#219 - Bread and Watermelons... and Urgent Prayer Requests!

Vol.# 219

Psalm 132:15 (ASV), ”I will satisfy her poor with bread”. As I read this, I felt I should give bread to the staff at the church office. So on YOUR behalf, since you so sacrificially give to me, I made arrangements with the HR personnel and they decided which day we were going to do this to benefit most of the staff, since some were going on domestic missions to our other church plants in the provinces to give out blessing packages. My only suggestion was, “Could the bread be hot?!”

 

HOT BAGUETTES FOR BREAKFAST

So 3 mornings ago, Lokru Vichika, who lives close by to a Khmer bakery, was able to deliver the 50+ baguettes to the office as breakfast! I heard stories later on like, “Oh, I was so late this morning I did not have time to get breakfast, so am so happy to go in and see we had bread to eat with the sweet milk… to… how did you know that I asked God for a sign of His provision and there it was this morning in the form of the bread!” Sometimes we do not know why God prompts us to do something as little as buying bread, but we are not aware of the stories of other lives and what is going on in their own spiritual journey. So I am very thankful that I had prayed with the HR that the physical giving of the bread would lead to a spiritual encounter with the LIVING GOD! God uses the small things in life like the ‘rod’ in the hands of Moses to the donkey in 2 Peter 2:16 to bring about meaningful in-depth experiences with HIM.

Well, it all started with a gift of watermelon! 

The senior Pastor and his wife told me that they had watermelon for me in the church kitchen. They had gone to a watermelon farm and had picked many the day before and I was looking forward to this. So I put it in the church fridge in the morning so that by the afternoon it would be nice and cold when it is SO hot outside. Imagine my surprise later when I discovered it had disappeared! I think a different person (other than myself) would say okay and let the matter drop, but yeah, I did not! You see, I was in a quandary. When Pastor Samdy told me there was watermelon in a separate bag for me, I did not know if he meant one, or if he meant the 3 that were in the separate bag, and when I found out that the one had mysteriously gone missing, I did not want to take another one. I could not ask him since he was on an important Zoom call, and as I pointed out to the staff in the office, if I then took another one to replace the other one, that would be stealing! Yup, I went there. So, as I was asking ALL and sundry who took it, someone was saying, “Oh, just share, Vidya.” I responded, “Well, NOW that the watermelon is GONE, I CANNOT, can I? Furthermore, taking something that is not yours, well, what does the Bible say? Yeah, it is STEALING!! 

Well that is when the scene from the Garden of Eden began to be recreated. People were saying, “Well, we saw that person eating watermelon… no, it was the other person...” I commented, “Wow, you all know your Bible. Adam blamed Eve and she blamed the serpent!” Then Pastor Samdy FINALLY ended his call and came out to say that the 3 watermelons were mine! And then one staff member piped up, “Oh then, that is ALL GOOD!” I just looked at him. (In hindsight I should have asked him, was the watermelon sweet?) I said, “You all seem to be missing the point, taking something that is NOT yours is______? Pastor Samdy then said, “You know, people take my milk meant for my coffee also from the fridge.” So then I decided to do a test. I wrote his name on another watermelon, put it in the fridge overnight to see if would be there in the morning! Well, in the morning when I got to my desk, there were 7 watermelons with a note attached, "Do not touch, this is Vidya’s", and the verse Proverbs 6:31, “yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold!” 

 

VIDYA'S 7 WATERMELONS -- DO NOT TOUCH!

As a lark, Pastors Jason and Angie, who did not take the first watermelon, decided to give seven watermelons! Everyone was laughing and talking about this, so I began the process of giving them out. God brought to mind two of the mall cleaners who I saw every morning as I came up the escalator. So I was able give to them as well as to other members of the staff.  

#1 MALL CLEANER 

#2 MALL CLEANER

And to answer the burning question in your minds, no one took the watermelon with Pastor Samdy’s name on it, and it was delicious and cold to eat the next day!

This brought back memories from RAC when I would put something in the fridge with my name on it and it would still disappear. So I learnt that if I did not want something to disappear, I should write Pastor Sunder’s name on it and it would NEVER disappear! Sorry, Pastor Sunder, for using your name in vain! The point of all of this, in the midst of the pandemic and not meeting together, and with everyone a bit stressed, it was a time of laughter and fun! People were saying, “Bong Srey Vidya, any other person would not have said anything except quietly to each other, but you stood up in the middle of the office to ask about the watermelon! That was so funny!” 

Don’t worry, my fellow RAC-ers, I did say to everyone here that my actions and words do not necessarily express the values and actions of those back in Canada! So you can breathe!

BLESSING PACKAGE DAY

GIVING 20 BLESSING PACKAGES TO NEW LIFE FOUNDATION SCHOOL

Prayer Requests: 

-       I am still slated to return on July 26^th. Instead of going through Hong Kong, which was my transit stop, I am now going through Seoul, Korea. Hong Kong has closed its airports but Korea never has, so with skillful handling by I and R, I am going through Korea, making a stop in Vancouver before coming into Toronto! Please pray that I would be able to get my COVID-19 clearance certificate in the time allotted (not more than 36 hours prior to leaving) here in Phnom Penh, and that I would have the right person to accompany me when I go to the Khmer hospital here to get the testing done.

- Please pray against the claustrophobic feelings of wearing a face mask for such a long flight, and the in-between times in Korea, and Vancouver transit times. Pray also for favor in the eyes of custom officials.

- Please pray for someone here to look after my place in Phnom Penh while I am away. I am still looking also for a responsible house cleaner.

- Please pray for a place in Toronto where I can self-isolate for the required 14 days before going home to my parents.

I am so grateful for your continued prayers, words of encouragement and financial support! I pray you all know how valued and precious you are! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#218 - A Comedy of Errors! Mercy and Justice!

Vol.# 218

“Bong Srey Vidya, I have been looking at you, and I live with some of your former Rescue students at the dorm here in Phnom Penh, and I think that you are simple...”As I looked across at the earnest expression of my co-worker at the Skills Training Centre, I decided NOT to get offended because in my mind I am thinking that he is saying ‘simple-minded’! But with the nuances in translation of meaning from Khmer to English, I waited to hear more! However, he did refer to my mind...yup ... still not getting offended... and then he said, “You are simple of the mind!” 

I said to him, “Can you explain what you mean?” 

He said, “My roommates like you. You can be strict but yet they call you Holy Spirit Sister Mr. Bean! I want to know why are you different than the other foreigner teachers? I can come to you with a problem and you pray, I can come to you with a praise item and you sing and dance. You think like us, you do not think as if you are better than us!”  

I did not know what to say. Well, I was relieved he did not mean I was simple-minded and then I was humbled to hear what he had observed! It dawned on me that my ‘sphere of influence‘ was not only with those in my immediate circle, but that it also extended beyond to observers as well! My walk with God is 24/7 not just confined to the classroom, the office or with a group of people. I am so notperfect, that is why I NEED to spend time with Our Jesus in the mornings so that in spite of myself they see HIM always.

With 2 Pastoral Care Leaders at Church

Finally Communion with Khmer Church Family After 3 Months!

In my last update, I told you I was thankful to be able to wash my clothes and linen and to have the space to hang them. Well soon after that the machine stopped working again, along with other incidences!

Washing Machine Guy!

And thus began a ‘comedy of errors’ on the way to getting things fixed here.

I called the repair shop across the road and two guys came to take away the part, saying rather vaguely when it would be fixed. At the same time two ceiling bulbs blew, and since it was so high, I decided to ask my landlord/lady to help with the replacement, knowing by now that when they come to ‘fix’ one thing, usually two things get broken in the process, since they do it themselves!  Well, they got right on it, and one hour later, both of them came up accompanied by the grandchildren to replace the light fixtures. First they brought a ladder all the way up the 25 steps, set it up, but then decided nope.

Landlord With Ladder #1

They needed to get another ladder! So down went the first one and then up came the shiniest silver one ever! They proceeded to try and put it up but it kept sliding down! Then the wife decided to stand under it to brace herself against one side so that it would not slide down. I was looking on and decided to take a picture, when all of a sudden the hilarity of the moment seized me, and I started to giggle! 

With Ladder#2 Fixing Fixtures

My landlord and landlady who always seem so tired and overwhelmed by life looked at me, and for the first time ever I saw them begin to laugh as well! The two grandkids were laughing too! During this time, my landlady had asked me if I was going to church, and then I said, “Well, it was beginning to start now online!” So I thought if they were going to be here, they might as well join in! So I put it on the IPAD and put the volume on high and was singing along to the Khmer worship songs! I figured the Word could filter through to a ‘captive audience’! 

Then I had to go outside to meet some friends who were delivering some items for me and I saw the landlord come running down to go across the street to the breaker fuse box! He had forgotten to turn off the power before replacing the fixture! Since I was not there, he did not go into my bedroom where the fuse box is located, so he went to the public box. I could hear him shouting to his wife who then began shouting to the grand children to ask them if the fan in the room went off or was still on! They were trying to figure out the correct fuse to turn off. I got this vision of them turning off the wrong fuse box and the whole street would be without power! Eventually the fixtures were replaced and power was restored! 

In the midst of this I had to send a message to my former housemate to say how much I appreciated his trouble shooting and ways of fixing things around the house! Troubleshooting is definitely not a strong attribute of my landlord. Then the door lock in the upstairs bedroom was broken and anytime it was windy and rainy the door kept flying open! So they went to look at it and after 5 minutes of trying the key, they said to me, “Bong Srey it is ...BROKEN!” Yup! So they went out to buy a new one to replace the old one! 

Then, I could not attach the new hose that I bought to clean the rooftop to the laundry sink. So I asked the landlord for his advice! Well after talking with his wife who was giving him different ideas, he said to me, “no problem!” That very sentiment sent chills through me because I knew there would be a problem! He inserted a piece into the water pipe so that the hose can be attached, and then turned on the water! Immediately the spout flew across the floor! The water pressure broke it or as my landlord said, it was broken even though it was new and not used! At this point as the water is just pouring out all you can do is say, Oy Veyand laugh! We were all laughing! But through all this I have to say thank you to God that things eventually were fixed and that in the process I pray that my landlord and landlady were able to hear God‘s Word through the songs and message and hopefully via my reaction to the situations!

I thank God for your support for me because I was able to give not only financial support to those who are suffering financially during COVID-19 season, but also to pray and be there to listen to their stories, the most important of which were from 4 of my former Rescue students. Earlier on as I had prayed on my rooftop, certain pictures kept popping up in my mind. It was of 2 of them. So I texted them to find out if they needed help after first confirming from another source that I should do this. I did phone and for the first time the former student said yes. He was ashamed to say that he needed help before, but I reminded him that we are family, and of course as their ‘Bong Srey’, how can I go to bed at night knowing that they were hungry? So this former student said ‘yes please’to receiving the blessing package. 

Blessing Recipient: Former Rescue Student

Blessing Recipient: Former Rescue Student Married With 1 Baby

Then one blessing package turned into three blessing packages that afternoon. One blessing package was for my former translator from Rescue. He is a new father, who with his wife, baby and his mother and 2 siblings, made the choice to live in one room to save money to pay down on buying a house for all of them. When I called him, he said, “oh what timing” because he was about to order a bag of rice as they just had eaten the last cup! I was able to give another package to 2 former students from Rescue who decided to room together to pool their resources together. Then while I was talking to the first recipient on site at the church, I asked him if there were any other of ‘our boys’ who needed help. Yes, there was. So a quick call was made and 30 minutes later, another blessing package was given. 

Some of you were wondering what a package contained: 25kg of rice, a box (not carton) of instant noodles, 2 bottles of fish sauce, 2 bottles of soya sauce, 2 bottles of peanut sauce, one bottle of oil, 2 packages of salt and sugar, 4 tins of canned fish, all accompanied with our prayers that like the miracle that Jesus did with the 5 loaves and 2 fish, that the groceries given would be multiplied for weeks to come!

Justice. A small word but this is what we are fighting for here, equality for education amongst the sexes, equality for the non-abled bodies, equality for those with no income/social status so that they too can have access to education and quality health care. The person we look to is Jesus the Christ, who by His life showed compassion and respect to man and woman alike, to those afflicted mentally/physically, unafraid to touch them or to speak up for them. He spoke against the religious powerful leaders who only wanted power and prestige for themselves and who forgot about the everyday person. 

I look to Him now as I try to explain what has happened with the murder of George Floyd in the USA. Only two Khmer have mentioned or talked about this tragedy with me. One was my former housemate who was watching the discussion between Pastor Steven Furtick and Pastor John Gray and sent me his thoughts. The other was my former head of the Skills Training Centre who wanted to know more about George Floyd. For those of you who have not seen the discussion, can I encourage you to go to the link [Be The Bridge with Steven Furtick and John Gray] so that discussions can begin. 

Changes have to be made beginning with me spiritually and then you as well! Yes, I am fighting against injustice here, but I also mourn and get angry at injustice in other parts of the world as well! THAT IS WHO MY JESUS IS. HE CARES for you and for me. Didn’t Ravi Zacharias not remind us of our GOD who cared for us so much that HE gave His own precious beloved Son in the person of Jesus the Christ to die for us SO THAT we would not only have eternal life but also life that is valued and esteemed! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya