Vol.# 268
Here I am with coffee in hand back on Cambodian soil! It is a very cool morning. Thank you for your prayers.
Praise God: With my brother-in-law Phil and my sister Savi here in Toronto for a short visit staying at my parents’ place, I got a ride to the airport so that my other sister Sita would not have to come all the way so early in the morning to give me a ride to the airport! There was no snow and the traffic was light on the way!
Praise God: My brother Vish came the evening before and as customary, he helped me with the packing of my suitcases while Phil helped in the weighing to ensure I was not over the weight allowed!
Praise God: When I got to the airport, a representative from Korean Airlines told me that I should go and get my baggage tags at the kiosk. However, when he saw the tags, he asked if I was a member of ‘Morning Calm’, to which I replied hmmmm? He immediately took me to a separate counter to get my boarding pass and I avoided the already long lines that had formed at the usual check-in counter. I was so surprised! He also asked me if I had requested a wheelchair and that I definitely said ‘no’ to. I went through Customs with no problems at all. All in all the whole process took about 10 minutes!
Praise God: My seatmates were a couple who got up ONLY once to go to the washroom! I always sit in the aisle seat so I am prepared to get up to allow those seated next to me to pass. The flight was full with a little turbulence and even though I did not sleep much on the first leg of 13 hours, I did not feel tired.
Praise God: I was sitting at the wrong gate at first at Pearson, but felt something was wrong, so I double-checked my boarding pass and realized yup, at the wrong gate! So, those of you who prayed for this specifically, thank you!
Praise God: I could not find a phone/electronics store at Seoul airport to assist with putting in my Cambodian SIM card, and I was feeling a bit anxious about not having it so I could connect with my pick up driver. Again God went before me. My seatmate was an American Khmer returning after 4 years who just happened to have the SIM card pin in his wallet, which opened the phone to put in the SIM card on my phone!
Praise God: Again when I got to Phnom Penh, the Cambodian airport officials were ushering us to go in different Customs lines, so I just went to an open one not realizing it was for ASEAN passport holders. It was only when I walked up that I saw the sign! The official was gracious and processed my entry in 2 minutes whilst others holding non-ASEAN passports were still standing in lines to get processed!
Praise God: When I got to the carousel one worker saw that I was having difficulty getting the trolley out, and just came to my assistance! Then my luggage came out FIRST (a first for me!), and he helped me put them on the trolley. I had to wait for my carry-on bag that I was asked to check in at Seoul because of a lack of overhead luggage space. Yes, I was getting a bit anxious since I waited for 5 minutes for it, but then just had peace and trusted in God for it to be on the carousel.
Praise God: I had my friends contact my pick-up driver to say I would be out around 11:30-11:45pm, but I was already out at 11:15 and my driver was out there in the midst of a very large crowd awaiting the arrival of their guests. I did not have to carry my luggage up the stairs. It was all done for me!
Praise God: My friends Lauren and David had stocked up my fridge with the essentials, and had made sure that the cleaning company had come in to do a deep clean. So I walked into a welcoming house!
Most of all, I want to thank my Dad and my Mum for their prayer of blessing as I left home. I want to ask you all to continue to pray for them as God guards their health. I want to also thank my siblings and their significant others for their love and support in so many ways as well!
It was also so good to see some of you at church. I know with the Christmas holidays many are away, and yet with COVID and its variants still around, one needs to be careful and wise on getting together! As always, I am very grateful for Pastor Sunder and Sham for their time, and for Dr. Gamble making sure that I keep my body healthy for His purpose here! Much love!
I am now going back to sleep after sleeping only a couple of hours in the past 24 hours!
Love, His Warrior and Disciple,
Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,
Your sister, Vedya
