Fit BYKOTA Kids

Rhonda suggested that we use a fitness dvd during our break time in school, to help the kids stay healthy and also to burn off some of that energy. So we did, and the kids loved it, and it was great to watch. I look forward to the future of this break time activity. Here is a video to watch (you didn't think I would leave you without a video, did you?) :)

Thank you to everyone of our supporters. We love it here in Cambodia, and we love working with these great kids. Jesus is doing some great things in their hearts, and I am excited to see them grow in the Lord.
BecauseHeLives,
Micah and Kelsi.

Soccer Blessing

Hey everyone,
It has a been a while--sorry for that.
I wanted to tell you about a really cool opportunity the kids got to enjoy this past Saturday. The three boys that recently joined the family of BYKOTA House (Boung, Hiang, and Katrona), have been adjusting to the new living arrangement really well, since they arrived a few months ago. Kelsi has been working with them on their English, and they really do get along well with Bee, Heng, Gene, and Timothy. Well, I tell you about these three because the person who brought them to us (Martina) contacted us a few weeks ago and told us of the opportunity to watch the soccer leagues play at the Olympic Stadium for free. She asked how many tickets were needed, and Rhonda told her sixteen with one adult ticket to help supervise the kids. You can guess who got to go to the game: ME!! :) I had never been to a soccer game before, so I was very excited. The tickets apparently came from the prince of Cambodia, who wanted to donate one-hundred tickets to a few different orphanages. Great opportunity, and possibly once in a life time opportunity. God blessed us in so many ways. It is the hot season in Cambodia, and even the kids were complaining of the heat, as we waited to get into the stadium--standing in the parking lot. It was pushing "feels like" temperatures of 105 degrees, and standing with the sun blazing down on us. I had a hat and sunglasses, so I wasn't too hot, but the kiddos were feeling the heat. I looked at the stadium, and from what I could tell, we were most likely gonna be sitting in direct sunlight the whole game. I would love to say that I prayed for shade, but what I was really thinking was, "Man... Kelsi told me to bring sunblock; I forgot, and now I am gonna get burnt and she is gonna say 'WHY DIDN'T YOU WEAR SUNBLOCK!'" Well, we get inside, and apparently there is a part of the stadium that is shaded, and so we were able to sit in the shade the entire game (never got burnt). I learned something from the Cambodians, however. The seats were concrete and literally a thousand degrees. When we first arrived Martina said, "If we sit here too long, our bums will barbecue" and I said, "It isn't too bad." Well after about two minutes, I was getting squirrely, and I wasn't sure I was gonna make it, because my backside was cooking fast. I look around and everyone doesn't seem to be bothered by it... it is because they are Cambodian! No... that can't be it... And then I realize that everyone has only one shoe on the ground... THEY SIT ON ONE AND PUT THEIR FEET ON THE OTHER! Genius! I showed Martina and her husband, and we sat comfortably the rest of the game. Anyways, here are some pictures of the kids burning before and enjoying the game afterwards. I took some video of the game... there was a penalty shot, and I thought "This is gonna be good, so I better record it." Recorded it, and it was the worst penalty shot I have ever seen... flew way left of the net.
Pictures:

"Mr. Micah, why is so hot!?"

Mark paid for all the kids to get a water... knowing how hot is was and not  knowing how long the game would be, they got big waters and a warning, "This is for all day; if you drink it, you don't have anymore."

Finding shade where ever possible!

Notice how shady it is... Thank You, Jesus! :)

Waiting for the game to start...

Panorama does not work on my ipod camera... 

This was during the game. Every time the team would bring it close to the net, some kids would start playing on plastic tubs and blowing into these odd instruments, to give the same effect that a band at a football game would.

The game was awesome, and the kids loved it. After the game, we all ran out of the stadium with a flood of people. I lost Martina, and waited for ten minutes, but never saw her again. The kids are making thank you cards for her. It was such a blessing to have this opportunity come up, and I was so glad I got to go with the kids to see the game. Heng asked when we could go back again, and I had to tell her that it was really a one time thing... these opportunities don't come up just everyday, but sometimes God gives us more than we deserve... scratch that, God always gives us more than what we deserve.
That is all for now. I will try to post more pictures of things happening here in Cambodia. It is beginning to cool down and rain again... looks like rainy season is coming--CAN'T WAIT!
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

Exciting News!!!

FOUR BOYS IN MY REMEDIAL CLASS ACCEPTED JESUS INTO THEIR HEARTS!!!  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we are here. :)

The week before Easter I was doing resurrection eggs with my classes as our morning devotion.  When we got the the part where Jesus died on the cross it occurred to me that these mostly Buddhist boys have no clue why that is important.  So I stopped what I was doing and shared the gospel with them.  The whole time I was doing it I was thinking "man I wish I knew more Khmer."  By the time I was done most of them were excited and really into it.  So I asked  them if they wanted to pray and ask Jesus to be Lord of their life.  They said yes and we did!  I was so excited but kinda weary because their English is not really up to par so I wasn't sure how much they actually understood.  So I asked Visoth (an older BYKOTA kid) to come in the next Monday to translate for me.  We went through it all again (they hadn't really understood anything the first time)  and this time they did it for real.  David, Katrona, Hiang, and Ratanak all asked Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. :)  We are now doing discipleship training for morning devotion to help them know how to live as Christians.  These boys, except for David, are new to BYKOTA house, and it is highly likely that they hadn't even met a Christian before here.  We started with the 10 commandments, at home it is easy to bundle the first three together, but here there are many gods and many many idols so we had to take them one day at a time.  It is hard to go from a religion where you worship and pray to lots of things to understanding that there is only one God.  Please pray for us, pray that God gives me wisdom in teaching them and that they will be receptive to what He has to say.

~Kelsi

Lily's Easter Song

We do a family worship time at night before the girls go to bed--mostly because I am trying to memorize the worship songs in my song book. For Resurrection Sunday, we did special songs about Jesus raising from the dead. We sang "O Happy Day" really loud, and Lily loved it. She sang along and clapped her hands. During school today, we had music specials and learned the song. Lily, who stays with us in the mornings during school, then began walking back and forth singing the chorus: "Happy Day! Happy Day!" I thought you guys might enjoy the video :)
Happy Resurrection Day!

Have a blessed week :)
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

Making it Our Home

Hey all,
Kelsi and I have been continuing the process of adopting Abby and Lily. This past week, the ministry said that they would "call us sometime this week for a meeting." I didn't want to make too much excitement about it, because they have said things like that before... Kelsi and I got excited, though. We put out the clothes that we would wear, when they called, and were on pins and needles the whole week... waiting. Monday came and passed. Tuesday came and passed. Wednesday came and passed. Thursday came and passed, and finally on Friday we knew it was the last day. We got a call from Thon, our adoption coordinator, and he said that he was at he ministry trying get a meeting with the guy, and he was very disappointed that he did not meet with us this week. It is now Monday, again, and we are not surprised that it didn't happen, and laughing at the fact that phrase "it might happen this week." This week, we are not on pins and needles--we are on our knees in prayer. We have been praying for the adoptions, but now we are getting intentional about it. Please pray with us this week, as we wait for this meeting that "might happen."

On the note of the adoptions still in the works, Kelsi and I have taken measures to make our house into a home. We now have a bedroom for Kels and I, a bedroom for the girls, a small living room, and a small kitchen. The kitchen is feeling a whole lot bigger, though. We replaced the table with a smaller one, so now instead of the table taking up half the kitchen, it is only taking up a fourth of the kitchen ;) It is starting to feel more like a home--any where the girls are is home. So for as long as God says, Cambodia is our home. He still has work for us to do, and we are still breathing. Thank you to all of our supporters. On paper we have reached our initial goal of $1,200 a month in support. We have come up with a way to save some money, however. We are not spending any of our 500 or 100 riels. The 100 riels are going into a jug for the girls returning home money and the 500 riels are going into a jug for plane tickets. 100 riel is about 2.5 cents and 500 is about 12.5 cents, so it is not a huge hit to be saving them. Other than that, Kelsi is making her own pickles--Mark gave her the idea. We have also instituted Friday Night Girls night. We play games and maybe watch a movie... Abby LOVES candyland. Other random information--Lily has only pooped on the potty one time, since we started potty training... she always poops during nap time or in the middle of the night... Any suggestions would be great. I guess that is all. We are blessed, and we are plowing the field. We will see you all, when God gives us the go to come on home!

Love you all!
Micah and Kelsi

New Testaments

My mom sent over some Gideon Bibles in the last care package. When we changed the school to an explicit teaching environment, the kids lost some of the Bible that they were receiving every day from their PACE BOOKS. I started doing a Bible study in the morning with my group, and the kids have been asking lately for a Bible to read on their own. So, on Friday, I brought the Bibles out... I tried to save the give away until the end of Bible study, but Timothy immediately saw them and said, "Mr. Micah, are those for us?" We spent reading time reading the new Bibles. Heng asked me how I found verses in the Bible, so I think that we are going to have to do some practice on memorizing the books of the Bible. When I gave them the Bibles, I asked, "If I gave you a Bible, would you read it every day? If I asked if you were reading, would you tell me every day?" Each of them told me that they would read it everyday, and Gene said that he was going to read his at night before bed. They are not all perfect readers, but I am certain that God's word is going to penetrate their hearts and make them wise to His ways. Pray for these pre-teens (and Gene who is nine), that God will speak to them as they read, and that they will grow in their walk with Christ--all of them profess to be Christians, and I see it in their actions every single day. 

Gene with his Bible

Left to Right: Gene, Heng, and Bee reading their Bibles together. 

Timothy with his Bible

Bee with his Bible

Thank you to my mom, who sent these Bibles over in a suitcase, and also to all our supporters who pray for us daily, and who also sacrifice monthly so that we can be here doing God's work. I am truly blessed to be teaching this group (and my boys--Savorn, Ratana, Visoth, Voleak, and Chantee) each day Monday through Friday. Teaching not only English (which is important) but also giving them a firm foundation in God's word.

Please pray for me and Kelsi as we teach everyday. If you would, pray at 8:00 PM each Sunday through Thursday (if you live in Missouri), that will be the exact time that we begin our Bible studies in the morning. Pray that God would give us His word anew every morning and help us to teach with His wisdom and understanding. Pray that we would only teach the truth of His word, and that we would be diligent to live lives that are an example of what His word says to do. Again, thank you to everyone who supports us. If you feel like God is leading you to pray for us in your evenings, let us know by sending us an email at micah.kelsi@gmail.com It would be an incredible blessing and encouragement to know that our brothers and sisters in Christ are holding us up in prayer. 

BecauseHeLives,

Micah and Kelsi :)

Money - Revealed

We had a contest going this past month. The contest was a video of me holding a pile of money. Everyone had an opportunity to guess how much it was... I am now going to reveal the results of the contest and the winner.

The pile of money that you saw was 20,000 riel. Which comes to a grand total of $5 US :)

The winner of the grand prize (that will be delivered upon our arrival back home) was....
Drum roll, please...


Pause for dramatic effect...


STEPHEN BERGEN!!!!! You are the contestant with the closest bid!
Stephen Bergen guessed: $3 and not only won by our contest rules, but also by the Price is Right rules...

He will be receiving a brand new CAMBODIAN, HAND MADE WALLET!

Ladies... if you had won, it would have been a Cambodian silk purse... just sayin...

We will try to post another contest soonish, and make sure to participate!

Walking with Abby

Hey everyone,
Something you might not know is that Abby spends the mornings are BYKOTA House for Khmer Pre-School with Hosanna. I usually walk over and get her after school, and on the walk home, she always has something funny to say. I think that Hosanna was gone this morning, so the back up is that Abby watches the Discovery Channel (I am guessing, could be something else), and for the last three days, she has been talking about the same thing on the walk home--the infamous "kmouse." I have literally had this conversation with her three times, and I finally decided to record it. So, enjoy a walk home from Pre-School with Abby.

BecauseHeLives,

Micah. 

Also, a huge thanks to everyone who has begun to support or continues to support us monthly financially. God is providing in a great way, and we are getting closer to our monthly goal. Continue to pray about becoming a financial supporter, and I pray that God blesses your day with the knowledge of His Word. 

March has Arrived--Support Letter

Hello Everyone!

It has been a crazy nine months. God has been doing some incredible things, and I can’t believe how time flies. Most of you know that Kelsi and I planned on coming home in March. That word “plan” is a funny word. There are so many verses in the Bible about how we make plans, but ultimately God is the one who directs everything. Part of that directing was bringing Abigail Roat and Lily Niet into our lives. Kelsi and I always wanted to adopt; although, we did not plan on adopting when we came to Cambodia—we planned and God directed. We have been blessed in the last nine months with much support both in prayer and financially. I echo Paul’s words to the Philippians:

          “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” -Philippians 1:3-5 ESV

          Working with the children of BYKOTA House has been fantastic. I hope that everyone has had time to read on our blog the things that God has been doing, but I think when you boil down all the stuff, it simply comes to loving on kids and sharing the Gospel, everyday.

          This letter is an interesting thing to write. I have written support letters before, but none while on the mission field. Instead of telling you of everything we are planning to do, I simply want to direct you to read the rest of the blog...

Being here has some advantages: we must trust God. I would like to share our situation now with you, understanding that God will provide. We are in Cambodia, with two daughters, living with Mark and Rhonda Benz. Financially we have had amazing support and have been living on $1,000 a month. We had some savings when we first came, but now we have maybe $500 dollars in our savings for plane tickets to come home, and other expenses that go along with that. We are full time, volunteering, team members with Mark and Rhonda Benz. We are here until God says that it is time to go home—with the adoptions we are unable to give a date of return. We have had months in which there was plenty, and months in which we squeaked by until the 20^th (which is the date a large chunk of our support comes). Every time something came up in which we needed a little extra for some expense, there was support for it. God provides each month, and we do not starve—more importantly, Abby and Lily have eaten every day, and Abby’s hair no longer has the orange highlights of malnutrition. God is great and we are not worried about our needs, because we believe what Jesus says:

          “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(Matthew 6:25-33 ESV)

          This is our plan, while we live in Cambodia. Kelsi and I plan on seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and understand that God will provide everything we need.

          Someone asked the other day how much we needed per month to live in Cambodia. I think that $1,200 is a good number. The girls have added some extra expenses, but mostly our expenses come to about that much. I could break down each expenditure; however, I will simply tell you that we have rent each month that totals to $300 and food varies wildly from $300-$600, based on the prices of each item (and whether we can find the item). It is more expensive to find food in Cambodia, if you eat American food, and Kelsi does all of our cooking. We eat Khmer food every once in a while, but being here nine months, the novelty of eating foreign food left the minute home sickness arrived ;) On top of those expenses are the unusual expenses of school, doctor, tuk tuks (transportation), and other random things that come up in a month. All in all, Kelsi does the budget and she says that $1,200 is how much we spend month to month.

          I have explained that we also will need plane tickets eventually to come home. These will come to around $1,300 per person, through a travel agent (which Mark and Rhonda suggest). Rather than doing a huge fund raiser when the time comes to return home, Kelsi and I would like to save the money slowly and have it when it comes time to buy plane tickets.

          When it comes down to it, we are trying to bring our monthly support up to $1,500/month. Whether God will provide that amount, we don’t know, but we do know that He will provide exactly what we need.

          We would like for you to pray about financially supporting us here in Cambodia on a monthly basis. I know that everyone receiving this letter is already praying for us, and I want you to know that the prayer is much more important than the giving. I also want to add that our giving should be based on obedience. When I ask you to pray, I am not just using nice words. I really believe that God will speak into the hearts of those that are meant to give. Just as Samuel said to King Saul,

          “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22 ESV)

          If you would take a moment and listen for God’s voice to lead, that would be wonderful. I pray that God provides for all your needs and that we will be a people who give out of obedience and joy. Thank you for your prayer and support these last nine months, and I thank my God each day for all of you and your willingness to be used by Him in the years to follow. God bless!

BecauseHeLives,

Micah and Kelsi.

If God has called you to be a financial partner with us, the following are the ways to donate:

Ways to donate:

             

            Online/Debit: Go to https://co.clickandpledge.com/?wid=45360 enter your donation amount in the box underneath “Micah and Kelsi Sponsorship,” then click “add to cart”.  It will appear in “your selections” (at right). You may then either select as a one time donation or select that you would like it to be a recurring donation and how many months you would like to donate the amount (because we are uncertain of how long God will have us in Cambodia, follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in deciding how long you would like a reoccurring donation to continue; however, we can cancel a reoccurring donation if necessary at anytime). The website will then take you through the process of making the donation.

Checks: Make check out to NTNI (Nation to Nation International) with 777-Cambodia written in the memo line. Mail check to: Here to Serve 422 W. Highland Ave. Carthage, MO. 64836

Lily Building a Puzzle