the afternoon. This actually is better, because we have even less students and can work better with the fewer numbers at a time. Also, with the less students, Kelsi has been able to take on the kindergarten and get the students prepared for PACE books. It worked out really well, because her kindergarten students are on the same schedule as my older boys, who are easier to keep on task. I have been able to start a reading group with the older boys, and try to really improve their English skills. This is the reason for being more busy, though. Our new schedule takes us from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon with a two hour break from eleven to one to get Abby and Lily fed and put down for naps. I also have Bible study at four still… which directly afterwards is preparation for dinner, followed by bath time, and an hour to thirty minutes before baby bed time… whew, it is very tiring, but we are not here on vacation. We are here to work, and I have never liked people who complain about how much they have to do: Jesus took His rest time to pray, and even then was pulled away to His ministry. The thing that is difficult is that I used to get the blog ready in the afternoons while watching the school room with kids on computer programs like typing and Microsoft, which are student directed mostly, and I am not needed as much as with PACE books. I want to keep everyone updated, but it is definitely something that has to be worked on now. There I go complaining. I will keep the updates coming and you guys keep praying for us as we continue the work. I was reading my Bible today and a verse came up, “Do not grow weary in well doing” I don’t remember where it is found, but that is the aim. Refreshment through time in God’s word and prayer, and we will keep on keeping on.

At this point I would like to explain some financial things that have come up. With all the kids going to Khmer school, there is a new monthly cost added to the Benz’s already tight budget. The boys and I did the math the other day, and it is around $220 every month, just to give the kids the bare essentials. Also, with Kelsi doing the kindergarten, there is an additional cost of $20 a month towards daily snacks… oh kindergartener’s and their snacks. If you feel compelled to help with these financial needs, let me know and I can get you the information you need. I know how things are right now in the States with the election and poor economic times, so I pray that God will lead the giving. That it will not be compulsive, but that it will be obedience. All I ask is that you pray about it, and see what God would have you do. Thanks!

Here are some pictures of us at Siem Reap and of the girls in their new bed :)