#139 - Whew! All done!

Vol.# 139

I write this after sleeping for 7 hours straight, and after cheering my team on as they played football. 
I feel so REFRESHED!
Allow me to explain.
I had asked you to pray that I would be able to sleep and so, THANK YOU, I did, but only after coming home from my exam on Friday. The exam was supposed to be one and a half hours but it turned out that they had miscalculated the time, so it was more like 2 and a half hours. I had assumed that my exam would begin at 10 and I would be finished by 11:30 or so, but I did not begin my exam until 11, so it was a long wait since I was the last one assigned to do my listening and speaking part of the exam.

Results: We have not yet received the results since we are now on a 3-day holiday from school. The teachers have not corrected our exams but I know that I passed my listening/speaking part but with average, not poor or very good (those are the categories). The first part, which was the presentation part using power point in front of the class, went well I think, but again we have not received our marks. 
BUT IT IS FINISHED!
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

G2K Football Team: Can you find me?

Early Saturday morning I was up by 6 getting ready to go to watch and cheer on my schoolteachers and classmates (G2K football team) as they played another team who ironically were made up of guys from my church at New Life. We lost by 4, but the cheering and the excitement of the game was a good way for me to get rid of the stress of the previous 2 weeks of long hours of study and little sleep. 

Yes, I am the voice yelling and cheering on the sidelines especially as I am now officially the scorekeeper, the first-aid person and the bringer of bread for the players in the morning! There is the 'Water boy' in football games, and I am the 'bread woman'! I get special thanks from some of the wives of the players because it is so early in the morning and they do not always have time to eat. 

I am learning how to say "good block", "score", "shoot", "seriously"(?) and other gems in Khmer! I love the fact that the teachers and players are a mixture of Khmer and expats but we all try to speak in Khmer when we are together. I have gotten to know the opposing teams as well, and it is funny when the game is finished, they come to especially thank me for cheering and to say goodbye. (Yes, I do cheer when the other team make an outstanding play!). 

We started to pray before the game now, even though our team probably only has 3 believers, but the rapport between team members is growing stronger! I am afraid I am not one of 'girls' who sits in the back and chats. I am on the field, on the sidelines, because I have to turn the numbers when the team scores! LOL! 

Oh by the way, I do have a team shirt and it is Number 7!

I was just thinking of being the 'bread woman' and I pray that I can also show who Jesus is by being His bread of life to others here.

Prayer request:
There will be no Level 8 immediately following this level (which is 7) because there are no students who have reached this level and are able to continue at this time.So I have to get a tutor to work with for the next 6 weeks before Level 8 commences (by then the timing is right for other students to join Level 8). Pray that I would be able to discern which tutor would best be able to help me in my weakest areas which are listening and understanding. I have 3 phone numbers for tutors and after the next 3 days I will be contacting them (it is official holiday time here) to see who is the best fit and who has the time to meet with me.

Answered prayer:
I thought I would be so tired of studying that I would not want to see or hear Khmer for at least the next 2 days, but today as I was reading His Word, I kept thinking of ways to translate the English into Khmer. I have started to read smaller portions of the Bible in Khmer, which is exciting, so thank you for praying for my hunger and passion to grow and not abate as I continue to study. I am learning that there is a particular way to begin a prayer in Khmer and certain words to use, and I am excited to learn more because I would like to pray a blessing over others.

I am not sure how many of you get to read Deb and Ramón Padilla's prayer letter, but as they are translating parts of the Bible into a specific dialect with their team, I am grateful that again I have so many ways of accessing His voice and now a new way is being opened up in my heart language here. Very cool!

Please keep on sending your stories and your prayer requests, for together we are His dance team! I better go now as I am dripping as the sun gets hotter here!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#138 - Special Prayers For This Week

Vol.# 138

Hello from a very hot and sweltering Cambodia! 

I need your special prayers this week as I prepare for my major presentation in Khmer.

Prayer requests:

- Please pray that as I transcribe my interviews that I would be able to pick up on words and phrases/sayings that the everyday Khmer uses so that I can put it on my lesson sheet for the students (my classmates, that is!).
- Please pray that I would be able to succinctly summarize (yes, some of you are thinking, "Vidya succinct?") the results of my research.
- Please pray that I would be able to understand questions being asked of me during the question time.
- Please pray that I would be able to do my presentation on Power Point (to get help to do this).
- Please pray that I would pronounce the words clearly as I speak!
- And last but not least, please pray that I would be able to sleep properly!

ALL of this is in the Khmer language. 

I want to honour God and honour my Khmer family here by giving my best to my new heart language! All of the other students already have tutors that are able to help (outside of school) them, so I am still praying for the 'right' tutor. Thank you for praying along with me!


Thank you for joining me in this dance! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#137 - A time of refreshment and delighting in Him.

Vol.# 137

Thank you for your prayers for safety and travelling to Phou Quoc, an island which was formerly part of Cambodia until the reigning Prime Minister gave it to Vietnam. So technically I was still in Cambodia. However all the workers I met spoke Vietnamese but, except for one of our helpers on the island, spoke Khmer to me! 

My Khmer hostess/server. Got to hear her life story.

So the transportation to the island from Phnom Penh consisted of 7 vans of varying sizes, one tuk tuk, one ferry ride (about one hour), and a car. On the way back it was a moto, a car, then switched to another car (no A/C), then to a bus, then a tuk tuk! The transitions getting there were smooth, but coming back there were delays etc.. But as I was thinking about this, I had told my friend Annette who was with me that I had wanted to explore the island on a moto (they have the coolest cap like helmets to wear!), but I did not have a chance. But that was the first mode of transportation on way back, albeit very short ride! 

Praise: 
- For safety to and from; for connections with one of our hostesses/servers at the restaurant. Her mom is Khmer, so it was exciting to try and speak it with her and more exciting when she introduced me to 2 older couples who were Khmer vacationing there, so I got a chance to speak with them also.

- Time spent with God. I get so busy sometimes that I do not get quality extended time away from the demands of every day life. So I had time to be refreshed spiritually and to think of the grandeur of our God and to celebrate that HE is risen! Good Friday was spent in just thanking Him all day, either in song or as I walked, for the sacrifice that our Lord made for us on the Cross! 

The magnificence of God in amazing sunsets. Kept quoting the Psalmist David!

Whenever I visit the beach, I always sign my heart over to God; this time my footprint.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, so as I go to worship and partake of communion, I know that it will be extra contemplative and joyous at the same time.

I will enjoy my last 2 days of 'freedom' before going back into the busyness of school and life here!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#136 - He Is Risen!

Vol.# 136

As I sit here early this morning recovering from an unexpected busy weekend, I look up to the sun as it is rising, with the feel of a gentle breeze on my shoulders, and I am praising God for His goodness, for His way of pushing me out of my comfort zones so that I can learn to lean more on His shoulders.


The week began with the planning of my big project at school. I was anxious because I could not seem to pinpoint on which one of two topics I would focus my research and conclusions to present to the class in about 3 weeks. 
One of my teachers was supposed to act as my tutor but he has been very busy, so formulating the right questions has been difficult since I felt I was doing it on my own as opposed to the other 2 students whose teacher was helping them with every question! 
I had asked for prayer and His guidance just like the Israelites asking God for signs, and I have finally nailed down the topic! 
Now there is the formulating of the questions, so...

Prayer request: 
- Pray that I would be able to formulate the questions in such a way that they would be open-ended questions (not a yes or no answer), and that the questions would reflect the topic and purpose of the research. And yes, this is to be done all in Khmer!

This week was a short one at school because this week the whole country is celebrating Khmer New Year and everything shuts down here! 
I remember my first year in the city not knowing that even the tuk tuk drivers and the motordupes are scarce since most people who come from the different provinces go back 'home' to celebrate the New Year with their families and friends. I could not get one to even go to the market and the one that I finally got asked for such an outrageous price for the ride because he knew he was my only ride. 
I have learnt my lesson about planning my week here in the city!


It is one of the most important holidays/festivals here. 
So this past Friday my school (G2K) rented a football field and we, the students/teachers played traditional games and ate Khmer snacks etc. and danced to traditional Khmer music and the latest dance song here! 
It was awesome! 
During the week one of the teachers was selling G2K soccer shirts and asked if I would come and watch their first game on Saturday. I said yes, not knowing that I would be asked to be the 'first-aid' person and that the venue was going to be so far from my house (far meaning expense-wise having to pay for the trip!), and having to get up early to get there! 
But there again, God, Who knows my innermost feelings, prompted one of the other persons invited (her role was photographer) to ask if we could share a tuk tuk! 
Yay! 
We both went and I was grateful that she was with me because my tuk tuk driver was going the wrong way past the country club where the game was being played! 
Imagine my surprise when I realized that when I was asked to be the first-aid person (which I honestly thought was a joke because it was asked in playful manner!), it meant I was also supposed to bring the first-aid equipment! 

It ended up with me being the chief cheerleader and man, was it ever hot! 
This was a bit out of my comfort zone, no, not the cheering part, but to have to converse and do it in Khmer! 
We lost by 4. We got 14, and the other team had 18 but they were all younger than our team. Our team was mixed with Khmer and expats, young and older. 
Then I found myself rushing home as the landlord was coming to fix the water pressure here.

Praise God: 
The bonding with my Khmer teachers is important. Even though I am not fluent in Khmer in both listening and responding, I can be there to support and have fun with them!

Sunday morning: 
One of my former students invited me to his engagement, but I did not know how to get to Takeo province from here, and it would be really too expensive by tuk tuk if I was going alone, so it was not until Saturday evening around 8 when he called and said that one of the other students would pick me up at 5:40 in the morning to go there! 
Yes, there I was up at 4:30 to get ready (make-up but not dressy clothes), since we would be going by moto. 
The students did not come until 6:35, so there I was standing outside my gate waiting, and this group of Khmer women who do exercise walking passed by and said hello. They were surprised that I was still there 15 mins. later when they returned, so one of them asked if I wanted a motor dupe, and then the conversation started about where I was going etc.. 
Then my neighbour from across the road came out to weed the plants outside her gate, and started to talk to me in English (she is Khmer), and this was the first time I actually met her so we conversed half in English and half in Khmer and before you knew it a whole pile of women were discussing my plight: how I had been waiting for a motordupe, and where I was going, and the facts that I was from Canada, and I was learning Khmer etc. LOL! 

Eventually when I was about to give up on the students, they arrived! SO off we went to the engagement on a one-hour-15-min. ride in the hot sun! 
When I got there I quickly changed and was able to participate. Only now as I am writing this, I realize that I was the only expat there. Usually the engagement is for close friends and family, and this was the first engagement I have been invited to. 

I usually get invited to the wedding ceremony. It was bitter-sweet and I had tears in my eyes as I looked at my 'spiritual son' from the orphanage participate in a Buddhist ceremony. I had memories of him being my translator and leading worship at Rescue. He is the one who gave me the title of Holy Spirit sister, so I will be praying and continuing to be part of his 'new' life as an engaged young man! 

SO now as the sun is pouring down simultaneously as the sweat on my back, there is no more gentle breeze. 
I am preparing to make a bus trip with my friend Annette to Vietnam for a 4-day stay.

Prayer requests: 
- Pray for safety as this is 2 women travelling alone; for good travel connections when we get to the border and then have to take a boat to the island. Pray that God would provide angels who would come along to help.

- Pray that it would be a time of refreshing and going deep with Him. I will be taking some Khmer work to do but at same time one of my 'sisters' from back at RAC just sent me a link on relationships that I will try to access and listen to while I am away.

Thank you for your continual financial and prayer support! Please continue to send me your requests, stories and pictures! It keeps me connected and grounded!

Finally, HE IS RISEN! 
With Easter being in the same week as Khmer New Year, this fundamental and precious time when we remember what Jesus Christ did for us, for me, on the Cross can get pushed aside, so I just want to shout that I serve a RISEN SAVIOUR who is NOT A MYTH or a traditional character.
So just as I danced with my Khmer heart family, I will and am dancing with my Jesus the Christ and celebrating HIM! Anyone wants to dance with me?

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#135 - And the verdict is in! I ....

Vol.#135

I was overwhelmed with so many of you praying for me yesterday and the phone calls and messages that I received! 

SO ... I passed! 
7/10, 10/10, and unfortunately the listening text was only 5/10, but the speaking and talking about the problem within society went well. Fluency and ability to talk with teachers have improved! I got 19/20 in vocab. I would have gotten 20/20 but I did not understand the picture shown! And afterwards I found out that there were no separate answers for that one pic! LOL! 


As I sit here on the rooftop, reading about the woman giving her all to our Lord, with her tears and precious ointment, I sense that God is saying to me, Thank you my child for giving me your heart and soul. Just keep on persevering and I will give you the ability to speak and listen (my heart's desire) in Khmer, so that you can share My heart and hopes to those in your heart country! 

I had to talk about my future plans, so these were some of my answers: 
- To have the ability to speak Khmer so that I can joke and laugh with native speakers; 
- That I would have long hair (my hair is short!); 
- That I will be married (my two teachers were laughing);
- That I would be able to listen to a song in Khmer and sing the words immediately so that I can dance to it (I need to know what I am dancing to!);
- That I would be able to speak the language so well that the native speakers would not be shocked when I pronounce the words incorrectly (they are so polite that they would not show it but you know inside they are saying Really????)
- But most importantly, that I would have deep ties to the community here! 

This is my only day off with lots to do! We are having 3 special nights of service here at our church with a featured preacher on the theme of God and Sexuality. I am still exhausted from being up at 5am yesterday, and then finishing around 5pm, then rushing off into the traffic to get to the service which starts at 5:30 and goes to 8! 
I did not get there until 6, so today I need to rest before heading back into full time Level 7!!!!!!!!!!
Yay! 

Dancing with Him,

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#134 - Birthday Blessings and "Vidya Chaplain"!

Vol. #134 

Thank you all for your birthday prayers, cards, gifts and calls! 
It was a blessing to have Ian and Ramona Loberg from RAC here for my birthday week and what fun we had! 

They pampered me with not only their gift of time but also deep talks, laughter and great food! My house mate Channak was in cahoots with them to plan a 'surprise' birthday time with my former students, and from the photos you can see it was a blessing and fun time! 

I spent the first part of the day doing 'Drop-by' gifting. The first stop was at the Khmer bakery where I usually go, to pick up two cakes with the message, “Happy birthday to us!” The first cake drop-off was at the salon I frequent, since the owner and I share the same birthday. The second was at my school where I also dropped off a cake. I think I like the idea of doing 'drive-bys' of surprise gifts of cards and words of encouragement on my birthday! 
I was so blessed by you all that I know I need to pass on these blessings to others! 

I started my day with Him, with coffee and music and dance and a wonderful intimate time thinking back to my birthday one year ago when I was struggling to regain strength from the time in the hospital and was also in the midst of exams!  
How grateful I am that He has carried me, and has been my constant strength and foundation. I was just listening to a song, the words of which I am humming right now, ...through it all my eyes were on YOU!..it is well...it is well...with my soul!" 

Praise: 
I have adapted my part-time studies to being at school on a full-time basis! What does that mean? 
I still go in on the days that I do not have a formal class and sit and study and communicate in Khmer with other students and staff. It is exhausting because where I am there is no A/C until I go into the classroom where there is, but just being there has become a stopping point for many students from all the levels at G2K school. 
One of my friends has added a title to my name, "Chaplain Vidya!" 
It is fun as they are asking if that particular desk I sit at is my “own"! I have had many conversations in both Khmer and English and have been able to pray with others; to encourage and be encouraged as well! 

Prayer: 
Please pray that my eyes will continue to be aware of every curve and symbol in Khmer that I am reading; that my ears will continue to hear the nuances of Khmer language! 
I have been listening to Khmer radio as background (white noise) when I am studying or writing as a way of getting accustomed to the sounds of my heart language. 

Praise: 
With Ian and Ramona's help, I got a couple more pieces of furniture for 'the house' (no name for the house as yet!)

Prayer: 
We had gone to a furniture shop and the owner had come to measure for a sofa and then would call to let me know the price. I stopped by the shop but his wife who is the one who sets the price was not there, but they said they would call but I have not received a call back yet. So I was hoping that this was the one. It was exciting to choose the colour and fabric for my sofa! Pray for resolution please. 

Prayer: 
EXAM TIME! My assessment and exam is on Monday 27th at 1:30p.m. I have to prepare 2 topics. The first one is on the main problem in Khmer society, what it is, the outcome and then solutions to solving the problem. The second topic concerns my future two years from now. Then I have a role play with the teacher (improvisation); a listening text where I have to answer questions after listening to a text. That is the first part of the exam. 
The second part is written; grammar and vocab recognition; writing a card to someone. Can you pray for clarity of thought as I prepare the first two topics, for clear speech, and steady hands as I write in Khmer. 

Prayer: 
This Saturday I am taking one of my teachers who is about 7 months pregnant and the cafe owner's wife who is also 7 months pregnant, to have their feet massaged etc.. Both are Khmer and are becoming part of my community here. Please pray that we will be a blessing to my girls and the owner at the salon! 

I sit here at my table on the balcony thinking I need to start revising, but it is now too HOT! And it is only 7:25 in the morning! Yikes! 

Please keep on sending in your prayer requests and stories! So humble to be part of your lives! 
Dancing with Him.

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya 

#133 - Our First Rooftop Worship Time!

Sweat is pouring down my back as I mop the floor on the rooftop area. I am getting it prepped for the first Worship time here at the house! I am still thinking of a name for the house, so if you have any ideas please feel free to send them to me. 

One week ago I was reminded by my Khmer teacher from G2K about having worship time here, and he said, "Why not begin on the first Saturday of the month?" 
So with 8 adults and two young kids, we began our first worship time. We began in English but then at the end we did about 4 songs in Khmer, the same songs we used to sing when I worked at Bek Chan with the corresponding dance moves! 

 First Worship Time On The Rooftop

We all prayed together at the end and then discussed if Saturdays were the best day to have the worship and the time for it! All agreed yes! 
The plan is to sing and worship our Lord, and then to spend time in prayer for people in our lives, and of course, for the land of Cambodia! 
Chris, whom I met for the first time 2 days ago, is from G2K and he brought his beat box and man, is he ever good! Teacher Meng and his Khmer friend from his church came equipped with a guitar, and they took turns playing while the rest of us sat and sang and we were gifted with not only His presence, but His sunset! 

Praise: 
I have asked you all to pray that I would start forming a community here, and I just want to say how humbled I am that David and Lauren, my classmates who have already graduated, still want to spend time with me. It is awesome to have a brother and sister, who although they are SO unlike me, are one with me because of His sweet Spirit and our love for our Lord Jesus Christ!

Prepping the info desk at the new church

Prayer: 
- Pray that I would learn how to balance being a Martha and Mary, so that people not only feel welcome as if they are walking into His arms when they come here, but also that I would not stress out about the cleaning and prep time! My house helper quit 3 days before our meeting tonight and the cleaning of the stairs and roof top area is quite difficult. SO...

- Please pray that I would be able to get another helper who can do the heavy work (very dusty here), and one with whom I can speak Khmer! 

School: 
I had written that I was struggling with being a part-time student, not really feeling connected or having that continued rapport in Khmer which I had as a full-time student. After praying, I decided to go in early at 7:30am as I would if I were having classes in the morning, sit in the lobby at the desk, and study my Khmer. At same time I am able to talk and connect with others in Khmer. 

The teachers told me that it had been so quiet without Julia (my comrade in arms) and myself in the mornings at school! 
The first morning I was there, I was saying good morning and how are you in Khmer to all and sundry. So much so, that new students were handing me their forms for school because they thought I was part of the welcome committee of the school! 

Then I began having God conversations with a few students who are struggling to balance language studies and living cross culturally. So thank you for praying with and for me on this. I still have problems with  comprehension when I am being spoken to in Khmer at a fast pace! Ten minutes later, I will be, "Oh now I understand what they were saying", after I had the time to process. 

Praise: 
I actually spoke in Khmer to our landlady here, and I understand her when she spoke to me because I knew what the topic was all about.

Prayer: 
- Pray for ways to build bridges with her and her family here. 

Thank you all for your continued support in finances, prayers and words of encouragement! I may take a longer time to respond, but be patient because I will respond to all of your emails! 
I love to read what is going on in your life. It makes me feel connected to you and gives me more info on how to pray more intimately for you! 

It is nighttime now, and I am enjoying the gentle breeze, the beautiful sky and the sound of the washing machine as I do my laundry! 
Dancing with Him on the rooftop!


Love, His Warrior and Disciple, submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia,

Your sister, Vidya