#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