#195 - Staff Retreat, A Trini Visitor and Remembering...GO RAPTORS!!!

Vol.# 195

Well, I survived and pleasantly surprised that I did! 

I was invited to go along on a staff retreat where no mention had been made about the “Amazing Race’ style of team building games! My team came last, but boy! 

Did we have fun! 

BIG BRO AND LIL BONG SREY ON THE WAY TO RETREAT

STAFF RETREAT

GUESS WHOSE ARMS ARE UPRAISED AT BACK!

The Skills Centre was closed down for 2 days as we bonded and heard messages about unity and transparency, staying the course and growing together as a family. It was an honor to be invited as I am ‘volunteer staff’ and yes, I was the oldest one on my team to participate in all of the games! I got to see the resiliency of different members, old and young, as we all prepare to dig deeper and grow together for the purpose of telling others about God after the emotional upheaval which occurred 2 months ago at our church here in Phnom Penh. The recurring themes of unity and solidarity in Jesus the Christ and not in any one church or person, discipleship, and just having time to listen and pray together have been constant concepts we have been hearing as we pray together as a team and a church. I am very grateful for the Khmer leadership and their vow to listen and pray as they discern God’s steps for the future.

My classes have been wonderful with an average attendance of 25 students in the first class, and then 8 in our Office Skills class, which is a closed class for those with the English literacy level to understand the soft skills curriculum. Both classes are very different in character, the first being very informal while the second is very formal in approach and manner of communication! It was during this second class that the Raptors were playing and I had to role model self-control and NOT use my phone in class to peek at the scores! 

AND YES, THE RAPTORS!!!! 

I was screaming and shouting from way across here when we won in such a climactic way! And I will still be screaming and shouting when I come to visit in August! Everyone I came into contact with knew I was from Canada and that the Raptors were playing by my words and actions. This got me to thinking, does everyone, from the tuk tuk driver to the seller in the market, know that I am different by the way I act and by what I say? Do I emit the fragrance of Christ by my behaviour? 

Each person in my Office Skills class has to introduce himself or herself each morning by saying “Hello my name is Vidya Ramcharan (for example) and I am the Director of First Impressions of Vidya Ramcharan!" Then I get an opportunity to say what those first impressions I had of each student that morning and they get to state their impressions of me and report on how I conducted myself that morning! It is in the small things that we do that I found to be truly reflective of my role as His Child! The students often ask me why I come in early to prepare my classes etc., and I say that Jesus prepared for me by dying on the Cross, I prepare for them because HE gave His best, so I also want to give my best for my students. 

And this thought makes me transition to three people we recently lost at RAC:
Steve Gibson: when I first met Steve he told me that he was intimidated by me because he got to know me in relation to my community service work with the at-risk youth at the church, but then one day he heard me laugh and I snorted when I laughed, and he thought, hey, no way can I be intimidated by someone who snorts when laughing! He called me ‘Buddy’ and always wanted to know if I kept my relationships with the youth from back in those days, and he always wanted to know if the youth here in Phnom Penh were scared of me! Then he would laugh and then say, keep it up Buddy! 

Rest now in His Arms, Buddy Steve!

Peter Wood: I got to know Mr. Woods when he volunteered at the church and then later when he helped to paint one of the apartments I lived in Toronto. He had quick wit and a story to tell. He loved his family. My heart goes out to Linda and her family now. Thank you, Peter for your act of worship through your servant’s hands.

Jacqui: You never forgot someone’s kindness when you are new and know no one and they come up to you and greet you not only with a smile but also a hug! That was Jacqui, Roberta’s sister! I got to know Jacqui when she sang with the worship team so many years ago at RAC, and remembered her genuine smile and offering words of welcome to a new immigrant to Canada! I was introduced to Jacqui even before I met Roberta and I got to see her love for her kids! Thank you Jacqui for showing and being Jesus in the flesh by welcoming me into the church each time you saw me. I was not part of any group but you broke the ‘clique’ lines and showed me in Christ there are no ‘cliques!’ My prayers and heart go out to all of you who are grieving Jacqui’s passing into the arms of God.

This past week God gave me a hug and a kiss in the form of an old schoolmate from St. Joseph’s Convent Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago! Giselle and her husband were here for a few days and I got a chance to ‘lime’ and hear that wonderful Trini accent! Giselle and her husband still live in Trinidad and they are the first TRINIS to come here to Cambodia and I AM PUMPED! Thank you Giselle!

GISELLE AND I

I look forward to seeing you all in August when I return to celebrate my nephew’s wedding! 

Prayer Request: I have had a cold now for over a week. I got meds from the clinic but will go back today. Everyone at work is sneezing or coughing and then we all share the same pens etc. Please pray for a correct diagnosis from the doctor!

Please let me know how I can pray with you all! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya