#142 - Neigh...neigh...

Vol.# 142

Did you have ever those days when…:

…A picture is being taken of you, a head shot, yet you are still sucking in your stomach to have the pic taken?

…You are offered highlights in your hair for only 8 dollars, and then asked what colour you prefer and you said purple (in Khmer), but got orange instead? Or rather a brassy colour bordering on blonde? So you then furiously try to figure out if you said orange instead of purple in Khmer? 

Well thankfully I did say it correctly! However, the colour was so wrong because the girls were 'learning' how to do highlights! 

So when I returned, Jheri, the owner, insisted on not only redoing the highlights, but also putting more in! 

Yup! 

It still does not look purple but suspiciously more like maroon, but hey, I got the chance to spend 2 more hours chatting and listening in Khmer! And the highlights will wash out. 

Hopefully! 

And then this happened.

I was trying to explain that I was a full-time student, but I found out later that instead of saying ‘suh', I was saying 'seh', which means I was saying I was a full-time horse! 

Yup!

Tutor number 2 was killing herself laughing so hard that we could not continue the lesson!

Two days ago I was listening to a video clip posted by my pastor at New Life church here, but I could not understand the whole thing, so I decided to use it as a learning tool in my tutoring session. Keriya, my tutor, was watching it and after listening to it and Pastor Jesse talk about an upcoming conference this weekend with guest speakers from Singapore and the States, she asked if non-believers could attend the conference as well! I said yes, so she will come to the conference on Friday and hopefully 2 of my teachers from my language school will also come! 

It seems to be getting hotter in the mornings so I have had to switch from my rooftop to the lower balcony where there is more shade to have my coffee time with Jesus, and I love seeing the birds fly on to the balcony and hearing them sing as I read His Word. 

Prayer Requests: 

• For this weekend's conference here in Phnom Penh that we all will learn more and be motivated to continue His work here.
• For wisdom as I meet with two people at the end of this week (situation confidential).

• For my parents as they look for new place to live in Toronto.

Each morning I pray in Khmer, and even now as I write this, tears are flowing down, because there is something so sweet and intimate when I can finally understand certain phrases which are commonly used to begin and end the prayer. My tuk tuk driver listens to me when I pray before we head out anywhere, and even though he wants to speak in English, I want him to understand when I pray for work for him, and I also pray for his family plus safety on the road!

The rainy season has begun here, and even now the skies are grey yet still very hot! I cannot wait to see you all in August! 

Personal note: 

I thank God for my Dad for his love for me, and on Father's Day I was able to call him and thank him for his sacrifices and his love for Our Father. 

I also want to thank my 'spiritual' fathers as well who have walked with me over the many years at RAC! 

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

Your sister, Vidya

#141 - Election Fever and Guess Who Is Coming?

Vol.# 141

It is election fever here in Cambodia.

This is the first time I have seen the opposition party allowed to be out en masse on the streets, wearing their caps and shirts.
For the past 2 weeks, my mornings began with the sounds of the two political parties advertising their specific political party on loud speakers attached to tuk tuks! This is reminiscent of when announcements are made back in Trinidad, political or otherwise, with loudspeakers attached to cars or trucks.
Then today everyone at church were proudly displaying their fingers with the ink on it after they went to vote!

Channak's Voting Finger!

I was asked to volunteer at the info desk today so that my co-members could go back to their birth province to vote, or to have time to go and vote in Phnom Penh if PP is their 'home town'.
I have been intrigued by the elections, listening to others express why they choose to vote for a certain party or not, getting to learn more words in the context of voting. My tuk tuk driver who picked me up this morning, was a friend of my usual tuk tuk driver and he proudly displayed his finger with the ink on it showing me that he already went to vote with his family.
We are now awaiting the count to see who won the election! 
Update: And yes, the ruling party won again!

Thank you all for your prayers for a house helper.
I did find one. Her name is Srey An and she speaks Khmer most of the time. She is fast in her work, but does not clean things well and she is a bit wary of the iron!
But together for the past two weeks I have been with her learning words in the context of cleaning etc. and showing her how to get things done.
This reminds me of when I worked with my guys in the Community Service programme at RAC! She asked me questions about why I pray etc. So it has been good for me to think and try to speak in Khmer about my faith!

One morning when I was praying, the name of the Student Coordinator from G2K popped into my mind so I sent an email to invite her out to lunch.  Usually the students go out with the teachers but the admin. staff can be overlooked. She was so happy to get an invite and I was a bit nervous knowing that our convo would be all in Khmer! She has a cute daughter and lives with her mother here, and is curious as to why most of the expats she knows who have come to volunteer here follow Jesus Christ! We had fun eating Khmer food and just sharing with each other.

Then after our usual football match last Saturday as I was talking to one of my Khmer teachers, I noticed that he was yawning a lot so I asked him why he was so sleepy. He said it was so hot in his room he could not sleep. I remembered that I had a standing fan I was not using, so he came home and I gave him the fan and the old ironing board which he took on his moto! I wish I had taken a pic of that to share with you!
But what I did not know was that, during the game, that same teacher was talking to my friend Julia and was telling her that he noticed how we foreigners not only help each other but we help the Khmer as well! And she was sharing about Jesus with him. So she was sharing the words and ,I unaware of this, was doing the action to the words!
So cool when God works like this!


G2K Teachers and y friend, Julia

G2K Teachers and Students Football Team

 Answer to prayer re: tutor:

I have two with whom I meet on alternate mornings; both have different styles, but I speak in Khmer for at least 2 hours each day and then read in Khmer. 

Prayer request:

I need to get out of my comfort zone and initiate more time with native Khmer speakers.

Info Desk Members on boat (1)

Info Desk Members on boat (2)

Two nights ago all of us from the Info Desk at New Life church went on a boat ride together. Our leader is very good at communicating with all of us and making sure we operate as one team, so the info team from my church and one of the other church plants got together. I was surprised that most of them did not go out much, so they were very happy to be out on the boat!

I have an idea to get them out to my home for a meal one night! While we were on the boat we could hear the call to end the fasting for Ramadan. I had never heard it before here. I am accustomed to the Buddhist chants etc. So it was different hearing the call over the water as we were on the boat singing worship songs! The other info members did not know what they were hearing so I tried to explain!!!

AND... COMING SOON TO A CHURCH NEAR YOU...
It is the VIDYA!

Yes, I will be home on August 2nd. I leave here on the 1st and should be home for around 2 months!

I cannot wait to see you all and hear your stories in person!


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

Your sister, Vidya 



#140 - Not one but two!

Vol. #140

Wow, when HE answers, HE answers in His way, and in His timing!  

Praise: 

I met with 2 potential tutors today. 

The first is the wife of a pastor of a local Khmer church. Her husband taught the founding pastor of my church here, New Life church, how to speak Khmer when he first came! She is very nice and we will begin on Monday with our tutoring sessions: one and a half hours three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

The second tutor is tutoring my classmate's wife and she is strong, and right away she was chatting away in Khmer with me, and corrected me when I mispronounced words or got the words in incorrect order. I will be with her on Tuesday and Thursdays. 

I will get a sense from next week as to which one will be the one to take me to the next level. 

Or maybe both? 

I was just thinking that previously I could not get connected with even one on my last schedule, and now there are two possibilities and I am EXCITED!! 

CAN YOU TELL? 

Praise: 

I got an opportunity to pray for the gardener at a hotel yesterday. I met him and the other staff when Ian and Ramona were here, and he is leaving his present job for another, so I asked if I could pray and he said yes. I wish I could tell you I prayed in Khmer but I did not (he understands English and speaks it well), but it was touching to see him bow his head and clasp his hands as I prayed a blessing over him! 

Prayer and Praise: 

I will get a chance to take one of my former teachers who is now 4 months pregnant to the salon not only as a Thank you for all that she has done for me, but also as a way of continuing our relationship to a deeper level. I get a chance to cheer for her husband who plays on the soccer team for my school (he is a teacher as well). Please pray that I can be a 'big sister' to her as well, as I know she can teach me so much about Khmer culture! 

Thank you.

I have another interview with a house helper this afternoon, she speaks very little English, so I am going to study up on my phrases associated with house cleaning! 

Blessings and keep on dancing! 

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

Your sister, Vidya 

#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