#164 - Prison Fellowship Options and the Loveseat sofa!

Vol.#164

Thank you for your prayers over my meeting at Prison Fellowship.

The first thing that Director Sirivuth said was, "Your hair is pink!"
Then he said, "Oh, Happy New Year, sister!"

For the first hour we discussed possible areas of my involvement:

1) IT support: PFC needs someone who can help make and edit video clips from different staff around Cambodia. Those of you who know me are probably rolling on the floor with laughter as you read this. I told the Director that I did not even know how to use my phone properly! He nodded and quickly moved on to... 

2) Teaching English: PFC wants teachers from the government so that they are accountable for certification for those learning English. They want the government to recognize any certification given to the prisoners. 

3) Foreign Prisoners Visit Project: PFC needs a volunteer coordinator to facilitate with volunteers who visit the expat prisoners. 

4) Teaching English in the community: PFC has a plan to establish English classes in churches in outlying areas, where the expat will go in once every 5 days to help with the curriculum and class setup. 

5) Church relations: PFC needs a Khmer-speaking volunteer to coordinate with church partners teaching the Bible in 28 prisons across the country. And finally... 

6) Monday Monthly Preaching: PFC needs a volunteer pastor/teacher to preach to the PFC staff in Phnom Penh once a month on a Monday to encourage and disciple staff to grow spiritually in Christ. 

Promptly after our meeting we went into the other meeting in progress, where 6 of the staff were already singing a Khmer chorus. Then the Director said, "Now we will have Sister Vidya to share a message." 
I was thrown by the fact that they all had pencil and paper in hand to write down things I was going to say! Because you all had prayed for me, I shared about our identity in Christ and reaffirmed His blessings upon each one of them, asking them to write down the date of their birthday and then looking at each one and affirming that on that day GOD the Father meant for them to be born because HE had a plan for each of them. I reminded them of the importance of keeping close to Him through reading His Word daily and setting aside time to pray each day. I am sure I said other things but it is a blur right now! I even forgot to take a picture of us all! But I got an email from the Director thanking me for sharing and giving me the above points to pray over.

One of the things I wanted to do on my list of things for this New Year was to initiate ‘outings’ for myself. I needed to start doing things on my own. So I decided to go to the movies here on my own one Saturday night. 
So I got my tuk tuk and off I went! I bought my ticket and went up to the ‘theatre’ number to wait for movie to start. I was wondering why the other 6 people were looking at me and smiling until I looked up and saw that it said ‘Couple Hall 05'. Still, it did not register until I reread the sign and went back to the counter where I purchased the ticket and she said the movie was only showing at that particular hall. When I went in there were ‘loveseat sofas'!

I started to giggle and thought, "Oh yeah, this could only happen to me!" This is the first time going to movie on my own and I end up in a ‘couples hall’! 
But, hey, for $3 and from the pic you can see it was a very comfortable seat! 
Now I understood why I had only a few choices of seats cause I had one of the 5 ‘single’ seats in the theatre! 

I also wanted to be more intentional with the relationships God has given to me with my former students. So as of 2 weeks ago, I started meeting with each one after church. What surprised me with the second student was that we were eating in a public restaurant, and I asked about prayer requests that I would pray over when I got home, and this particular student said, "Oh Bong Srey, Holy Spirit Sister (What can I tell you, that is another nickname I was given!), I want you to pray NOW!" 
We were sitting in a booth and he came over to sit next to my side and closed his eyes as I prayed. He thanked me afterwards and said, "Oh, our meeting was not as bad as he thought it was going to be!" 
Apparently he had talked to the first student I had met with and he thought I was going to ask him the same questions. But I said, "No, I pray usually before meeting with each of you, and sometimes it will be different, so do not try to compare notes!" 
LOL! 

And today, when my friend, Annette, who used to teach at Rescue met with one of our former translators and students from there, we were just beaming because of the growth we have seen in him. He offered to buy lunch for the two of us, even though his salary is lower, but that is what he wanted to do, so we said yes. Then what a delight it was to sit and listen as he talked about the upcoming birth of his first child and his work, asking us for advice, and then allowing us to speak into his life. 
What a blessing that was! 

But I need to go now even though I am on the rooftop. It is windy, mosquitoes are out to feast on me, and my housemate is having a ball with the mosquito racket downstairs swiping as they come! 

Prayer Request: 
Pray that I continue to have a hunger for my Khmer lessons. It is an exhausting schedule for the next 10 weeks as I finish up my last formal level of language studies. My day begins at 7 and finishes around 5 when either my housemate or I would cook dinner, but then afterwards there is homework and study time. 

I just finished the first week of this new ‘season’ and it is exhausting but also exhilarating! I have a LONG way to go in listening and then responding, but it is a lifelong learning experience. 

Prayer Request: 
Please pray for my parents back home; for a suitable place for them, either at a residence for the elderly or a more suitable place for them to live! 

Please continue to send your stories and requests! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya