So tonight during Khmer lessons we finally found out that Abigail and Lily's Khmer names have a meaning. We were told that they didn't mean anything when we first got them. Kels and I were cracking up over them after we found out. I think that it is funny how God can make a name fit so well. Firstly, Abby's Khmer name (and middle name) "Roat" means Sunflower. We had been spelling it wrong, and when we looked at the birth certificate it was Ro srak oauh Ta june gno... we couldn't figure it out, but our Khmer teacher immediately said, "Oh! This is how we spell it when it is used for sunflower." I was once nicknamed by a professor in collage "Jesussunflower." He told me to look up sunflowers, and I found that "They always point towards the sun and seem to reflect its image." Best nickname ever, and I am sorry to say that I do not live up to it. So Abigail Roat means "The Sunflower that brings the Father Joy." Totally fits Abby. She is so full of energy and always brings a smile to our faces, and I know her Father in Heaven's face is smiling on His little Joyful Sunflower. Lily Niet was slightly comical. Her name Niet means "Power" or "Authority" or "Bossy." Although she is younger than Abby, and most of the kids she plays with, she can not be pushed around. She is definitely the boss. Lily is a symbol of beauty in Cambodia, and so she is Beautiful and Bossy--which Kelsi says fits her Diva personality. I can make it sound better, though... she is a Beautiful yet powerful girl. I am so happy to have found out this information, and I am also continually amazed at the redeeming power of Christ. When I think back a year ago, when Abby and Lily came to live with us, I remember a terrified baby girl, and a quiet, orange-haired toddler who woke up with night terrors every night. I know that God is in the business of restoration, because I see it every day in my little girl's smiles.
BecauseHeLives,
The Bergens.
that is awesome!
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