Vol.# 237
As I sat and eagerly waited for the call to come to be released from quarantine, a prayer request I had requested in my previous update, I felt the Lord say to me, Why didn’t you ask for His grace and godly response if this request is not made in your timing? Have I not said to you as one of your life verses that if My cloud has not lifted you cannot move? So, as I thought about this I realized that God wanted to teach me a couple more lessons before I was released from my Selah time at the hotel!
I was bothered that I had packed everything up, my coffee and the French press, and all that I would need to prepare for my morning time with Him. I was frustrated and then I felt Jesus say, Why are you bothered? Is it the coffee that makes ‘our time’ more spiritual? And I realized I was relying on tradition and process to pave the way for my time with Him. Was I becoming ‘entitled’? Was a spirit of entitlement on me? I had to confess to Jesus that I was, and He said, Come to me with a spirit of learning, with a hunger to know more about me through My Word. Come with an expectation that I will be speaking to you even though the processes of coffee making and having your journal in your hand are not readily available! So I had to confess to Him about this feeling that because it was a ‘spiritual thing’ that I was about to do, I really had to surrender ‘rights’ about how God was going to meet with me. God said, You need to be reminded of this as you are going back out to minister. You need to truly be my servant first, Vidya, then their servant. You have to check yourself of any kind of ‘colonial attitude!”
So when I was not ‘let out’ at the appointed time, I was content to wait on Him. My attitude was adjusted by the fact that the COVID rate was increasing and that the medical labs were inundated with tests. Our results would have to wait. I would rather wait for the correct results to be given so that none of us on our flight would infect those who had no insurance or access to good medical care. As I waited I was able to talk to the hotel staff now with patience and understanding. It really was up to the medical personnel and not them on when we got to be released!
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| THE HOTEL STAFF AND I ON FINAL MORNING |
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| MEDICAL PERSONNEL GETTING READY TO ADMINISTER FINAL COVID TEST |
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| ARRIVAL AT HOUSE; MY HELPERS |
On my last morning at the hotel, I was invited by the New Life Fellowship staff to join in the staff meeting via ZOOM, timely, as I was asking God about the next steps. Oh what a joy to hear of the progress of discipleship seminars and small group connections still happening online! His kingdom is being advanced in spite of the lockdown here and the cancellation of onsite church services and staff meetings!
A symbol of Him turning something old and repurposing my new season here was in my old water purifier. My friend Julia was creative. She took the clay jar and instead of throwing it away, put soil into it and planted it! As I even look at it now, I smile as I wait to hear of how He is going to replant me in this new season!
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| OLD REFURBISHED WATER FILTER |
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| NEW WATER FILTER |
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| FLOWERS AND PICTURES |
YES! SALONS were still open so I called and went in. You will see the before and after pics! The staff there surprised me with a birthday cake! Jheri, the owner, and I share the same birthdate and it has been our custom to celebrate with cake when I go in! I had delivered some meds he had wanted that I was able to get at the pharmacy in Toronto, and in return, except for paying the ‘tips’ to the girls, all that I had done was free! Haircut, hair color, pedicure, manicure, half hour of foot massage and accompanying hand massage! So yes, the tips I gave were good!
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| BEFORE HAIRCUT WITH SURPRISE CAKE |
AFTER HAIRCUT WITH CAKE WITH CANDLES BLOWN OUT BY FAN!
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| AFTER HAIRCUT |
The timing of blessing packages: My usual tuk tuk driver sounded a bit sleepy when I called him to go grocery shopping. He was in the hospital. His heart and blood pressure were the reasons why, and from his bed he arranged for his son to come and pick me up to take me on my grocery shopping errands. I felt compelled by God to give towards Mr. Paat as he has not only been His faithful servant but always helpful and kind towards me! His wife, who came to clean the outside of my place/rooftop while I have been away, had prayed for me the first time I met her when she found out I was leaving to go to Canada!
Bro. Krong and my sister Liep came to see me (masks and all). They have been very careful to be at home and only to go into the church office when needed, avoiding crowds etc. We had our first dinner together and as we were eating, we got a call that the baby of one of our staff was still very sick, and our dear brother had already asked for advance on his salary. Again the Lord provided an opportunity to bless him so that medical care and payment of rent would be released from him. I am in awe of the timing of this. The dinner was an impromptu one arranged only 45 minutes before!
On a funny note, I was going to ask for prayer for my freezer to be fixed as the lower part where I thought the freezer was seemed warm. When the guy came to fix it, he sat on the floor facing the fridge, and then he put his hand to his heart and said, "BONG SREY (older sister), you nearly gave me a heart attack. The bottom part is for vegetables; it is not for the freezer! It is Japanese made! Good but different!" We just laughed, so now I know! God answers even before we ask others to pray!
Prayer Request:
I have been asked to host a web seminar and I am looking over the curriculum now. This would be for expats within NLF. The Khmer have to do this particular seminar/lessons before becoming members. It is called Life Guidelines and it is for the newly converted Khmer showing them how to live His life without compromising on their cultural traditions, yet differentiating between Buddhist and other religious traditions and being a follower of Jesus Christ! It is good for the expat to know about this in order to be more sensitive and culturally aware of certain issues. Please pray to know whether this is from God for me to do as a host or a participant! (Hosting involves knowing how to do online stuff, ZOOM etc. and most of you know this is not my strong suit to say the least!)
Thank you for your perseverance in prayer and for your continued financial support here. I am on my rooftop dancing with Him now!
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| ROOFTOP VIEW AS I DANCE WITH CECE WINANS WITH HIM! |
His servant and yours,
Love, His Warrior and Disciple,
Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,
Your sister, Vidya
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