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.

Foster Care Need (Passports) [UPDATED: 9/1/2014]

In the waiting game currently with foster care. I called the Ministry of Social Affairs today and they said that our paper work was still in the Admins office (they look over it and make sure we have everything and the correct forms). Our contact at the ministry said that she would call me when it was all finished. Whilst in the waiting game, our directors got news that it might be easier, if you know a relative of the child, to get the passport before you achieve foster care. So on Monday, hopefully, Abby and Lily will be going in with their aunt to apply for passports. This should take about a week. Kelsi and I have been secretly praying and hoping (ok maybe not so secretly) that we will get to travel with the girls to the States, and our biggest hope would be to come back from November through January (three months is the longest visa we have heard of coming from the U.S. Embassy with travel papers and foster care). Obviously, these are our plans, and God has His own, but we have been praying that this might happen, ever since we heard that we might be able to get travel visas to the U.S. with foster care. We also found out that if we waited to apply for passports until after foster care was completed, our passport application could take up to six months. This seems like nice timing that our directors got this information, and we have decided to go with it, but we need help. First of all, foster care all together, after it is completed is going to be $400. The passport fee which we will need to pay soon (like maybe at the end of next week), will cost us $600 for both girls. So, we are looking at possibly an extra $1,000 this month--that we do not have. We are confident that God will take care of this, and we are just asking everyone to pray about whether He wants to use you to accomplish it. I know it is a lot of money, but I also know that my God is trustworthy, and I am not worried about it. Again, please pray about this, and be obedient to what God is telling you to do (even if it is to do nothing). Thank you to everyone who has been fasting with us for foster care, and also for the countless hours spent in prayer for us. We feel so blessed to be here, and we miss all of you so much.
BecauseHeLives,
The Bergens.

UPDATE:
We had the $1000 come in, because our God is a provider and because our friends and church family at Open Door are awesome! We were unable to get passports, because the girls' original birth certificates are at the Ministry of Social Affairs, but our contact there said that, even after foster care, the aunt can take them in and get them a passport, and it won't be any more difficult. At the moment we are still in the waiting game. Our foster care could be approved or declined any day now. We have been told that it will be at least a month, which is tomorrow... We are still praying and fasting for it to be completed. As soon as it is approved, we will be going in to get passports for the girls and applying for travel permits and visas. The time is beginning to slip away for us to be home for Christmas, but I know that God can still accomplish this, if it is according to His will. Sometimes we pray really hard for things, and God says no. Why? I don't know, but I know that I trust in Him. He knows my whole days and sees my whole life continuously before His all knowing eyes. He knows what is best, and if I truly believe that, then when things don't go my way, I am certainly not going to throw a tantrum about it. Keep praying and we really appreciate all the support from everyone and especially the prayers!
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

UPDATE:
On the 1st of September, we received a call from the ministry, and our foster care was approved. Read about it in the post entitled "Foster Care: God Provides"

School of the Nations: Translation and Worship

Every Tuesday night, we have what we call Small Group. Everyone in Bykota House comes to the center, and we worship together in song and have a devotion in God's Word. Our praise has been primarily in English, but the staff and some of the lower level children have been struggling to enter into worship, because of the language gap. I have been trying to learn to sing the songs in Khmer, but it is a slow process. Mark had the idea to have the songs on the slides in English and Khmer, so that even if I am singing in English, they could follow in Khmer (if it is a familiar song) or at least know what we are singing and meditate on the lyrics. The idea came to mind, what if the older boys translated the lyrics? That way it is practice in their translating and also in their Khmer typing skills. So, after two days, we now have six songs in Khmer and English, and I am excited to worship this Tuesday and hear the response from the kids and staff. Here are some pictures of the boys working on the songs. They are using youtube, and also just a dictionary and the original song (that is work right there!)

Just another reason we are blessed to have sponsors. These computers were donated by Liberty church even before Kelsi and I came. There is also a projector. Our Tuesday nights benefit so much from these tools, and I thank God everyday that we have them, and also that we have such bright, godly, young men here at Bykota House.

BecauseHeLives,

The Bergens. 

Bible Study Corner: All Ages

Elementary:
In the elementary, we have been going through the whole Bible telling every story that comes up. We just finished Moses meets with God on Mount Sinai, and the Israelites build the tabernacle. We are moving into Leviticus, which begins with Aaron's two sons dying because they did not obey God, and God instituting the Levites as the chosen group to maintain the Tabernacle. I have been enjoying teaching through the Bible in this way. The kids love it. We start our day every day with a story from the Bible and how it applies to us. With the building of the Tabernacle it was that God had given certain people talents and they were able to use them, and everyone else joyfully gave to the work. In the same way, God gives us each of us talents too and calls us to work for His Kingdom. On Mount Sinai we talked about the fact that God showed Moses and the Israelites how to live, and He does the same for us today with His word. It has been fun telling those stories that are normally skimmed over, and just flipping through my Bible every day to see what story comes next.

Middle School:
In the middle school, we have begun a study through the book of Mark. I asked the kids if they wanted to be treated like the older boys, cause they have been asking to switch to the High School class. One morning, I said, "Who wants to be in the High School class?" and everyone raised their hand. So then I continued, "All right. This is the new High School class, but I expect you to act like it." From that moment on, we began a Bible study the way grown-ups study the Bible--verse by verse through a book. I chose Mark to start, and we have been working our way through Mark day by day. I love it, because we go around in the circle and everyone takes a turn reading a verse (Varee or Odom reads the Khmer) and then we discuss what it means and how it can change our lives and attitudes. Recently, we discussed how the Pharisees took God's law and expounded on it, and then began to follow and instruct their man made teachings as if they were God's law. We also talked about how Jesus was able to create bread and fish from just five loaves and two fishes, but then His disciples were frightened when their was a storm later that evening. Jesus is Master and Wonderful Lord, when you are on land and safe, and He is providing for your needs, but when you are on the raging sea, is He still the same Master and Lord? Can not the same Jesus who made bread multiply also make the sea calm?

Older Boys (High School):
The older boys and I have finished our study on James. It concludes with the idea of confessing your sins to one another and this concept of sin. We decided to go ahead and study 1 John to further this study on sin in our lives. We just finished discussing chapter three where John explains that those who "practice righteousness are righteous" This does not imply that we are perfectly holy, but it also does imply that we are to be practicing righteousness. We are like babes learning to walk, and every time we fall down, God picks us up with His grace and allows us to try again. We also discussed the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us, convicting us of our sin, so that we are unable to just continue walking in sin flippantly, but have sorrow and repentant hearts, when we have rebelled against our Lord.

So that is a wrap-up of what we have been talking about in our Bible studies at school. Kelsi, Abby, Lily, Melody, and I have been reading through the Bible together at night during our bed time routine, and we just finished reading Leviticus (and "Chronicles of Narnia: A Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis, or "the horsey book" as Abby calls it). Please continue to pray for us, as we try to live out what we teach in every area. Pray that the Lord would open the kids minds to understand His word, and that we would all be changed by it, as we study it, and make it a part of our daily lives.

BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

Weddings in Cambodia and Update on Foster Care

I don't think that you have lived in Cambodia, until you have had a wedding party set up right outside your bedroom window. I saw it about three days ago. First they came in with the medal frames to make the big tent that stretches about fifty feet long and twenty feet wide. I knew exactly what it was as soon as I saw it. The tent roof could be reached from our bedroom window. The next morning, I noticed the trucks coming with all the tables and chairs. I thought it would happen that evening for sure, but it did not. God allowed us a night's rest for Sunday Church. But then, as we were leaving for church, I saw that the tables had table clothes and they had brought the generators. There was also a large beer delivery truck parked in front of our house. I knew that by the time we got back from church, the party would already be in progress... and it was. If you have never experienced a Cambodian Wedding party, there are two words to describe it. Loud. Really Loud. Kels and I have been to one before (our tuk tuk driver's daughter). And the music is so loud you can not even speak to the person sitting next to you. And then, as people leave, they leave the music playing at top volume... there could be one person sitting at a table, and the music would still be blaring. I think that is odd, but I am sure there are many things that I do that my Cambodian neighbors must think is crazy. It is currently ten o'clock. The party goes on outside our window. The bass guitar and shrill singing will probably continue late into the night. I think Kelsi says it best, whenever something happens and she is just thinking about how crazy something is she just throws her arms in the air and says, "Oh Cambodia..." There are a lot of things that I let bother me, but I have to say, I am not going to let this one get to me. I found myself praying for the newlywed couple, and feeling excited for them, even though I don't even know them! I think it is crazy when God changes an attitude in your heart like that. Kelsi has always said, "Choose joy." I have been working on rewriting hymns. One in particular that is in progress is called, "Joy in Sorrow." I have added a refrain to it that says, "You choose joy, when you choose to trust in the One who overcomes." I think we Christians get silly sometimes over the things that we allow to ruin our attitudes. Joy is not some emotional high or happiness as some would suggest, but instead is knowing that through every circumstance, my faith is firmly planted on the One who overcomes in the end, and has already won the victory. So I can be sour about this, or I can choose to just throw my hands in the air and say, "Oh Cambodia..." I might not sleep tonight, but the Bible says to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. There is a huge party going on outside. Celebrating the marriage of two people. I know nothing about them, but I think God likes parties, and I am gonna use this opportunity to pray for something that we have been fasting over for almost twenty days now.

Update:
We have found out that the Ministry is accepting applications for foster care, but they are not processing them. I contacted Channa, our contact and fellow servant in Christ, and he said he will help us turn our paper work in, even though they are not processing at the moment (just to get our stuff in the door), but he has been very busy because he is the director of an NGO, and summer months are always when we have the most volunteers. Our prayers lately have been that God will give him a free moment so we can get our paper work into the ministry. And then we can pray for a miracle that they will decide to process it. I will be calling Channa again in the morning to see how this week looks for him. I realize that many of you have been coming alongside us in our fast for foster care, and I have to say, I have been praying pretty hard lately, because I keep seeing pop left and right and thinking how badly I want a pop. Thank you for all of you who have decided to do this with us, and I hope to give you good news in the recent future! Keep up the praying!

UPDATE: 7/17/2014
We have turned our paper work into the ministry, and now we are just waiting to see if we are going to be approved or not. At this point, we just pray like crazy. Now more than ever, it is in God's hands. Please pray for favor with the minister and a quick response. Thank you for your prayers.

BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

June Wrap-Up and Special Request

The month of June has flown by. Most of you are in the loop as far as what has been going on, but just in case you were out of it, let me give you a wrap up.

Beginning of June:
As we were preparing for one of our busiest months of ministry with the largest amount of short term volunteers I have ever seen, our directors received a call from the states with devastating news. This sparked a mad dash to get plane tickets and transfer responsibilities to Kels and I. Within a three day period, they trained Kelsi and I on the tasks that they normally handle, and left for the states. Because Sarah and SJ are in the process of adoption (just like Abby and Lily), they are unable to travel, so they stayed with Kelsi and I. Half of the volunteers for the month showed up--a world race team of ten girls, with the addition of one more in a couple days.

Middle of June:
We spent a week with the world race team being awesome, as they usually are. We had another team of five arrive, and another single person, bringing our total volunteers up to eighteen. That is a lot of volunteers! The team of five people came from Liberty Church, who sponsored our computers at school, before I came to Bykota House. They were great! We went on field trips with the kids, and they did a special sewing and business class. They also took Kelsi and I out to eat on several occasions--the world race team baby sat on some of (most of) those nights, so Kels and I could have a meal in peace and quiet... sigh. We had another volunteer come towards the end of the Liberty trip.

End of June:
The Liberty team left (they'll be back... I can always tell), and two days later, the world race team left--leaving us with the two volunteers that came separately and by themselves. They have been holding down the fort at Mark and Rhonda's house and taking care of baby Leah. One of them is also doing preschool this week. The Benz's will be coming home tonight, and the month will be over--the month that only God could have worked together. We could not have made it through the month without the abundance of help that we had. Looking back on the team meetings that we had leading up to June, I remember thinking about how many volunteers were coming and wondering what we were going to do with all of them, but God knew all along, and He worked everything out in the end. I just look back in awe and give Him the worship and glory that He deserves.

Special Request:
During the month of June, because I had four pre-schoolers to transport in the morning, we had to take tuk tuks every day to school. I worked out with Boo Sovon to pay him at the end of the month for the tuk tuks, so that I wouldn't have to make sure to have the money every day. Boo is amazing. When I was gone to the states in January, he gave Kelsi tuk tuks for free the whole three weeks I was gone. I know that he is in the process of paying off a home loan, and he could use a blessing, and I thought I would throw it out to all of you. We can gather the money to pay him the normal amount for this month, and do the math, but I would rather bless him and his family with extra. I will tell you that the normal cost would be about $120. Like I said, we can pay him that, or we could double or triple it! He has been an amazing blessing to our family, and I would love to bless him back. If you would like to give towards this, please go to our "Support Us" tab, and go through the online process, and then email us at micah.kelsi@gmail.com to let us know how much you gave and that it is for Boo.

BecauseHeLives,
Micah.

 

Fasting for Foster Care [UPDATED 9/1/2014]

If you have been following our blog for the last few months you will know that we are in the process of getting foster care for the girls.  We have finally finished gathering all the paper work and now all that is left is the waiting game.  First we are waiting for our friend to take the papers to the ministry, he is waiting for the ministry to tell him he can come, then we will wait for approval.  We really feel like this is the track God has us on and we have done our best to seek His will all the way.  We don't want to just sit back and wait.  We are tired of just waiting!  So we have decided to take action the only way we can...prayer and fasting.  We are asking you to consider praying and fasting with us.  How it will work is, we will choose something to fast from until we have foster care for the girls.  I, Kelsi, am choosing to fast from chocolate.  This doesn't mean I am just not going to eat chocolate until it is done, it means every time I think about or want to eat chocolate I will pray for our foster care to be finished.  So you have to option to fast from Facebook, chocolate, pop, or something else of your choice.  Let us know if you want to join by sending us your name and what you are fasting from in our email (micah.kelsi@gmail.com)  so we can keep you updated on the process and specific prayer request regarding our foster care.

UPDATE:
On the 1st of September, we received a call from the ministry, and our foster care was approved. Read about it in the post entitled "Foster Care: God Provides"