#96 - The Wedding

Vol.# 96

The Wedding

Best Symbol of Christian Wedding

Annette, Tong and Srey Chan (Bride and Groom), Vidya





Walking Down the Aisle

Praise:
Thank you for your prayers re: safety and endurance for my back!
Sopeap, the driver, only got lost once, and I was ever so glad to be in a car!
There was so much road construction, red dust flying up everywhere; sometimes visibility was not that good.
Even though I was in the car, I kept blocking my face just in case the dust came in!

On arrival, Annette and I were greeted like long lost family! I got the biggest and tightest hugs from Srey Chan (the bride), and then was attacked and hugged from behind by Tong (the groom).
Their aunts and uncles, some of whom we met a couple of years ago, remembered us, and came out to greet us with smiles!
We unloaded the car and they had graciously given to us one of their biggest rooms. So we set up our floor mats (my yoga mat!), and then set up the mosquito net over it!
We shared floor space with Pastor Sokun (from Rescue) and his wife and son as well!
They made sure they got a battery generator to set up a floor fan for us to put just inside our net!
Very touched by their hospitality!
We then went downstairs to greet others and to see how the setup for the wedding was going. Already, 12 huge speakers were up; the ceremonial stage was being set up and the tables and chairs with colourful cloths were already being set up.

The neighbourhood kids were out in force! This was the first Christian wedding in the village!

After eating soup and rice, and greeting other former students who were doing a 'cook up' with Channak, (the guys' thing), I went out to see who was dancing with the music blaring so loudly!
Yup just the kids, so you know I HAD to go and join, and for the next sweaty 2 hours, we had fun!
One person asked if it was a kids' party because all they saw was ME and the kids! But there was another brave young woman who had been at Rescue in 2004 and who was invited to the wedding, so she was my dance partner and I kept trying to pull the older ladies in to dance!

Needless to say, there would be no sleep on Friday night, but not because of the sleeping arrangements or the mosquitoes. We were quite comfortable, but the generator had to be on all night to provide lights and security for the wedding area. Our window was directly above the sound of the generator, and we could not close the window because we needed the air to flow through!
In the midst of my giggling, (trying to get out or crawl out of the net to go down to the bathroom was dicey!) I was about to fall asleep when, promptly at 3:15 a.m., the music began, not just the Khmer wedding traditional one, but to my giggles, it was followed by a remix of a song (meaning dance tune!).

So we had to be up, and from our vantage point across from us (2 mins. away), we could see the bridesmaids and bride being made up etc. The bride changed 4 times, and so did the groom, and they all looked beautiful each time!
Alas, one of the cousins from the house where I slept came up to me around 11am on Saturday and said she would take me on her moto so that I could go and get all made up! Let keep in mind that my make up by now had melted since I was up, but it is expected to cake on the make up!
I smiled and said no!

I was teary eyed as Tong and Srey Chen made their vows before our Lord.(See the photos!)

We returned home around 4 on Saturday. The next party would have been starting by then until 11 at night! But I thought since I lasted for the wedding, I would attempt to go to church on Sunday and I did!
It was my first time on over 2 months!

Praise God: I got to have "God-convos" with many former students, and Annette and I had the pleasure, as Tong said, of closing off his bachelor days by praying over him and Srey Chan!

Praise God: We had prayed and asked for favor from his family as well as Srey Chan's family, and they seemed genuinely pleased to have us and were sorry we had to leave so early!
Thank you for praying for His heart to be seen through us!


Prayer: I am back to school. I just spent 2 and half hours there but I am praying for a study pal please! There are five of us in the class, and the other four are married couples, so they have each other to help in conversation!

Love, 

His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya

** (P.S. I am at 90 percent of my monthly support, would you consider becoming one of my dance partners? Please email me!)

#95 - Just One Dance?

First, I want to say Happy Birthday to my Dad who turned 89 years YOUNG today! 

I love you, Pops!

Praise: This was my first day back to school. I decided on the tuk tuk as the main means of travel, which was wise, since I was taking my computer plus other things that would have been too much to carry! I got there in time. You prayed that I would, because the traffic is always heavy early in the morning. 
Guess what? It was clear sailing, like the parting of the Red Sea! 
There are only 5 students in Level 2. I was able to understand most of the Khmer after being away for over 2 months! Thank you for praying that my ears would be open to the sounds! 

Prayer request: I was able to handle being in class for two and a half hours but then I could not sit much longer, so I had to leave early. Please pray that tomorrow I will be able to stay for the three and half hours. I was able to buy the correct back brace this afternoon, so tomorrow is the test of wearing it in class! 

Praise: I was actually excited to do my homework and spent two hours going over what we did today! My former teachers all gave me hugs and it was great to be with them today! 

Prayer request: After school tomorrow, at 3 in the afternoon, I will be heading out to the province in the countryside for the wedding of a former student. 
Pray for safety as we travel and for great God-conversations with the students and family we will meet there. I will also be reunited with Marie Ens, and Pastor Sokun, who will be officiating the wedding ceremony (he is the pastor from Rescue). 
I will be overnighting there, and carrying my own bedding. Please pray against mosquitoes. The accommodations are very basic, with no electricity or running water etc. 
Pray for energy as per tradition, the wedding begins at 6:30 Saturday morning and goes on till late evening! 
I want to be a blessing to my former students and co-workers there. 
Please pray that my back will be okay, especially for the special dancing on Friday night! The groom-to-be especially asked that we come up to fellowship and dance that night!

Tong, my former student and groom-to-be, has told his family that the entire ceremony will be Christian and some of his extended family have said they will not attend, so we are praying for a blessed time for all!

Thank you for keeping me in your prayers! 
Oh, I cannot wait to dance at least one Khmer dance on Friday night! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya

** (P.S. I am at 90 percent of my monthly support, would you consider becoming one of my dance partners? Please email me!)

#94 - The Cross: A Conversation Starter

Vol.#94

Advent is here leading up to Easter and I was thinking of how I could get people to start talking about the most important day we celebrate for those of us who call ourselves servants of Jesus Christ!


So I had to go get a much needed hair trim for the upcoming wedding of one of my former students! He had asked Annette (another of his former teachers from Canada) and me to be the ones to walk on either side when he walked into the matrimonial room! I thought "what an honour" and yes, "what to wear" etc.!
So since I am resuming school on Feb.18th, I thought I should look school-ready as well, so I went into my favourite hair place! I asked Jheri the owner who is from Singapore, if he could engrave a cross into my hairline! He was against it because it would not look elegant!
I said, "J, it is me, of course it would."
I explained to him about Easter and I just felt I needed to put the cross there! So he got his younger barber to come and put in the Cross!
Then they both stood back and said, "Oh it looks good!" The younger one said, "So God will always be with you!"
You and I know that it is not doctrinally true, Cross or not, HE is always there but in a culture where the visual usually represents what you believe, it is a good starting point for conversation!

Here there are Buddhist altars in almost all of the houses and businesses. It is so wonderful to start a convo about the visual and then go deeper with it! I w Wanted to dye it red but we thought it might be too much! LOL!


Prayer:
- That seeds would be sown with conversations about the meaning of Easter.
- Safe journey to the province for the wedding.
- That Annette, Channak and I would be His servants in the way we interact with everyone there.
- Safety on the roads; from bugs (sleeping on the floor, no water etc.) Thursday.
- That my moto driver will return to take me to school. I bought a back support but will not be able to test it out until I am on the moto.
- Pray for focus and excitement as I start Level 2 on the 18th of this month!


Praise: For the times I have had with Him; I mourned that I was not able to go to the beach, yet He made my home His house of praise and allowed me to intercede for others, not focusing on myself!


Prayer: I wear His cross so I pray that I will a role model of the life of Jesus Christ. I take this seriously, it is not a fashion statement! 


Lastly, Happy Birthday to my Dad on the 18th! He turns an amazing age! 89 years old!




Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya

** (P.S. I am at 90 percent of my monthly support, would you consider becoming one of my dance partners? Please email me!)