#167 - It is Finished! Grateful!

Vol.# 167

As I climb up the stairs to the rooftop, I can hear the sounds of the birds and the walking group as they talk and go for their early exercise walk. 
It is 5:30 in the morning and I woke up with the idea that I wanted to see the sun rise with Jesus this morning: a new day!

There are 2 songs playing from my phone: “What A Beautiful Name” by Hillsong; and ‘Still’ by Hillsong. So with the headphones on my ears so as NOT to wake up the neighbourhood, I am just rejoicing and yes, dancing (really, how can you sit when you hear ‘what can separate us ... Jesus brought heaven down...nothing compares to the name of Jesus ...”. Yes, even though the song is ‘Still’, I cannot help but move to the words and raise my hand and dance with Him! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and timely words of encouragement, calls and messages via WhatsApp, email, FaceTime and FB Messenger. I am so blessed to have access to all of these.

Yesterday was exam day (excuse me as I jump and shout ‘You have no rival no equal...(words from “What a Beautiful Name). I was up at 5 yesterday morning to review my ‘talk’ and grammar. I got into school one hour early and proceeded to have ‘butterflies’ in my stomach! One classmate, who not only speaks Khmer fluently, but is also contemplating teaching a Nursing class at university level here in KHMER,  was ‘nervous’. I said to her that I was so glad to hear that even she was nervous! Yes, I know I missed an opportunity to encourage her, but I was just so glad to hear that she was nervous! Then another classmate walked in and said that she could not have any coffee in case she threw up! Who knew that these ‘gifted’ mates would be so nervous as well? 

OH the sun is rising! 

Coincidentally, "Behold" is playing through my headphones and the words “Then sings my soul, behold the Lord our God’’ play just as His masterpiece of colours just lights up the sky! 

It is now time to enter the class after an unusually long wait, and as I enter the classroom with three teachers waiting there, I get a flashback to the first exam from Level One, and it is the same two teachers who were there from the start who were my examining teachers now. I asked for the ‘speaking part’ to be done first (I have to speak on a prepared topic and answer questions from the teacher), and then ‘listen’ to a story and answer questions which are written in Khmer afterwards. I know my ‘weaker’ skill is listening and responding, so I like to do that last. 

Praise:
In the feedback after, the teacher said that I answered all the questions correctly and when the teacher asked me questions, I was able to answer his questions. Pronunciation is what I need to work on, but my fluency and understanding got good and very good! There were no ‘poor’ or ‘okay’ ticks in the teachers assessment. In tears I thank you all for your prayers! 

Then I walked into the exam room where my other classmates had already been for the hour and half of writing. There was complete silence as pens and pencils were busy answering questions. At first I was blank, but then I got into a ‘groove’ and started to write and answer questions. I know for certain that 3 grammatical questions out of 25 were probably wrong. Then there was only me writing the exam since everyone else’s time was up. 
Then...FINISHED!
 

I walked to the local restaurant, and when I walked in the door my classmates were already there and they started to clap as I walked up to the table! What a wonderful way to end the formal part of my education there! 

Final Lunch With Classmates

As I think back, God ‘chose’ these classmates for me to end the formal part of my education there. For ‘such a time as this’ (book of Esther), HE wanted me to be part of such a wonderful group, and if my former classmates David and Lauren had been there with me, then I would say that would have been my ‘Olympic team'!  

I am humbled by Him and by your prayers for me. I will know my grades next week, so I will let you know. 

Today is Valentine’s Day and so it is my ‘drive-by-and-give-gifts’ in His Name! I have talked about the salon I go to and last week the girls showed me a pic from last year when I got them a ‘Valentine’s Day’ cake, the first cake or gift given to most of them on Valentine’s Day. So I will go and drop a gift for them, and then to the school to give them a cake I had ordered yesterday from the local bakery here. I had them write ‘Dance’ and ‘Love from Auntie Vidya’ in Khmer! 

Coincidentally as l end this,10 000 Reasons and Rooftops are playing! My 2 songs from when I first came to Cambodia! 

SWEET! 

So I have to end this so I can sing and dance to my song, ‘I AM YOURS, HERE I AM STANDING WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN TO THE ONE, THE SON, THE EVERLASTING GOD...'!

Oh, now to pray for a ‘retreat' place!  

Grateful.

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya  

#166 - The Presentation: the snags and praises!

Vol. #166

So there I was rushing off for the big project. 
I had been up since 5am to practise my presentation. For the past 2 weeks I had been in presentation mode, my housemate had been up with me for the previous couple of nights to do the Power Point presentation, and right up to the time I was hustling off in the tuk to tuk to class yesterday, we had been on the phone making corrections to the Power Point slides! 

As I got to the school and met with the teacher, who had not yet downloaded my presentation or the accompanying homework assignments and work list I had created, I realized that I had forgotten the cue cards I had made for the presentation! 
I thought I had them with me, so I made a call to tuk tuk driver who said yes, that he would come in 10 minutes! I was so happy because I had written down my transitional sentences for each of the Power Point slides, and had written down the correct way to pronounce some of the Khmer words. 
Alas, when he came he said that he did not have them! 
By this time my teacher is trying to download the Power Point and print my list of words and we hit a snag. So my classmate who was supposed to go after me did her presentation first and then I just breathed and went up and did it! 

Role Playing Comfort (And no, I did not make her cry, not that I know of!)

Praise:  
Answer to prayer re: Power Point. My housemate Channak graciously stayed up until 1 for about 3 nights to help me, and really, to do the entire Power Point on his computer! Thanks C! 


Praise: 
You prayed that I would have clarity and there were 3 times when I suddenly thought, ‘this does not flow’, or 'this is information that should not be in the presentation because it did not directly relate to the topic'. And you were correct! One of the supervising teachers came up to me after and said, "Bong Srey (older sister in Khmer), you gave good information on the topic and you answered the question I asked you ‘what phrase should someone use if giving ‘comfort’ or ‘sympathy’ to someone who has died (my topic for presentation) on Face Book (since most Khmer use this medium as main form of communication).


Praise: 
I had forgotten something important which God reminded me of when I was getting stressed: the process and preparation ‘is an act of worship to me Vidya!’ So I had to stop and just worship Him and with a new perspective, His perspective, I finished my preparation! Yesterday my classmate, who had also presented, told me that she remembered that statement when we were in discussion a couple of days ago, and it helped her as well as she prepared and did her presentation. 


Praise: 
Many of you who wrote/called did so right at crucial times when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I thank you for following the leading of the Holy Spirit! 

Prayer Requests: 
The presentation was a big part of the final exam, but I do have the written part (one and a half hours), and a listening and speaking part with two teachers (one hour) on the 13th. Can I again ask for your prayers as I prepare and focus in the next few days on those areas in my Khmer studies? I want to finish ‘well’; my ‘well’ is to the best of my ability here. I realized that most of my classmates are able to speak Khmer much more fluently, and my level of understanding is not at their level, but God says to give our best, our ‘5 loaves and 2 fishes’, and He will multiply it. 
I pray that I finish ‘well’ with the teachers and staff there, and even though I will be still doing Christian Studies one evening a week there, that the day staff and I would have friendships which have been forged by His Holy Spirit.

The day teachers are already asking, "Bong, are we going to have a party to celebrate at your place?"
My response: "I think we should see how I do in the listening, written and oral part of the exam, don’t you think?" 


With a grateful heart to you all, especially my family who have been praying over me (special shout out to my Dad and Mom!). 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya