#215 - Tribute to Lisa Zoia Mossop

Vol.# 215

Tribute to Lisa Zoia Mossop

November 14, 1964 – April 5, 2020



It is early, around 5:10 in the morning, still dark as I make my up to the rooftop. I can hear a cock crowing in the distance, and the birds are already up. There is an older couple doing their customary walk on the street below for their exercise, followed by 2 other couples who are chattering away, normal everyday routine here. In the coolness of the morning as I sit and listen to “The Blessing” cover by Amanda Malela in five languages, I think of my sister Lisa Zoia Mossop who is now face to face with her Abba Father receiving that blessing at His feet! 

One of the main things you miss out on when you are an International Worker is the joining in of meaningful events, birth/birthdays, marriages, graduations, anniversaries, and, of course, celebration of life as we mourn the passing of a loved one here on earth. For all of the four first occasions that I mentioned, I can always see the person after the event and celebrate, but for the last one, death’s closure is very different. I think for most of us this year, the COVID-19 has made closure different, for many could not or cannot go to a ceremony or even visit at the hospice to show our love and care. For the past two days I have been reading from Joshua 16-20 where Moses is handing out the inheritance to the different tribes of Israel. As I tried to pronounce all the names dutifully, and mechanically read through this, it suddenly hits me: inheritance...legacy! Lisa’s legacy is my inheritance! 

                           Lisa: (meaning) God’s promise: God is my Oath: God’s satisfaction.
                           Zoia: (Greek) means alive!

Let me tell you how Lisa was God’s promise to me, and how she showed her faith when she was alive, and yet remains alive in my memories! 

I first met Lisa at Rexdale Alliance Church where she was spearheading the Plan to Protect rules to safeguard our babies, children and youth from potential abuse. She was there to train and implement this, ensuring that the church, our church, took the lead to protect the less vulnerable amongst us in society. She had a passion and energy that lit up a room, and a deep laugh that always made me ‘crack up’! 

I am not sure how she became friends with Ruby and myself. The three of us started to meet for brunch at her place, where she would have the table all set out with various dishes, in her bright kitchen full of light with the backdrop of the garden and flowers! Ruby would pick me up and by the time we had our coffee, we would be chatting and laughing about the everyday things that happen in our lives. It was her spirit of hospitality and warmth that made our times there so precious.  Immediately after eating and clearing the table, we moved to the sofa and big chairs where I would always grab a blanket, and then we would share about the more serious aspects of our lives, listening, encouraging each other, sometimes crying. Well, all the time tears were shed at some point, because then we sat and held each other’s hands and prayed! This went on for a couple of years and when I came to my heart country here in Cambodia, Ruby and Lisa made sure our brunch times still continued when I returned home for my visits! 

Lisa thought it was hilarious that Kevin and I started to call each other “Shorts’ and ‘Stretch”. Kevin is so much taller than my 5’ 2 ½” inches (do not forget the half!). Just to clarify, he called me Stretch and I called him Shorts, the opposite of our real heights! During those times that we three would meet, Lisa always suggested that we get pedicures/manicures done as well! Each time she would grab the bill and when Ruby and I started to protest, she would say, “No I am not paying for this, Shorts (Kevin) is! So all good… “.

It was Lisa who drove all the way from her place to Scarborough, where my parents just moved, to bring a round kitchen table with chairs in the family car. That girl was stronger than she looked! She was lifting that wooden table from the car to carry it to the elevator even before I could help! That was the fundamental Lisa, not just saying that she would help, but also taking the words into action when she found out that my parents needed furniture for their new place! 

It was Lisa over one year ago, when everyone else’s schedule was busy with life, who insisted on driving way over to Scarborough to pick me up to go for breakfast, to go shopping for things for my trip back to Cambodia! She instinctively knew that I liked to travel by subway and bus whenever I first return home because I missed the experience, but then she grasped that I would be tired from my ‘travelling’ here (Cambodia) by tuk tuk, and would insist on coming to pick me up at my parents’ place! 

I remember one time when I needed to get cleaning supplies and make-up, she took me to her basement where she had TONS of supplies. Ruby reminded me of that as we reminisced over the phone! We were laughing as I ‘shopped’ in her basement!

The last time I came home, and the last time I saw Lisa, was at church when she came to tell me that the cancer was back. We looked into each other’s eyes, tears beginning to flow, and hugged. No words. We knew that the only words after this would be in prayer to our Heavenly Father! Over the past four months we have chatted on WhatsApp and I know that ‘Shorts’ has shown Lisa my messages and pictures when she had been too weak to respond. Thank you, my brother! 

To Aiden, your mom was my soul sister. We always ‘hooted in laughter’ and yes, she, because of her social work background, accepted me with all of my apparent eccentricities! But that was how she was with everyone! No matter the culture, or background, she had ‘open arms’ for us all. That is why I was listening to the above song which Amanda M sang in 5 languages. Your mom blessed us, and her legacy is still blessing us. 

Ruby and I wanted to continue that blessing. So, in honor of  Lisa Zoia Mossop who was practical and saw the real needs of so many of us, we donated money to buy rice, canned food, oil and other needed grocery supplies for two specific families, who in the midst of this virus, lost their jobs and income. These two represent one of the church plants out of the city, where 50 percent of church tithing has fallen and so many are in need. This is in honor of Lisa. 

Saveit and Savuth

The next picture is in honor of Lisa, the zany woman who knew and understood that manicures/pedicures are just as important to uplift one’s self esteem and to just have a fun time! Since neither I nor Ruby could go and get a manicure and pedicure at this time, I went to my salon here, and in Lisa’s honor, I gave a case of Coca Cola and assorted cakes. 

My Salon Girls (Note the dog is the only one social distancing!)

Lisa, you are missed, but we have been blessed to have been a part of your life. We have inherited an incredible legacy of your love, not only for people, reflected in your absolute adoration of your husband and son, but also for your love for your Saviour, Jesus Christ. You were “Jesus’ in the skin for many of us. 

May we continue your legacy of prayer and action in His name!

So with tears and laughter, I will sign off with a Khmer saying: Lisa, I will see you when I see you...and we know that is in heaven! You, my girl, are now dancing with Jesus! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#214 - And Your Title For This Season Is?....

Vol.# 214

I am renaming COVID-19 to: 

Season Set Aside by GOD…or Retreat Time with the Great I AM…or Renewing my Love with Jesus…or Resetting My Priorities with Jesus…or “Really People? Toilet paper? Hmm”…

But let me be real, my first titles were:

‘Whaat?”...To… “But Lord, what trouble is dis (this)?”…To… “Ah cannot believe what is going on”…To…“Tears for those who have died in Italy/Spain...”

I have many titles depending on the week or day. Maybe you have your own?

This week we had rain here, lots of rain! It is unusual because it is the dry season and the hottest month of the year, yet it rained all night. The winds were very strong, so strong that the clothes rack fell over and the chairs went flying as well as the hammock on the rooftop, but not off the rooftop. Ha! That would not have been good for those passing by on the street, or good if you wanted some furniture! 

So, the next morning when I got up to go on the rooftop, I knew it was too wet and dirty with the winds blowing debris from other areas onto the rooftop, so I had to switch and go on to the balcony corridor outside the kitchen. As I sat and read I realized that my views had changed from one with open skies and the top of trees and rooftops to a condo building and the houses next door. My vantage point had changed and as I bemoaned this (Yes, I finally get to use this word!), God told me, Yes, but look beyond the walls and what does the building represent? Ah yes, the building represented people and thus relationships. This season I want to turn your eyes deliberately back to those relationships I have been giving you and I want you now to do deeper with them, yes, even within the walls of confinement. Ask and I will show you how, but you need to ask!

Kitchen Balcony view

Kitchen Balcony view

Rooftop View

Rooftop View

Rooftop View

One day later I am back on the rooftop. It is still a little wet with puddles in certain areas, but I have not forgotten that one lesson that HE wanted me to learn from that one day.

Praise: 

God is not only showing me how to be flexible and not stick to the same old routines, but also to expect new things and new ways of not only spending time with Him but also new ways of reaching out to others for Him! One way of immersing myself in Him is by reading other people’s works such as Pastor Sunder’s blog: redeployedpastor.wordpress.com. In his March 30, 2020 post, he talks about giving ‘the gift of a non-anxious presence’, so…

Prayer Request: 

Can you pray that HE will show me how to give this particular gift, even though I cannot do it face to face? Pastor Dave Lewis also talked about the presence of God at the communion table in his Good Friday online sermon. I want to be His Presence!

Here I am going for a quick ride to drop off a birthday cake for a former student at Rescue. I prayed a blessing on the street there as my tuk tuk driver listened and took pic.

Cambodia Update: 

Even though the government has banned travel between certain provinces and cancelled Khmer New Year (which usually occurs this week 13-16) to stop people from travelling, it seems like business as usual here with stores and malls still open, the only concession being a temperature test before entering a mall or a marker in front of certain stores showing the distance you must stand. There are no public gatherings but still no community/personal mandated space as in other countries (6 feet or 2 metres). The Government has been given the green light for the state of emergency with wide ranging powers but we are still waiting on how that will filter down to us and how it will really affect our lives.

Thank you all for your stories. Thank you for your prayers and words and your continued sacrifice of finances even though your own finances are uncertain with jobs being closed down for this season. I humbly thank you. 

Please let me know what you are ‘titling’ this hour, day, week or season!

A shout out to my bro Vish who celebrated his birthday on Easter Sunday! 

Here is a video clip of New Life Band (my church) singing By The Blood from the album Presence:

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#213 - Even in the Midst of Covid-19, He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Vol.# 213

How the Virus Stole Easter
By Kristi Bothur [With a nod to Dr. Seuss]

T’was late in ‘19 when the virus began
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.

People were sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.

As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.

People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.

April approached and churches were closed.
“There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.

“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”

Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.

“Easter can’t happen this year,” it proclaimed.
“Online and at home, it just won’t be the same.”

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.

The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.

“Pooh pooh to the saints,” the world was grumbling.
“They’re finding out now that no Easter is coming.

“They’re just waking up! We know just what they’ll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.

“That noise,” said the world, “will be something to hear.”
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

 And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.

But the sound wasn’t depressed.
Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn’t be so!
But it grew with abundance!

The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Every saint in every nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!

It hadn’t stopped Easter from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling.
“Just how can it be?”

“It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,
It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money.”

Then the world thought of something it hadn’t before.
“Maybe Easter,” it thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

And what happened then?
Well...the story’s not done.
What will YOU do?
Will you share with that one
Or two or more people needing hope in this night?
Will you share the source of your life in this fight?

The churches are empty - but so is the tomb,
And Jesus is victor over death, doom, and gloom.

So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.

May the world see hope when it looks at God’s people.
May the world see the church is not a building or steeple.
May the world find Faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection,
May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.
May 2020 be known as the year of survival,
But not only that -
Let it start a revival.

The above poem was sent through a group chat from my high school mates from Trinidad and Tobago. God had chosen for us all to reconnect after 30 years or so. For such a time as this I am so grateful that we can all connect from different countries, France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, USA, England and Trinidad and Tobago, just to name a few! 

I wanted the focus to be on His decision to die for us, the Crucifixion and His glorious Resurrection in the midst of COVID 19!

Update on Cambodia: 

The Khmer New Year which is from April 13-16th has been cancelled by the Prime Minister. As of last night a curfew was put into place that there would be no travelling out of the city and into the city. Usually this week there would be the flow from the city to the countryside or hometowns where New Year’s celebrations with family and friends would commence. However, to deter the virus from spreading there has been a moratorium on travelling. The state of emergency has not been put into place yet and we are waiting to see what that is like. The rate of infection has been low here with no known deaths. 

 

POLICE BLOCKADE AT CITY'S BOUNDARIES

Many are focusing more on the economic effects of the virus with many businesses closed down or hours of businesses restricted. The very poor are the ones being hit the hardest as in any other country. However, many still are not realizing that this is a virus that can kill! Community/personal space guidelines are not really being followed since so many live together under one roof. The garment factories are still open. However, weddings and funerals are limited to a certain amount of people, yet within those groupings, there is no personal spacing! At the main groceries here they have got the markings on the floor designating where to stand, and masks and hand sanitizers are compulsory if you are going into certain business places.

Praise: 

GIFT OF MANGOES!

I have had this craving for mangoes for the past 5 days or so, and the only person who knew that was my tuk tuk driver! For some reason or other I did not buy them, thinking that I would usually get them from the landlady. Well, yesterday I got a message from another church member who said, “Vidya, would you like some mangoes? And I will come and drop them for you at your gate!” I was in tears because HE knew my heart, a simple request, but after being in self isolation for nearly 3 weeks now and not seeing a church member face to face (rather than on the screen or on the phone), it was God saying “I listen, my child, I hear you, I will provide, but not in the way you think so that you will know that it is ME, your ABBA, your PROVIDER!”  My friend who came has been isolating as well with family members. Oh yummy! Mangoes have never tasted sweeter!

Prayer Request: 

Luke 13:18 ‘...What is the kingdom of God like? ...It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed...and the birds of the air made nests in its branches...”

I have been asking God, what is my mustard seed today? Please pray that HE would show me how I can be His mustard seed of encouragement and help. Many of my Khmer coworkers and friends keep asking, “Bong how are you feeling?” They think I am sick and that is why I am self isolating, not realizing I am being wise for I am at ‘high risk’, but not only that, this virus is still being viewed as a foreigner one! Even as I write this, a message just popped up to help someone in hospital with bills (not COVID related), but one of our church members’ daughter who has not come to church in a long time asked for prayer. Today, I will choose to be His seed to plant His love! 

Prayer Request: 

I ask for continued prayers for my parents who have been in their apartment now for over 3 weeks. Thank you to my sister and my family back home for looking after them on site and with calls etc.

Prayer Request:

With the Khmer New Year and Easter being so close in dates, the focus is usually more on the New Year even for most Christians here. Please pray that the focus would be on EASTER rather than energies being put into how the New Year can be celebrated with the government restrictions. Pray for us to be still before God first and then celebrate with friends and family. 

To all of you in quarantine my prayers and love go out to you. I applaud our front line workers. 

I pray that as we celebrate OUR RISEN SAVIOUR, that this Easter would be extra sweet and intimate in our individual relationships with Jesus our Lord! 

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#212 - A 'Covid-19 / Cocoon' Season of Transformation to Butterflies!

Vol.# 212

As I was sweltering on the rooftop around 8:45 in the morning, I received a call from the head of New Life Skills Training Centre, Lokru (teacher) Pov! He and the other four teachers had gone exercising that morning and had prayer time together, a new way of rescheduling our days and refocusing on Jesus! 

PHONE CALL WITH THE NLSTC TEAM

The new way of starting our days is with a healthy body and worshipping mind and soul! Unfortunately, I am unable to join in since I am self isolating, but Lokru Pov called to see how I was doing, and how my connections with my students were progressing (Yes, he knows social media and the use of it is way beyond me!). Then he said before I could say it, “Bong Srey (older sister), may I pray with you?” As he prayed, he used the symbol of the butterfly and talked about how now it seems as if we are in a cocoon but that when this season of coping with COVID-19 is over, we would come out changed into His workmanship! I got the shivers because God gave me the symbol of the butterfly through someone else (Amanda Sreedharan - nee Sjaarda) in 2011! That symbol of the butterfly had been for those I had worked with, either the boys and girls in the sex trade or the kids from the orphanage, both imprisoned (or cocooned) with gods of entitlement, lust, money etc., and how with God’s transforming power He can turn anyone into His butterflies of freedom! I told Lokru Pov about that and we both got the shivers because he never heard that part of my story! 

Why am I sharing this? 

Earlier, I was being swamped with stories of anxiety over COVID-19 from friends and leaders alike, and I had 2 conversations with people around my house about other things which caused me to momentarily pause, and just as I was about to choose between anxiousness by dwelling on the conversations or turning to His Word, I got that call! It was a reminder of my personal mission from 2011. I love the way He works! 

Praise God: 

We were able to give 50 kgs.of rice to the cleaners from the church and to the two persons who park the motos and cars at the church. They receive the lowest salaries. The combined wisdom of two leaders at church led to the same decision and we were able to bless them!

 
Praise God: 

I am connecting on a one to one basis via social media with the kids God gave me from Place of Rescue, more so now as the days go by! We are able to speak frankly about what is really going on in their lives.

 
Prayer Request: 

Please pray for the Leadership of New Life Foundation as they need to be proactive in looking after the members, not only here in the city but also in the provinces (the satellite churches), for wisdom to see this not as a crisis, but as an opportunity to show God’s love to so many.

 
Prayer Request: 

Please pray that I would know how to extend His hand of love to my landlord/landlady and their family and the neighbours around me. For now the Khmer I talk to still seem to think that this is a ‘foreigner’ disease, so planning ahead is not a priority, plus the fact that survival mode is what some were already on since they have lost jobs and income. 

Prayer Request: 

It is getting hotter and hotter earlier in the mornings here. As April is the hottest month, please pray that the power does not go! However, if it does, pray that I would be creative in staying cool.

 
Thank you and please know my heart is with you back in Canada as well. I look and I see the rising numbers of infection growing and yes, the deaths. I know we serve a God who is in control. I pray that we all go on our knees and praise Him and be part of a world wide prayer army interceding on behalf of US! 

I love you all!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya