#5 - Encouragement - Genocide Museum - Teaching - in 100 degrees!

STRESSED SPELT BACKWARDS IS......DESSERT!

That was the opening line from the pastor on Sunday's service. 
He went on to preach a message on "are we encouragers or discouragers"? Then he asked us which one of us encouraged someone today before coming to church ( if you did not, you had a second chance to do so after the service!) and spoke of the importance of surrounding ourselves with encouragers!


Encouragement in a Genocide Museum:
What I do know is that I was encouraged by my visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum: in 1975 the former regime of Cambodia, turned this educational institution into S-21. S21 was designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture, and killing after confessions from the detainees were received and documented. The fact that the Pol Pot regime documented this with photographs, and letters is amazing to me. The torture tools, shackles and corpses found on the premises are now being used in evidence in trials in the United Nations. Previously this area was the Tuol Sleng Primary school and high school. (Click here for pictures and more info. on the museum.)


You must be shaking your head and thinking only Vidya could find that encouraging! I was moved to tears in the first room I entered after reading on what the old regime did to their people. It was an empty room with a blackboard, an old iron bed, no mattress, and rusty chains which kept the person chained to the bed, and an old metal box which represented the electrical shocks which the Pol Pot army administered in the torture process.


I was encouraged by the fact that our Lord brought me here at such a time to be part of the re-educational process in the redemption and rebuilding of the land of Cambodia.


I am teaching the future leaders of this country. 
It is an awesome honor to know that I am part of a team of people not only here at POR but also other organizations who are here in Cambodia to help in the rebuilding of its land and its most prized resource: the people. 


I know that He brought me back here to visit Tuol Sleng ( I visited it on my missions trip in 2009) so that if my motivation ever wavers during the tough days here, He would bring back to my memory the school rooms I visited, and my purpose for being here.


Isaiah 10:20-22 talks about the remnant of Israel. I look at the remnants that have remained after the destruction brought about by the Pol Pot regime: on the one hand you have families who have given up their children, their grannies. They have struck down family ties, yet at POR I see the community they have created between the house mothers, the grannies, and the older children to the babies. They look after each other.


Teaching and Praying:
I usually meet with my Khmer teaching assistant 10 mins. before class to pray. Today I remembered that Stacy (one of the other teachers) said that her class prayed together, so when everyone came in, ( right after one of the girls, Nary, who saw that the floor had been unswept came in and took the broom and started to sweep the floors without being asked to do so) I asked for a volunteer to pray, 2 immediately put up their hands to pray. When I said "English",they shook their hands, and when I said, "okay Khmer", they prayed while the kids bowed their heads and put their hands together in prayer, saying "Amen" once in a while in agreement! 
It was quite moving!


( Yes, I confess I peeked to see if they were all praying!) I had one more girl ask to join this class which begins at 6 at night. This class is for the lowest level literacy learners. Need to find out how she found out about the class! This cements that I need to learn Khmer: I wanted to know what she prayed! Was it "please help the teacher to teach"?


Luke 20:39: "...Some of the teachers of the law responded, Well said, teacher!" I never noticed before that Our God, Our Saviour, was addressed as Teacher. Many times I have thought of Jesus the Christ, as Physician, Counsellor, Creator, Artist, Gardener, Shepherd........but somehow the designation of 'Teacher' struck me and made me think again of this 'holy calling'. For all of us who are teachers by trade/education, or informally ( and we all are in some way), be encouraged and affirmed in your holy calling!
From mothers to lay people, we are either teaching or being taught in some way, and it is sobering as well as delightful to follow in His footsteps, to be in His school.


Hot, hot, hot!
To be honest this week, with the temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees, no air conditioning at all, the fan in my room just circulating hot air, no relief, no cold drinks, the kids still on Khmer New Year mode, only wanting to play, I had to pray and ask Him for help to remember the above!


Then in my readings Joshua 18:3: "..How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the GOD of your fathers has given you?..." I claimed the land, that is , my classrooms, the kids in both classes, and boldly asked that He gives them a hunger to learn. 


Luke 19:48: "... and they hung on to His Words.. I asked the Lord to make me creative for the kids to stay interested in what was being taught. ( BY the way I am open to suggestions for creative ways to teach days of the week, commands, months of the year, sentence structures etc.) I also asked God for me to have a learning spirit to go along with the kids.


Learning Khmer and Tutoring:
Just got the word that I will begin formal Khmer language classes along with Jeremy and Stacy and Halina, my co teachers! We will be taught by Teacher Channak and in return we will tutor him, the accountant, the Khmer teaching assistants plus the Pastor at Place of Rescue. Pray for wisdom as we pair up and teach each other.
Thank you all, especially for this week as we had such high temps and teaching was so difficult. 
I thought, "wow how much more difficult it would have been if not for my praying partners"? 
You have made a world of difference for me here.


I will be seeing Charlene Pollock again, Got to spend too short a time with her but will see her and her team at Place of Rescue this week end. I am sorry I do not have pictures. I will have to buy a camera! But Char will be taking pictures.
(**Co-workers Jeremy and Stacey have pictures on their blog, Bacquepacking.)


Still Dancing with Him in spite of the heat,
Sister Vidya


(grateful to Lorilee and Ruby who skyped with me yesterday, on behalf of the missions committee, you both looked beautiful!)