Boo's Moto

Before we left for the States, I went on a tuk tuk ride with our driver Boo Sovon (we just call him Boo). You may remember from earlier posts that Kelsi has been doing a Bible study with his wife, and we have been talking to him about the importance of going to church and getting involved to grow in his faith for his family. He has always said the same thing: that he would go when he was able to pay his house off which would be in about a year. But he has been saying that for about a year and a half, so we keep praying for him. When I was riding in the tuk tuk with him before we left, it sounded awful. We got out and I asked him about it, and he showed me that his engine was falling apart, and in general his moto was breaking down. I asked him how much it would cost to get a new moto, and he told me. He then explained to me that he used to be a bus driver, but his vision has been getting worse so he could not handle the long drive to Siem Reap. Basically during our discussion I learned that if his moto breaks down, he is sunk. So I told him that I would ask my friends in the States if they would ask God if they were supposed to help him with a new moto. While in the states we spoke to First Baptist in Schell City, Missouri about Boo, and they decided that they were the ones to sponsor his new moto. Here is the before and after:

It has more power than his other moto and since it is new it will last a long time. We have already heard people complimenting him on it. Kelsi mentioned that it would be great if he could use it as a witnessing tool. When people say something about it, he can tell them that God provided for it.

I decided to have my friend Seyha come and translate when I gave the moto to Boo. I told Boo that 

God loved him. And when we trust in Jesus and seek His Kingdom, He provides for all our needs. I said that God told my friends in the States to give him this moto, because He cares about him and his family. He said "Thank you God for my moto!" I hope that this gesture has built Boo's faith. As we have been here and seen God provide for us, we know that it has made us trust in our God more and more, who always provides. Thank you First Baptist Schell City! Your generosity and obedience is a blessing to us and those with whom we minister here in Cambodia. Continue to pray for Boo and his family, as they grow in their faith and begin to follow Christ, not just because they work with foreigners who follow Christ, but of their own decision. We are blessed by Boo, and we are so grateful that we were able to bless him in this way. Again, thank you First Baptist Schell City!

BecauseHeLives,

Micah.  

Waiting for June 15th (Adoption Update)

Thank you for the prayers about the meeting on Tuesday! When we met with the lawyer, we found out two things. One that the man's name in the family book is not Abby and Lily's father. It is the name of Ron's new husband. Secondly, the girls' father was never married to Ron legally. She explained that she had a village marriage, but nothing on paper, and he left her and said he didn't want his name on the girls' birth certificates... That means that we are good to go to court, and we do not need to include him at all. Huge answer to prayers! I answered a bonus question on Tuesday too. Abby and Lily's Khmer names are Sreyroath Roeun and Sreyniet Roeun, but Ron's last name is Pich... so I asked why they had a different last name, and the lawyer explained that, in Cambodia, when a child is born, you decide whether to give them the family name or the father of the family's first name. So, Pich is Ron's grandfather's first name, and Roeun is the name of Abby and Lily's grandfather and Ron's father. 

So June 15th can not get here soon enough. On that day, I will go and get Kelsi and my's visas, which just happen to be the last thing on my list of things we need to go to court. After that, I will meet with the lawyer and hammer out price and get our paperwork together to petition the judge. After that, it is a waiting game for the court date, and after that, a waiting game for the decision. 

Some of you may be wondering what the process of this looks like. You may have the questions, "If you get court adoptions, does that mean you can come home right away?" "What is the time frame on this whole thing?" 

To answer the first question simply... no. Court adoptions have nothing to do with the United States. It is all about how Cambodia sees us. However, once we have court adoptions, and Cambodia recognizes us as the legal parents of Abby and Lily, we can petition on their behalf for citizenship with a certain form. That is the uncertainty. We are not sure that this court adoption will be enough for that, but either way, we want as strong of a connection as possible with the girls. If the court adoption is enough, we already have the two years required of residency to apply. It will be a series of trips to the U.S. Embassy and a whole lot of paperwork, and a whole lot of waiting. To answer the second question, not sure. We don't know how long court adoptions will take, and we don't know how long the petition will take. Right now, we are here, and we are glad to be making progress.

Thank you for everyone who has been praying for us, and please continue to pray. Like I said, we have a little bit of a wait ahead of us--three weeks. And for most of you that time will fly by, but for me it will feel like ages. I think God likes to make us wait sometimes. I am excited to see how He works all this out in His timing, and in His perfect way. 

Hope this answers some questions. If you still have some, please comment or send us an email :)

BecauseHeLives,

Micah. 

Gardening Day

The girls are doing a project for school with Kelsi. They are growing Basil, Rosemary, Dill, Marigolds, and Lavender. These are all mosquito repelling plants, and also useful in other things, like cooking and being pretty, or that is what I am told ;) Hope you enjoy the video! Just a bit of our life here in Cambodia. 

BecauseHeLives,

Micah. 

Prayer Request: Adoption Update

Upon returning to Cambodia from the States, we are required to turn in a report to the Ministry of
Social Affairs. I decided to kill two trips with one tuk tuk and ask about adoptions. The meeting at the Ministry was not super eventful. I asked about the rumors of new laws in March and what happened with all that, she said the same thing I already heard, that the U.S. said they would not accept adoptions granted to families with foster care currently. She also said that foster care has been shut down, but it is not in lieu of granting adoptions to those with foster care. I asked if there was anyway that she could give us an adoption as if we were Cambodian, since we have had the girls as foster children through the Ministry for almost eight months now, and most Cambodian families are encouraged to adopt after only six. She said that it was not possible. I then asked if there was any way that the Minister could make an exception for our case, because of Abby's eye, and she said that the Minister does not want to give any exceptions right now, because he is afraid it will open the flood gates--which I completely understand. At this point, I asked Dina what she thought about us going ahead and looking into getting a local court adoption of the girls, so we have some way of fighting for the visas we want, and she said that she was not sure that we would get them, to which I said, "But we can try." She then gave me contact information for a lawyer, who I have a meeting with on Monday morning at 10:00 (Sunday evening at 10:00, Missouri time). I have some paperwork to gather, and a lot of praying to do. This route is going to cost money, and we want to be sure that this is what God wants us to do right now. Please pray for wisdom for us, as we begin this process. Pray that the lawyer's heart is softened to our case. Pray that the judge will have mercy and that we will have favor. Pray that we will guard our hearts well, and not get our hopes up too quickly. Pray for God's will to be done. Pray that this works, and we get adoptions, and even pray that after we get adoptions, they work for our visas. I will give an update on how the meeting went later. I just wanted to make sure everyone began to pray now.

There will also be an update about settling back into Cambodia, but right now, we are still settling, and exhausted! Thank you to everyone who encouraged us while we were in the States, and also for all the generosity from the churches that we spoke to. It was great seeing/meeting all of you!

BecauseHeLives,
The Bergens.

UPDATE 5/14/2015
I spoke with the lawyer, and he told me a few documents that I needed to collect. Things like a lease agreement, visas, ect... One thing he also noted was that he needed to have a counsel meeting with the mother of the girls. I have known this whole time that Srey Ron would help us with this, so I was not worried about it. Before the meeting with her, we needed to get her ID and the family book from the province. I got both of those things yesterday, and we are scheduled to meet with the lawyer on Tuesday at 9:30 AM, which is Monday evening the same time in Missouri (for all of you who would please pray for us). It is looking like just a couple more weeks and we will have everything to turn into the judge and await the trial, but the lawyer was concerned about the fact that the biological father's name is not on the birth certificate, but is in the family book. Please pray that this is cleared up and will not cause any trouble later. We filled out all the paper work for our lease agreement, and are just waiting for the sangkat to approve it--the sangkat is like the local office. Once that is in my hand, I will go and renew our visas (ten days, usually), and after that I can meet with the lawyer again to sign the final papers, which will include an agreement on the fee. That is up in the air right now, because everything is negotiable in Cambodia. He told me at first that they charge $3,000 per case. I thought, great, because Abby and Lily are sisters, that means one case, one judge, one set of paperwork. But then he back tracked and said, but we also charge $3,000 per child sometimes, so not sure. When I go into that negotiation meeting, I will get it as low as possible, and we will most likely have to pay a percentage of the cost up front. This is why I was wary to go the court adoption route--it gets expensive. Kelsi and I have enough savings from our time in the States (thank you!) to pay the initial part of the cost, but will need some help with the rest--all you people who have been saving change get ready! :) Thank you to everyone who has been praying and also for all the generosity toward our family. We are blessed with a great group of supporters. I will post an update on Tuesday, after the meeting, to let everyone know what the lawyer said about the family book and birth certificate situation.