#211 - "Stand Here By Me..."

Vol.# 211

It is 5:45 in the morning. I am in a race against the sunrise hour to make my coffee and head up to the rooftop for my morning date with Jesus! Across from me, my neighbour is up and is exercising already, hitting the boxing punching bag that he has set up on his rooftop. Across the road from him, I just noticed someone else coming up in the morning to do his exercise moves! So, inspired by both of them, I decided to get in some ‘weight’ exercises as well, accompanied by my worship music! There is not much traffic yet, and it is beautiful outside until the smell of someone burning garbage begins to infiltrate my side of the rooftop!

As I read from Deuteronomy 5:30, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to ‘return to your tents’ (Stay at home my people! Do not go out!), but in verse 31 “..But you Moses, stand here by me..!” I stopped and read again, but this time I read, But you Vidya, stand here by me...’ I stopped and waited to hear what that meant. Then clearly I just knew. Stand with your heart people. Together, we are going to help them spiritually and physically. 

Spiritually, God has given me those from Rescue and now some of the leaders from New Life church to encourage and be a listening source for them. Physically, how can I help? Many women may have cosmetics in their handbags. I now carry extra Tylenol for adults and Tylenol syrup for the kids, Robitussin cough syrup, throat lozenges, and extra hand sanitizers to give out! My Khmer brothers and sisters already have masks, since that is a ‘norm’ here, with the pollution and fear of getting sick. I am accustomed to having students wear masks during the class or meeting others wearing masks. I keep money on my phone so that I can be reached at or call others in the days to come. Many do not understand the concept of community space and not to gather in groups, because it is a group/community culture, and as we have seen, that is one of the main ways the virus is spread. 

Current Handbag Essentials

Praise: 

Even my tuk tuk driver, who came to pick me up so I can go out to get essential supplies, had a mixture of alcohol and water to spray on my hands each time I made a stop, and especially when I just returned from using the bank machine. So many are heeding this warning!

Praise: 

I had asked you for creativity in teaching my students online. This morning I sent Khmer worship songs with English subtitles. They can learn new words/phrases while the Word gets into their hearts! I prayed for His anointing over these songs, as 99 percent of my students do not have a relationship with Jesus. They are out in the country, and are really bored! So I prayed that those songs would also help in alleviating boredom and thus making wrong choices to make life interesting!

Praise: 

Even though I am away from my family, I thank God I can talk to them and see them via social media. I can connect with other groups when the ’aloneness’ hits, since I do not live near many of the small groups from my church. Praise God for David and Lauren and Chloe, precious friends from my Khmer language school who live about 10 minutes by tuk tuk from me. They are still here so we check in by phone. Praise God for Lisa C whom I check in with as well and we keep each other updated on ‘Canadian news’!

Praise: 

Praise God for the New Life leadership team. They have set the model of small group meetings via social media to keep everyone connected. My role is to look after the ‘caregivers’.

Prayer Request: 

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that a state of emergency or lockdown will be put in place. On April 8th we will know the details. On the 5^th, they will find out about the exporting and importing of rice. Rice is the staple here and even though Cambodia produces it, it is not enough to sustain the country for a prolonged lock down. Please pray for wisdom and timing as we allocate resources.

Prayer Request: 

Please pray that we would all turn to God. As social media is the top only way of connecting, I pray that we do not neglect to connect with Jesus in the midst of all of this.

Thank you for your continued support of me here, through your prayers, words of encouragement, FT and video time and financially! 

I am praying for you as well. Please continue to connect with your life stories. I have more time on my hands now to pray, so how can I pray with and for you? 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#210 - Birthday Celebrations and Covid-19!

Vol.# 210

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your birthday prayers and words either through video, written messages on social media and in person here! 

This was a different kind of a birthday than from previous years. On my birthday I was running around delivering birthday cakes to others who had birthdays on the same day. As usual, I started my day being still before Jesus, asking Him about my personal vision and mission for the upcoming year. Part of my reading for that day was on Mark 16 and when I got to verse 3…,”and they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”, I felt God saying: that is your refined mission for me this upcoming year. You are to help to roll the stone away so that the spiritually blind can see, the poor in heart will be rich in spirit by your acts of servanthood and words. Your warrior prayer heart will be in the midst of the battle to roll away the lies of Satan to my and now your heart country! 

I have read this passage many times but this is the first time this jumped out at me. Of course as in verse 5, I have wanted to be the young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side! I wanted to be sitting and guiding others but Jesus said, “No, your role is very different, my daughter!” SO, here I am recharged and excited to see the different ways I can help ‘to roll away the stone’! 

As I was reading about this in the coffee shop, the Wi-Fi went, so I told the waiter, “Hey, it is my birthday, bro, and I chose to come in here to begin it, but no Wi-Fi!” He apologized and then 5 minutes later he came back and said, “Bong Srey(older sister), we would like to give you something free for your birthday.” So I got a free hot cafe latte! God reminded me in this small way that He delighted in me! 

In between my birthday song from my parents and greetings from my siblings and then ALL of you out there, I had to help in planning a surprise party for one of our worship leaders who turned 40. His wife had asked me to help plan it as she had booked a room at a Khmer restaurant for a small number of their friends. As it turned out, there was another person at the party who also had the same birthday. So later in the evening we celebrated Bro. Pisit’s surprise birthday with delicious food, laughter, karaoke singing and dancing! 

3 of us share same birthday - Surprising Bro. Pisit!

I also got a chance to deliver the birthday cake (one of 3 I had ordered) to the owner of the salon. For the first time the manager of the girls there had also bought me a cake, so we celebrated with the 2 cakes and guess what? I got a free mani/pedi/ haircut as my gifts from them as well! 

At Salon

The day before had been bittersweet as I said goodbye to a fellow teacher and her husband who were returning to Australia after serving here since 2011. At the airport we had pre-birthday ice cream for one of the other ‘shared birthday’ persons, Kimreach, a Khmer young man who has a heart of gold and love for Jesus. 

Pre-Birthday Ice Cream with Kimreach at Airport (Birthdays on same day!)

Ironically, I never even tasted any of the cakes because I was running from one place to another! Then at church last Sunday, my information desk team surprised me with a slice of cake and birthday song. Just 10 minutes earlier I was surprised by a group of dear Khmer sisters with another slice of cake and birthday song!  Then, on Monday my students surprised me with a birthday cake as well. They put their money together to buy and surprise me! I had surprised them a couple of days before my birthday by buying them baked goods, and they, not having much, saved and put money together for my cake! What was notable about the giving of the 2 cakes from my non-church groups was that at the salon they waited for me to do a blessing for them before I blew out the candles, and it was the same for my students. They closed their eyes and waited for me to pray a blessing! 

Cake from Students

Then my ‘community’ of D and L and Chloe took me out for dinner a couple of days ago! 

My Perspective: 

C.O.V.I.D. 19: Christ Over Viruses and Infectious Diseases: Joshua 1:9: 

As a church we prayed, and last Sunday we screened anyone coming in with the digital thermometer and sprayed hands. 

Screening At Church

Vidya taking sanitizing to a whole new level!

Our spiritual leader preached on how to physically prepare ourselves by hand washing and social distancing etc. and then preached on the GOD Who is in control amidst the fears that were coming to the surface. We obeyed the government‘s order to close down classes and then church services. Gatherings, if it happened, were under 30 people. What has arisen is the small group or cell group meetings, even if online with each other! My connections with the students are now on Telegram chat. Most of them had gone home to the countryside since universities and high schools were shut down, and parents wanted their kids to be at home. However the risks of infection are greater back in the countryside with no good medical care and following of precautions to stop any possible infections. Many families live in communal homes, so social distancing would be at a very low percent and if someone were sick they would have to travel to the city, thereby spreading the disease to others! So through social media, the church’s leaders have been encouraging and cautioning the people on C.O.V.I.D.-19!

On a personal note, when Prime Minister Trudeau urged Canadians to return home, I prayed and then talked to spiritual mentors. We thought it wiser to stay here. Many have tried to leave, but with borders closing on many of the ‘transit’ countries, flights being cancelled and so many stranded in airports and other places, the wisest thing is to stay here. I know that a state of emergency has been declared in Toronto with many advised to stay at home, especially the elderly and those at risk.

I have been praying for all of you. 

I am praising God for:

 - Time to deliberately spend with Him in prayer and fasting, seeking Him and His news first before reading the news from all over the world about COVID. In Numbers where the people had to specifically do cleansing rituals, I suddenly realized that God had instituted such practices SO THAT there would be no spreading of diseases. I thought, WAIT! God was the FIRST one Who wisely put in certain ways of doing things to protect the Israelites! HE was the original WHO before the World Health Organization (W.H.O.)! The Bible is so current with what is going on presently. This just excites me even more as I read it each day!

- The creativity introduced by my spiritual leaders and at school for online teaching. (Yes, even I will learn to do this!)

- The relationships that have become stronger as we enter the first stage here of COVID.

Prayer Requests:
  

- Please pray how to wisely be His angel to others as the country shuts down certain services.

- How to show God’s love and to allay the fears of those in my neighborhood that do not know Him.

I want to thank you all for your sacrifice of funds and prayers during these uncertain times when there are financial losses due to work shutdowns. Thank you for continuing to dance with me in spite of visible circumstances. We will storm the heavens together and praise His name! 

Please continue to send your stories and creative ways of sharing His love!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#209 - Valentines Day and the Global Leadership Summit

Vol. #209

So there I was in the tuk tuk wishing I had eaten something with a peppermint taste rather than drinking coffee, because the mask I was wearing was not filtering the external smells on the road. So I was trying to exhale rather than inhale the rather pungent air, and all I could smell was coffee mixed with the awful smells! My driver had decided to take me to work ‘the short way’ amidst the garbage and stinky smells! However, as I looked out, I saw people sitting and talking, even eating, and I realized that they lived in this area and probably could no longer ‘smell’ the stink that I smelled. 

Yup, God brought to mind that when we lose touch with Him, we lose sensitivity to His Holiness, and yes, we may even enjoy wallowing in things that are not of Him! This was a reminder to me to make sure that my ‘date’ time with Him was a habit, a discipline that I could not afford to give up or miss, that my ‘accountability’ with my spiritual mentors had to be transparent, and also that I needed to be always on guard to protect the gift of His unconditional love and grace for me, so undeserving, yet chosen by Him to be part of His plan here!

February 14th: Valentine’s Day is a BIG day here. There is societal pressure to have a boyfriend/girlfriend especially for that day, to receive stuffed toys and chocolates and flowers that would then be posted on Facebook/Instagram. This date has caused so many problems that at my church they took a proactive stance, and on the Khmer Radio, the head of my school, Lokru Pov, went on air to advertise that the church would be hosting a talk about LOVE and there would be games and a fun time! As a result, 400 youth came out, students from our school and satellite sites, plus their friends and youth from the surrounding area, to hear Pastor Pisit answer their questions on love.

Poster Advertising Valentines Day Radio Show

Movie Night at Church with Students

 In no uncertain terms, he laid out the boundaries for relationships and talked about ‘love languages’ focusing on the most powerful love giver, Jesus the Christ! Amazingly, the kids were very quiet. Usually they would be on their phones or talking, but they listened to him as he was frank and answered questions. Afterwards in ensuing conversations, many said that they always thought that Valentine’s Day was only for ‘romantic’ kind of love, but now they realized that it could be family love, friendship love, respect love for teachers etc. It made them feel ‘freer’ to not be expected to give anything to anyone if they were not able to! 

With that in mind, I was ‘channeling ‘ Chris K's and Karen’s spirit of surprise giving by doing my Valentine’s Day of surprise gifts. My first stop was at the Bread Shop near work where I dropped off some chocolates to the three youth who work there and they were so surprised and happy! Next stop was at the office. Valentine’s Day was on a Friday, a day I do not work there, but I picked up cookies and went to give one to each person with ‘this is your hug and kiss from Jesus’! Apparently they remembered the ‘cupcakes’ I did last year, and they were sad because they knew I would not be at the office that day, so it was very cool to deliver the cookies! 

Valentines Day At Salon

The next stop was of course ‘my girls’ at the salon! I had pre-ordered the cake for them, so all I had to do was pick it up, and as soon as they saw me with the box, they were yelling, “Bong (older sister) Srey, we knew you would come! Thank you!” I prayed before dropping off each gift. I wanted them to experience this act of love from an older sister, a teacher and a sister in Christ! 

At Wedding of Former Rescue Student

Praise:
- Thank you for your prayers for the Global Leadership Cambodian summit. With a smaller team and numbers down due to the virus and our late marketing strategies, those that came were blessed and challenged to go to the next level in leadership. I myself was challenged to become a better influencer in my circle. I ordered the flash drive with the different speakers so that I can share it with the leaders at my church and with other friends here in Phnom Penh. We are still doing a ‘wrap up’ of the events and already planning for mini-Global leadership meetings in the coming months.

Volunteer Staff for GLS - Cambodia

Participants and Volunteers at GLS - Cambodia

Prayer Requests: 

- Please pray for creativity on how to market the summit for those in government and CEOs of businesses as well.

- I am meeting with a prospective cleaner this week, praying that she will be the right fit since it is really so difficult to keep the outside clean. It can be wearying on me.

Praise: 

- I am not sure why but in the past 3 weeks people have been approaching me in the office and also outside asking to ‘talk’, so I listen (yup, for you out there, I really listen and not talk!), and then I pray!

- I am thankful to both Pastor Wayne and Betty and to Pastor Sunder and Sham for FT with me in the midst of their busy schedules, for their spiritual advice and continued ‘pastoring’ over me.

- AND I am thankful to my dad who turned 93 this year! So grateful for the internet so that I can see my parents and talk to them!
 

Please continue to send your stories and pictures as we do life together and His mission together! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya