Dear Friends,

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf as we have certainly needed it!  God has been faithfully answering prayers and sustaining us, especially over the past six months.  We briefly mentioned the baby, Boaz,  that we have recently brought home to foster for the next six months but we would like to share a little more with you on how God brought this precious baby into our lives and how He has prompted us to respond.

This unborn baby was made known to us back in November 2010.  A 24 year old unmarried, female factor worker had gotten pregnant by a married man, let’s call her Srey.  When her family heard the news, they disowned her because of the great shame it would bring upon the family.  She was told by her mother that when she got rid of the baby, she would be accepted back into the family.  Early on in her pregnancy Srey went to a clinic hoping to get an abortion but by the providence of God this clinic, run by Christian workers, does not perform abortions. They talked to her about possible alternatives, one of them being adoption.  As the pregnancy progressed, Srey began considering adoption and we were suggested as possible parents.

When the baby was born in December 2010, Srey felt she couldn’t give him up.  She hoped that the father of the baby would come around and be a part of their lives, even if her family disowned her.  She was a first time mom without any kind of support system.  At birth the baby weighed 6 ½  pounds (25%).

By the end of January, Srey had already returned to the factory job (12 hour work days) in spite of other possibilities presented to her.  The baby was left at home in a hammock with a neighbor in charge of checking in on him every few hours and giving him a bottle of sweetened condensed milk with water.  The reality of the responsibility had set in and she thought of adoption again.  She went to the police station ready to give him up.  In fact, we were called that day to give him an official name for the proper paper work, Boaz Michael.  At the police station she was informed that the father was required to sign as well.  She assured those present that she would bring the father of the baby following day.  However, the father would not consent to give up Boaz and told Srey she shouldn’t consent either.  Srey changed her mind once again with renewed hope that the father of Boaz would be a part of their lives.

Over the next two months Boaz’s health declined and began losing weight.  His weight dropped down below the 5% and began showing signs of delay in his development.  Although the medical clinic and the NGO associated with it were involved with Srey and attempting to support her, Srey was confused, conflicted, and unable to make a firm decision to keep Boaz or to give him up.  We were fervently praying about how we could help Srey (although we have never personally met her) and Boaz.

The first week in April Srey decided to go to her home province to see her family for Khmer New Year knowing she could not bring Boaz with her.  In desperation she began asking strangers if they wanted her baby.  The NGO involved has an orphanage but felt Boaz needed more care than their staff could offer.  After prayerful consideration, we decided to offer six months of foster care in hopes of giving Boaz the love, care, and nutrition that he desperately needs for his growth and development as well as give Srey some time to consider her life, Boaz’s life, and hopefully make a decision that she will be able to commit to and live with.

Please pray with us as we strive to demonstrate the love, mercy, and compassion of Christ to this precious baby in front of Srey and our two girls at home, Sarah and Wejeka.  This is a marvelous opportunity to model the love of Christ and to teach our girls to love the way that Christ has loved them.  Pray for Sarah and Wejeka that they would be willing to love this baby for the glory of Christ, whether we get to keep him or not.  Please pray for Boaz’ health, growth, and development.  Pray for Srey, that she would know the saving grace of Christ and that she could make a ‘good’ decision and stick with it. 

Thank you for partnering with us in this gospel ministry for the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Blessings,

BJ and Andrea