Blessings and love from Kerri and kids in Cambodia. My plan for a monthly letter has been foiled again. I guess when you are so busy DOING ministry you don't have much time to write about it.
In March we continued working with Srey Nite and Baby Boaz in addition to our other clients at the clinic. We met Srey Nite when she was 5 months pregnant. Her boyfriend had left her because she was expecting. He had a wife and now a new girlfriend... she said she wanted to give the baby up...She went through the process to relinquish Boaz to Water of Life but backed out at the last minute. In Feb when he was 2 months old she went back to work. She had no money to buy formula so she bought sweetened condensed milk to feed him. Boaz did not thrive. He was being watched by a neighbor. We did not really hear from them in Feb but in March I went to do a home visit. Boaz was very very sick. He could not lift his head. He was now 3 months old. We were all trying to put our heads together to help this young family. Water of Life new girls home came to the rescue. Srey Nite and Boaz moved in so that we could watch the mother. We were not sure if she was stimulating Boaz properly. She quit her job and we found that she was very affectionate and Boaz improved much but weight gain was slow because we were rebuilding the mothers milk supply.
Right in the middle of April a (percieved) family crisis came up and Nite did relinquish Boaz to us for 6 months. She went to the province to visit her family and then now is back in the city trying to get her life together. It kind of turned out to be a manipulation by her family who was trying to marry her off to a local boy. We are working with her very closely to see what kind of training Nite would be open to doing so that she can have a better income to support her young son. The father of this boy is drug addicted and has fathered so many children and is no help to Nite at all. Her family has turned their back to her as long as Boaz is in her life due to the shame of her unwed mother status and also because they fear that Boaz will grow up like his father. God provided a great godly American family who is loving Boaz for these 6 months while Nite trains and gets a job... we are all praying that she will do what is necessary to be a great mom to him. She also recieved Christ this month and is deep in the word asking lots of questions...
Nite has a friend. Turns out the friend is another girlfriend of this guy who is so busy around town. Srey Na is 19 and around 37 weeks pregnant. She had no prenatal care and did not even realize she was pregnant until about 31 weeks (7.5 months). Nite wanted Na get the same opportunity that had. Last week I went with Nite out to a terrible slum where I waded through sewer water to meet this young girl. She decided to join us at Water of Life girls home too. She is planning to give her baby up for adoption but we will see what happens when she gives birth. Her family does not know she is pregnant and she is planning to conceal this from them. Of course we are praying that she will receive Christ and own up to her mistakes with her family then make a good decision about the future of the baby that is not hidden in shame.
Last month I told you we sent the woman to the hospital with pre eclampsia (very high blood pressure). She was only 7 months pregnant. We lost this little family for a while (could not find them at the hosptial) and assumed that the baby had died. Imagine our suprise when this woman showed up at clinic with a 1.1 kilo baby (2.4 pounds). The tiniest baby I have ever seen. The baby should have never been discharged from the hospital but despite a serious lung illiness baby Channy is now 2 kilos (almost 5 pounds). We are awed at God's faithfulness to us at the clinic and the way he continues to bless and protect us.
Noah is still having some vision problems from the accident with the plastic bb... he has a small cataract forming on his eye which makes his vision not as good as before...
Noni did get her visa for Cambodia ...Praise the Lord but the fighting on the Cambodia Thai border continues. There have even been Thai bombs launched on the Cambodian side away from the fighting displacing thousands of Khmer families. They are reporting no civilian causalities but I find it hard to believe... If its true its just the merciful hand of God.
Chenda and Noah both had chicken pox. Noah got a few of his spots infected and has run some high fevers. Kam and Hayden have both been a bit dizzy headachy and Kam had fever too.
We enjoyed 4 nights at the beach as part of a lovely Christmas love offering from the ladies at Summit church. It was so refreshing and wonderful to get away.
The week after our get away was a week off school as it is a big Khmer holiday... we slept in and watched lots of family movies. Most stores in the city were closed as everyone visits the province or countryside during the holiday. Lots of spiritual warfare during that time. We serve an awesome God!
I want to explain a bit about Water of Life ministries. There are so many different projects going on... the first project Water of Life started was a fine arts training center which became a boys home as well. Boys age 15-25 live there for training and schooling. Some kids are orphans some kids come from poor families who just need a place to live while they study. The boys are involved in school and ministry and also learning the Word. That house is also the Water of Life offices and hosts many foreigners who come to stay either short or long terms... the foreigners pay rent for their rooms which helps us house and feed the boys who we serve.
Holly is a godly Bible college grad who has lived in Cambodia about 3 years much of that time at the Water of Life house. She felt God calling her to start a womens home. In March that home began. It has one staff person, Srey Own, who is Khmer and Holly... and a fluctuating number of young women from US who are here for short or long term ministry. They also currently have about 8 Khmer girls who are getting training a place to live and learning the Word of God. Some of the girls who live there are Christians but some are not. The Value Life clinic, which is my main focus of ministry, and is also a Water of Life ministry, has placed the 2 girls in Holly's house and they are sponored for this month and one of them for next month but if anyone wants to sponsor a girl the sponsorship is $50 per month for room and board and a small amount of pocket money for the girls to buy personal items.
I know many of you noticed the Srey part of many girls names. Srey means girl. So Srey Nite is her name but we often just call her Nite... Most Cambodian names can be either girl or boy names but the girl version of the name will simply have Srey in front of it!
God continues to bless and teach me... this past month after more than 5 years of being told NO Chenda got a 130 approval! That is the document that says the US agrees she is my legal daughter. I am in the process of applying for a visa for her and applying for a 130 for Noah. If we were to get those close enough together I plan to go to US sometime before Feb 2012 and naturalize both kids as Americans. They would then be US citizens. Please pray that this works out. I feel God confirming His call to me to remain here for now but having the option to go home for visits would be very nice. If Noah's paperwork gets held up Chenda and I will go to Haiwaii where they have very quick processing times and all of Chenda's paperwork (passport, social security and certificate of citizenship) can be done in 2 weeks. Regular processing times are 3-5 months and that is just too long to be away from Noah in Cambodia.
I am linking you all to the March and April albums on facebook if you have not had a chance to take a look at the photos...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.157961100923604.47792.100001291453424&l=44d1efe594
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.165658893487158.50667.100001291453424&l=8664b57833
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