#7 - YES! I knew that finally I would.....

YES! I knew that finally I would...

Before I finish that statement, I want to share this.
Call this:

Vignettes on a Sunday evening at POR:

Father, as I sit here outside of my 'house', it is stifling hot inside, there is no power and no fan so it is like an oven in the room, yet on the bench here there is a cool breeze blowing. Two grannies are passing by and they hail me out. I smile and wave back. One young girl around 12 or 13 runs up to the 'baby house' to get a baby to take to her group of friends; this very athletic boy passes by cuddling a one year old trying to make him smile; two Grade 6 boys walk hand in hand, not self conscious a bit, laughing at something; then the game begins: volleyball!

 The older kids are setting up the teams and house moms and older folk come out to watch the game as well. I pray for them, I know some of their names and they are inviting me to come and sit with them, but this is where Your wisdom prevails, I need to keep the boundaries and have been with them 8 hours running and am enjoying just watching them.....
Thank you Lord for this 'quiet time'.



My Invisible Role:

1Samuel 7:8: "..Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us that He may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines..."
This was my verse last week, God was reminding me of my 'invisible' role here: to pray for Marie, for the committee who runs POR, for the teachers, Khmer and English: for the house mothers, for students......


A Plague of Flies:
verses 9 and 10: "...He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf and the LORD answered him....The LORD thundered with loud thunder..."
Well, literally the thunder here is LOUD! It shakes everything and then the lightning swoops down!
The kids are playing in the rain and I would too, but I have a healthy respect for lightning and am not stepping out in the rain until the lightning stops.


But I think of my night last night. I was sitting in the living room with my roommate Halina; we were correcting tests and with the rains expected it to be cool, but inside it was not.

Then the flies just came in; flies with long wings, swarming us.
Halina put her towel under the door but they still came in. So each of us fled to our rooms, where it was hotter. Then the electricity went, and with no power, no fan. I could not open my bedroom door to allow any air from the sitting area to come in because of the flies!


Needless to say, sleep was at a minimum and when my alarm went off I was already up. I then went outside to see all the dead flies covering the floor like a carpet! Sounds good but it was NOT!


Swept the floor for over ten minutes and then noticed they were on the kitchen counter, on the dishes, just everywhere!
I was grumbling to God, saying, "Really, Lord I know what the Israelites felt when they were in Egypt, with the plagues...."
This really was not a good way to start the day!

Then I had to take the garbage out, and as I was walking there was a house mom walking ahead of me. Actually, she was hardly able to walk. 
Her feet were twisted and she was swaying from side to side, and her slippers would slip out of one foot and she was trying to hold onto the leaves of the plants to get her balance. 
I walked up alongside and put out my hand and she held it and we walked slowly together to the bus where she crouched down in a sitting position to wait for the other house moms to go to the market.
As I walked back to my room I could hear my LORD say, "And, you are complaining, why?" ....
I apologized and thanked my Lord for my ability to walk and to run yet was overcome that He would allow me to meet "Rey" that morning.
I had never seen her before and it has now been over a month since I have been here at POR!



"Mama, you are good!"- a Coca Cola vignette:
I am dreaming of ice cubes!

It is so hot that I have a image of Coca Cola in ice with the glass cold and droplets of water running down the glass in my mind.
I share this with Teacher Poeune, my Khmer teaching assistant for my 6 o'clock class as we are in the library preparing for our class.
It is now 1:30 in the afternoon and the library is literally a sweat house!
He says, "You really want Coca Cola?" ( they say coca cola not coke).
"One of the kids could go on the bike and buy you some cans!"


I was so overwhelmed (I know what some of you are thinking, Coke is not good for you, drink water, but when it is very very hot, only Coke, coconut water or perhaps lime juice can quench that thirst).
I was overjoyed!
(No I am not a Coke addict... mmmm... I mean a Coca Cola addict!).
SO I got my Coke and then called Marie and asked if I could come up to her house to get some ice cubes, and she said yes!
So there I went off humming, holding my can of Coke and my glass to get my ice.


I stopped by the office window, saw Channak, Marie's assistant, there, and showed him my Coke and said, 'Jesus loves me!"
He says, "Vidya, where did you get it?"
I say, "Hey, Jesus loves me man!"
And he repeats, "Where did you get it?"
I give him a look and said, "I am going for ice," and went my way!


I could not figure out why he was asking until 10 minutes later I remember we had a convo and he said he had Coke in his room and I wondered if he thought I got it from his room!
So at the library I texted him that Jesus loves me and the Coke was SO good!
He asked, "How did you get in, the house mom would never let you in" ( to his place!).
I looked at Teacher Peoune and asked him, "Should we have fun at Channak's expense?"
He laughed!


So we called the house mom and Peoune translated for me.
I asked her if she could move two cans of coke from the case and put them elsewhere so he would think the Coke was given to me!
She said, "Oh no, I could not do that to Mr. Channak!"


SO, I went to plan B.
I said to her, "Are you going to his office now? Could you give him a message from me? Just say 'Coca Cola', and keep saying it as you are cleaning his desk!"
She beamed and said yes!
So off she went with Poeune and I, laughing.
I get a message from Channak, "How did you do it, how were you able to explain in Khmer for her to do what you wanted?" And yet he said at the end of the day when he went home he would check his supplies for these were his people (his peeps I taught him) and they would not play any jokes on him.
I looked at Poeune and said, "We got him thinking!"


So I called the daughter of the house mom and taught her something and said, "Now go and show Teacher Channak what you have learnt!"
I went with her but stayed outside the door. She goes in and says, "I learnt something today," and then begins to sing, "Things go better with Coca Cola, things go better with Coke!"
AH, it was a moment of pure joy, you had to be there to experience the sound of "NO, not you too!" and then my name being called!
I was laughing so hard (and you know I cannot laugh softly!)


Channak came out and said: "Mama, you are good!"


[At this time I should have told him anything I do and say is not a reflection of the mission and values of RAC etc.etc. so that you would be exempt from anything I do here but alas, I forgot, so next time I will exempt you and YOU KNOW there will be a next time!]

But I discovered two things: humor is essential here, and I found a partner in covert operations (yes, Sureshmi, he is not you; you have a PhD in covert operations) in Teacher Peoune (teachable and willing to aid!); and that He has already began to form 'our community here'.



The Classes:
Many of you have been praying for each of my classes.

The midday class of 20 students: there are clearly 5 students who are not able to follow the lessons. But it is these same students who will volunteer to pray in Khmer at the beginning of the class before I pray in English. In my tests their marks are in the forties (out of 100) while most of the class are in the range of 70 to 90. I pray against the spirit of tiredness, laziness, self doubt that they could learn at the start of the class, so now I boldly pray for His Sword to cut through the fog in their brains, that they may be able to understand what is being taught. I pray that for me as well as I learn Khmer. I can communicate through body language, expression and touch but I so need to be able to communicate in words.
Wouldn't it be so SWEET if at the beginning of the classes that the students would pray in English and I would pray in Khmer? Shall I be bold enough to pray for this?

Friday: Someone asked, "How come you have order in your class? The kids are paying attention".. etc.
I say: I have an army of people interceding on behalf of me, on behalf of the students. We take His mission seriously. Plus with my experience in Canada, I immediately do the consequence on breaking of the rules. It is so ingrained that you do well and you succeed by good marks; that 'cheating' is widespread, which includes helping your fellow students in the tests!
They still speak in Khmer to each other when it is NOT allowed in the class; they mutter under their breath the answers, surprisingly thinking teacher does not hear!


I will ask for special prayer for this midday class. My Khmer teaching assistant is now going to be helping in 3 other classes at the midday hour which means I have him for less of the time (another T.A. teacher Kayar), so can you pray for order and my ability to think ahead to get a written translation of the grammar rules. I am teaching past and present tense, and there is nothing like that in Khmer grammar so the ability to transfer this to English is NIL!
AND putting '-ed' at the end of the verb is difficult enough but they have to learn the irregular verbs as well!

Friday early evening class: at 6 in the evening; lesson began well.
Teacher Poeune and I had an amazing time in prayer before the class and then it happened.
Something must have triggered "R", (I have mentioned him before) because he started to backchat with Teacher P.
Then the anger in him built up and he walked out of the class, walked back in, tears running down his face, literally shaking with anger, still yelling at teacher P. P is calm and talks to him, but then teacher P has to leave, "R" takes out cell phone and is talking to someone. I send a kid out to get Pastor who does the discipline and counselling.
I have no idea what is going on, the Khmer is fast and furious and the kids grow quiet. Pastor comes and "R" goes with him. 
I end the class with a prayer over the kids (unusual, but sensed I needed to do a calming prayer over them). I went outside and met with Pastor who was preparing for the youth prayer time service which happens every Friday night.


Long story short: Pastor was translating for me as I talked with "R".
Consequence for him: go to his house, not to the meeting, or sit with Teacher Vidya on the bench outside and listen from there to the meeting. I went for water and came back to find out that sitting with me was what he accepted (yes, who knew that would be a punishment!). 
I thought of the many times I had to do this with my 'guys' from Drop In and community service; yes, surely the Lord will never let any of our experiences go to waste. I prayed aloud as we sat in silence, offered him water etc.

Cannot give details but would ask special prayer for R.. I had to leave early Sat. morning to come here to the city and as I write this I do not know what is the outcome of the situation. But at the church service on Sunday morning, the guest speaker was Rev. Eng Sam Ath, the general superintendent of Assemblies of God of Cambodia, a young man who himself was living in an orphanage and now heads up the Assemblies. I looked at him and thought of R and called out to the Lord for R's soul. Pastor had told me to pray for R's salvation. I assumed that R was saved being at POR. I could see R becoming a leader for our Saviour but Satan is battling for his soul. I went up to this young pastor to thank him for his message, showed him Pastor Sok's card from Tahas Institute and he knows him. He asked for my email address so I pray I hear from him and his wife, would love to have him speak to R.

The Stylist and her mother:
It was raining so hard I stayed at this hair dressing place. I asked the stylist how she was doing, about her family. She shared that her mother gambles, her brother and sister gamble, that Khmers do not know how to work and save because the people here are
still attempting to relearn values etc. stemming from the reign of Pol Pot regime. She had to distance herself from her brother and sister, but her mom lives with her, and that is causing dissension between her husband and herself. 
She says, "How can I turn my mother out? She is my mother, but she will not listen to me." 
I pray for God to fill that hole in the lives of so many Khmers. This came from a Khmer so I can pray for God to restore the mother to Him, for God to send a Christian to this mother, (she is about 60 or so) and that her transformation would be the domino for the others in the family to come to know our Jesus!


OH! I began this with I knew that finally I would...
I was in the lobby and the staff there said, "Vidya, there is a group here from Toronto".
So I went to say hi. 
They were from Agincourt Pentecostal church and ....YES I MET A TRINI!


I was laughing because I had just come from the rooftop with Jesus and there she was, from Tunapuna, which is not far from my parents' place! 
We hugged and laughed and then I turned around and met a Jamaican and a Bajan (from Barbados)!
Only from Toronto, eh?
The co-owner of the hotel whom I have gotten to know and who speaks English quite well, came to see what the celebration was all about, so I told her and she said, "SO God answered your prayers to meet someone from your country?"
I said "Yes!"
Everyone says we sound alike. I am going downstairs to see if she is here so I can just hear her speak!

My friend Halina left here yesterday in the middle of the rain and thunder!
The same lady I mentioned above says to me, "Are you going to pray for her safety?"
I said "yes" and immediately prayed right there and then by the tuk tuk!

Going up now to the rooftop. It is 10 minutes to 8 in the morning. 
Had dinner with Lisa Cheong last night. Good to see her, share and have wisdom poured into me from her and ...cannot think what I gave to her, hopefully not anything negative, but she gives me hope when I hear her speak in Khmer.......

John 7:38: "I am not here on my own but He who sent me is here also"... I know you are all 'here' with me, thank you so much.


1Samuel 12:23: "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you"....I want you to know that I do pray for you as well, when I get your prayer requests I pray for His continuing protection and presence for you, my brothers and sisters!

Dancing in Khmer,


Sister V

(Went to wedding with Sok who owns 'Our Thai' restaurant on Highway 7 in Toronto; she is here in Cambodia for her niece's wedding; lovely to be with her and spend time with her; got invited to another wedding for December!)