#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