Fly Us Home [UPDATE 10/29/2014]

Here is how it works: 

Each person chooses one of the squares to fill. You fill in a square by donating the money that is equal to the numerical value of that square. So for instance, I could donate $10. Now, the ten dollars could fill the 10 slot or it could fill the 1,2,3, and 4 slots. The number doesn't matter too much; it could be your age, or your birthday. It is also nice because not everyone can donate $100, but you can pray and as God leads, donate what you are able to give. As people donate, I will fill in the squares and re-post the picture. After all the squares are filled, we will be fully funded for our plane tickets!

You can donate one of these two ways:

The first is to give online through NTNI. Follow the link, fill out the information, and make sure to select Bergen Micah and Kelsi under the "Please Direct My Donation To." If you have any questions, feel free to email me at micah.kelsi@gmail.com
The website is https://secure.qgiv.com/for/?key=MRLA8TFTN6BQB2XMUFK2

If you prefer to donate with a check, simply make the check out to Nation to Nation International (NTNI), write 777-Cambodia in the memo line, and mail it to Nation to Nation International PO Box 1607 Joplin, MO 64802. 

Please email us at micah.kelsi@gmail.com with the amount you donated.

You may think that this could no where near cover the cost of plane tickets for an entire family, but it amounts to $5,050, which is about the costs we have been seeing as we begin searching for flights.  

Although we have plane tickets purchased to get to the U.S. we are still needing to buy tickets to come back to Cambodia. We would also very much like to ease the burden of the Loyd family, who have shouldered our one way tickets to the States, so that we could get the best deal on them. 

BecauseHeLives,

The Bergens.

Family Matters: Our Little Princesses

After receiving the letter of approval for foster care, we decided to celebrate. Kelsi had brought back some princess dress up clothes from Mema Bergen (my mom), and Kelsi thought that they were the perfect way to celebrate. Here is a video of the girls trying them on for the first time. They absolutely love them, and at home, they have worn nothing else but these dresses, since Monday. Enjoy!

They will always be our princesses, and we are so grateful God brought them into our lives.
BecauseHeLives,
The Bergens.

Family Matters: Our Budget

Kelsi and I attended a Financial Peace class, before we got married. In this class, we learned the importance of a budget, and it has been a blessing ever since. Kelsi is very keen on the envelope system, and so each month, we pull out all of our money and separate it into envelopes, and then put those into our safe (please don't steal our safe). I will explain each item at the bottom of the list. This is our budget for one month.  

Admin Fee: 10%

Tithe: 10%  

Rent: $230

Electric/Water: $150

Transportation/Ice and Drinking Water: $170

Khmer Lessons: $32

Uin: $50 

Groceries: Remaining money divided by four 

Admin Fee: This is the money that our organization takes out of our donations to cover their costs. They are the ones who deposit our money into our account each month, and make sure our tax forms are ready each year.

Tithe: This is given to our home church here in Phnom Penh--International Christian Fellowship--where I lead worship each Sunday. Kelsi and I believe that it is a commandment from God to tithe, and so even though we do not receive a pay check, we still feel like we should tithe off of what God has given us (even the Levites were told to tithe off of the gifts that were given to them). We usually tithe off of what we actually receive in our bank account (after the admin fee has been taken out)

Transportaion: The cost of tuk tuks varies each month, but we have found that on average, we spend about $150 on tuk tuks. We have to buy water jugs for drinking water, and also ice, but the cost is minimal and $20 usually covers it.

Uin is a dear friend of both the Benz family and ours. She comes three times a week and helps us keep up on keeping the floors cleaned (a feat in Cambodia with doors and windows always open and with all the dust) and really anything else around the house. She does dishes, if they need to be done, and also hangs laundry. She is a wonderful sister in Christ, and a huge blessing to us, and you should pray for her. 

Groceries: We take the remaining money and divide it by four (weeks), and then that is our spending money for each week for the month for food, doctor visits, and any other costs that pop up.

To give a more numerical value to these, I will give you an example of a typical month. We usually receive about $1,200. That means that what is placed into our account is $1,080. 

Admin Fee: $120

Tithe: $110

Rent: $230

Electric/Water: $150

Transportation/Ice and Drinking Water: $170

Khmer Lessons: $32

Uin: $50 

Groceries: $85 per week

This month, we had something not great happen. Our home church gave us $1000 for foster care (that WAS great), but it also meant that the 10% admin fee was $100 more this month than usual--we have $970 for this month. Kelsi and I are in a pretty tight place, since we also have some extra costs for preparations to make a visit back to the States. We have said before that our lives would be more comfortable with closer to $1,600 coming in before the admin fee (which would give us about $150 per week for our grocery/every other non-budget cost). We have been stretching pretty thin the last couple months. I know those of you who read our blog are already supporting us financially, and we would rather not have those people already giving to give more, because we know that it is hard financially for everyone. We would just ask that you would pray about what God would have you do. Maybe pass along our information to a friend? I don't know really what to do, other than continue to thank God for providing and pray that He would continue to give us exactly what we need. It seems lately that He thinks we need a lot less than we think we need, but maybe that is a lesson we need to learn. Please pray for us to be wise with the funds entrusted to us, and that God really would provide for all our needs.

If you would like to support us one time specifically for this month, please follow the steps in the "Support Us" tab and then send us an email at micah.kelsi@gmail.com letting us know that you have given, so that we can have our admin place that money into our account as soon as possible. 

Thank you to everyone who has been blessing Kelsi and I with support. Kelsi pointed out that over the last two years we have only lost a handful of supporters. Your loyalty to us and obedience to God is an encouragement to us.

BecauseHeLives,

The Bergens.

Foster Care: God Provides [UPDATED: 10/4/2014]

Thank you for everyone who has been fasting and praying with us for our foster care to be approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Today I received a call. After submitting our paper work, and being told that I needed to wait to be called, it seemed that I had some random number calling every single day--wrong numbers, mostly. Each time my phone rang, my heart would jump. This morning, I got THE call. My phone rang, and I didn't recognize the number:
Me: Hello, this is Micah.
Them: Yes, is this the Micah who is married to Kelsi?
Me: Yes.
Them: And you have two girls named Roet and Niet that you are trying to get foster care for?
Me: Yes, that is correct.
Them: This is Dina, at the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Minister has approved your application, and given you a letter of approval for foster care of Roet and Niet.
Me: SERIOUSLY!? When can I come pick up the letter?
Dina: Today before 11:30 or after 2.
Me: I will be there as soon as possible. THANK YOU!!!!

And just like that, Abby and Lily are legally in our care. We have a few steps to take, but Kelsi and I's hope is to be home for Thanksgiving and stay through January. Let me take you through the steps we need to take, for this to be a possibility.

1. Foster care (Check)

2.Passports (Check)

I had pictures of the girls' passports, but then realized that that is probably not a good choice...Exciting though!

3. Travel Permission (Check)

4. Tourist Visas: This will be working with the U.S. Embassy and will just be simply applying for tourist visas for the girls. I have to be honest, the U.S. Embassy has given us more trouble than any other office, so we will see how they handle this.

[UPDATE: 10/4/2014]
We have made our appointment for October 20th. Although we would like to have it sooner, it is in God's hands, and we are trusting His timing. Please pray for favor and that the process of actually receiving the visa is a quick one.

After that, we are on a plane to America with our whole family, and how much better will that visit be!?
If you would like to help in this process, the most important thing you can do is pray for us.
Kelsi and I are also in a bit of a financial crunch right now. Although the passports and foster care have already been provided for by our home church (Open Door), everything on this list will cost money. Although God is always providing for our needs,our giving in the last couple of months has declined. I will be writing a little bit more on this in another blog, but it would be great if we had people pledge the cost of these items:

Visas: $320
Translated Copies for Embassy Interview: $52

Just let us know if you would like to sponsor one of these items, and it will be a huge blessing to us!

There is the road ahead. We are very excited to see God work all of this out, and it is fantastic to see His mighty hand at work. Please continue to pray for us! We love you guys!
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.