#191 - A Birthday Overflowing With Blessings

Vol.# 191

Wearing an official Cambodian football shirt while holding Canadian maple syrup

Sights and sounds assail my senses as I sit in my kitchen with bright sunlight streaming through; sounds of the birds singing mixed in with the sounds of the landlady washing her dishes in the outside pipe downstairs; the traffic on the street below and sounds of monks chanting from a street service somewhere in the neighbourhood. I am so thankful to Jesus the Christ who gave His life for me so that I can have eternal life!

As I woke up on my birthday morning (Mar.13) and was thinking of what I wanted to do, which was to find quiet time with Him so that I can prayerfully redo my personal mission and vision purpose, something I do every year on my birthday, my phone began to ‘ting’ with messages, and then calls from my parents, siblings and friends from far and near! I knew that finding that block of retreat time on that morning was not going to be possible as I thought ahead of the things I wanted to do. As I prayed, I sensed God asking, “My daughter, what is your birthday desire?” My immediate response before I had time to think was, “Child-like faith, Lord!” 

I think as the years go by, faith can become dependent on visible circumstances and not on invisible reality and the truth of Who God is, so for me, that became my ‘mantra’ or oft repeated phrase throughout the day! I still have to find that time away to really sit and redefine my personal vision and mission statements, and one of the ‘gifts’ I received from my mentor/sister/brother couple in Toronto was a day or 2 at a hotel here in Phnom Penh away from the hustle and bustle. So prayerfully that would be done soon!

In Toronto, my birthdate was usually celebrated with calls to Ramona S and Prem (who just got married to the amazing Michelle) whose birthdays are on the 13th as well. Here in Phnom Penh there were 4 others in my circle of influence whose birthdates were on the 13th as well. So with my housemate’s help, I was able to do a drive-by birthday cake delivery! This was the first year that I bought not just one but 3 birthday cakes for myself!  On each cake was “Happy Birthday to US!” LOL! 

The first cake was to my younger Khmer brother, Kimreach, who was very surprised when he received his cake on the night of the 12^th. I enlisted covert aid from Teacher Pov who is his cell group leader to present the cake to him.

With Kimreach before his baptism last year

The next cake was to the owner of the salon, Jheri, who employs my wonderful Khmer younger sisters from at-risk backgrounds. My housemate Channak took me on the moto to pick up another cake I had ordered to deliver to Jheri. The ironic thing was that Jheri had JUST left to go to the airport so we had a ‘stand-in’ for Jheri as I spoke to him on the phone and we sang Happy Birthday to each other!

  

Then Channak, who gave me the gift of his time and moto, took me to Pastor Pisit’s house that evening for dumplings and yes, another cake I had ordered for us! This time I actually ate a slice of it and it was a blessing to be with Krong and Liep (Krong is Pastor of church planting and Discipleship in the provinces) who were already there, to see Pisit and Seyha’s newest baby and 2 other children, and to see their new home! 

I wanted to go for ice cream, but Channak was like ‘no, it is kind of late’, and Liep, who had wanted to go, suddenly changed his mind and said, ‘yes, maybe another night!’ I got home and my housemate yelled out Happy Birthday for the last time and I went into my kitchen, and just as I was about to open the door to the TV room, it opened up and out streamed some of my former Rescue students with their girlfriends with a cake! They had been waiting for over 2 hours at my house! Channak had given the keys to the landlady who then passed it to them. So there we were on the rooftop celebrating again!

My former students surprising me! 

And yes, the celebration still went on the next morning with L and her husband D and J who form my core community group here. L, D and J were my former classmates at my language school, and D and L cooked breakfast while J and I ate and ate! The gift of time and good food are my top languages of love, and as I looked at my three friends, who blessed me with prayer and their words of affirmation, my heart was filled to overflowing. Being prayed over is such a honor that I feel doubly blessed! 

I also dropped by my school where Wyn and his wife Nisay operate the coffee cart business. Channak had called him to say I was going to pop in, so I got my free iced coffee with cake, and got a chance to say hi to some of the teachers too.

Prayer request: 

I am still praying over a house move. Most places, especially those rented by expats, are way over my budget. Please pray for His wisdom.

Prayer request: 

Next weekend a team from Oshawa is coming to do a ‘friendship camp’ with students and teachers from New Life Skills Centre, and I (the only expat teacher from here) was asked to participate. Pray for bonding and God-led conversations for that weekend.

Praise: 

I had been asking for a change in scheduling in teaching. I prefer the early mornings as the traffic is lighter, and there is less pollution to inhale. So from next semester which is in a couple of weeks, the head of the English program is designing a conversation/office skill class for me that will be a ‘closed’ class, so numbers will be at 12. I can go deeper with these students, which is easier than with an open class of 25-35 students.

Praise: 

We now have an English worship service at 3 on Sundays at my church. I remember praying early on at our Ratanak meetings back in Toronto from 2009 for God to raise up Khmer workers to go internationally to talk about Jesus. The Khmer have an opportunity here to learn and listen in English in a Christian context so that they can go share with English speaking counterparts. I still volunteer at the second worship Khmer service so I can serve my Khmer family there, and I have been asked to be part of the prayer English speaking team for the third service. Last week 2 Khmer women came up to be prayed over. They spoke in English, and ironically, as I was praying I was saying certain phrases in Khmer! LOL!

Many many heartfelt thanks to you all on ‘our’ dance here in my heart country of Cambodia!

**If you feel led by God to financially contribute to His work here, please message me for instructions and thank you for your prayer coverage.** 

I am under your spiritual umbrella of prayer and your prayers propel my dance here. Keep sending my your stories please! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#190 - Global Leadership Summit

Vol.# 190

I was about to write this update on my rooftop with the sounds of a wedding on my street below. A tent was constructed earlier on and the wedding or party was in full swing with the emcee and band sounds echoing out into the night, when suddenly the Wi-Fi went! So now I am in a cafe writing this because the power was also cut off, which meant no fan or A/C at my house!

However, just before I began to write, I got an unexpected video call from Pastor Wayne and Betty and Corrine C! What a wonderful surprise and how timely to be able to talk and see them, and then to have Pastor Wayne pray over me right here in the café.

Since my last update, we have had the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), and I was a part of the organizing committee. I am pleased that we had about 180, of which 140 were Khmer and the rest were expats.  Being part of this committee was reminiscent of the Christmas banquet events I was honoured to be a part of for so many years at RAC! There were early mornings and late nights of prep while still teaching at New Life Skills Centre, but we knew that this event was about inspiring and re-igniting passions for well established leaders and new leaders alike. 

Apart from Pastor Leah, I was one of 6 other expats helping to organize and run this event. What I loved about this committee was that the core organizers were all women! I was helping a Khmer, being her helper, as well as shadowing Pastor Leah and helping wherever I could.  We will be having a debrief meeting this weekend and a celebratory one for those of us who worked on it! I loved to see these young women rise to the occasion, for this was the first time they were part of organizing such a big event! 

 

Khmer Women Leaders At GLS

It was a learning curve for us all but I am most proud of my team, Minarath and Seanghort! My two younger brothers were my helpers at the Information IT desk, helping with the setup of translation from Khmer to English for the expats who attended the seminar. They not only came early but were also prepared and ready to serve, making sure they first had breakfast and time to pray together. I cannot wait to see the fruit from the seeds that were sown during this seminar!

My Team At GLS

On Site With My Team At GLS

Meanwhile my classes are going well and, in spite of being strict, the class numbers have grown! It is difficult to teach the evening classes and I smiled when I remembered last Monday. I was so tired and we got stuck in a bottlenecked traffic jam. I was inhaling fumes from not only the other tuk tuks but also the stench from the garbage truck ahead of me! My Jesus knew how tired I was and it could only have been His grace which provided me with a tuk tuk driver who looked at the situation and decided to take back roads (going off the main road), zigzagging right and left to get us out of the traffic! When we looked back we could see the traffic still bottlenecked at the back of us! That driver got the biggest tip ever that day! 

Praise: 

I had so many opportunities to pray with the younger Khmer teachers. I just walked into the office area and immediately I was asked to pray with them as I am their ‘bong srey’ or older sister.

Praise:  

I am able to use my Khmer language to teach English! When I am teaching English grammar, I use my Khmer to make sure the students understand the basic concepts before switching back to English!

Praise: 

I am continuing with my mentoring with Bopha this week at her request. I am able to meet with her at my house twice weekly. We are doing Psalms in Khmer and English plus a short story in English.

Prayer request: 

I am praying over moving from this house. There are repairs to be done here, plus there is also construction of a very tall condo building going on next door and the street below is very busy. I am asking for prayer for either peace to stay here, or to find a better place!

Prayer request: 

With so much writing now using my right hand, my tendonitis has flared up again. I am praying for relief and wisdom over how to deal with this.

On a personal note, I would like to acknowledge and celebrate the birthdays of my Dad who turned 92, and my nephew who turned 21, and my eldest brother who is in between those two ages! I am not there to celebrate those specific dates, but I do thank God that HE chose to have them come on this earth and for them to be part of His plan here on earth. I think of the prophets like Elijah and the chosen leaders of Israel like Moses who passed on their legacies onto the next generation. I am thankful for the lessons learned from my Dad and my brother, and I cannot wait to see His plan unfolding for my nephew! 

I am very grateful for all of your prayers. Please continue to send your stories and requests as we do life together and dance with Him!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#189 - A Tribute To My Sister, Polly Buchanan

Vol.# 189

My sister, Polly Buchanan:

As I sit on my rooftop this morning reflecting on Polly Buchanan, wife of Frank, mom, grandmom and spiritual mom to many like myself, there are two things that are occurring now. The sun is rising and it is a beautiful magnificent sunrise, and I can also see and hear the sounds of a funeral just below my house a couple of houses down my street. In the Khmer culture, it is normal for a tent to be erected outside the home of the one who has died, and depending on how much money can be allocated to the funeral, it may last 2 or more days. I can hear the sounds of the chants coming over the airwaves, I can see people going in to listen to the monks, and food to be served is being prepared. Traffic is usually diverted to another street by chairs situated in the middle of the same street to the left and right from the house of mourning. So one can be speeding down the street and then come upon this sign not to proceed any further. No one complains. They just find another path to their final destination.

My sister Polly knew where her final destination was and is now in heaven. When I first met Sister Polly over 15 years ago, it was at a prayer meeting at our church. It was a Tuesday evening and I sat and listened to the seasoned prayer warriors intercede for others all over the world: Pastor Sunder, Miles Valley, Jennie Leslie, Frank and Polly, just to name a few, who would meet every Tuesday and Sunday evening before the church service! Polly, to my knowledge, never prayed aloud at these meetings, but came in to sit and quietly support Frank and all of us with her presence. I learned from her that it was okay to sit and listen and learn from others. She never made me feel like an outsider coming in to a ‘clique’, but always made sure to ask how I was doing and to give me encouraging words! 

The qualities that surprised me about Polly as I got to know her over the years were her quick wit and her way of getting to the ‘crux’ of a situation, being able to sum up a situation and then give an assessment! I remember one time when I, along with other volunteers, were setting up a table for snacks and thinking that we would not have enough for all who had come to the meeting at RAC. Polly, knowing this, said to someone who was filling up his plate with the goodies, “You know this is a snack and not your dinner, right?” I remember bursting out laughing and the tension and worry I was feeling just fled! That was Polly coming up with the one-liners that would make me smile! 

When I got the news from the Kerrs that Polly had gone to be with her Heavenly Father, I called Ruby I., who is close to them, and we shed some tears over the phone! Even now as I am writing this, I can picture Polly. For some reason I felt I had to give her a sky-blue scarf when I visited the last time. I think of her now, not wrapped up in that scarf, but in the arms of Jesus! I think of her as I see the beautiful sunrise. It is a new day, and a new morning, and even though we will miss you, dear sister Polly, you are risen with your loving Saviour! My love and prayers to all of you who mourn and yet rejoice over the passing of Polly from this world into the wide-open arms of Jesus! 

As I finish this, I turned to go downstairs and looked across to the balcony of my neighbour’s house. I saw a young woman, a new mom with her baby, as she cradles and looks tenderly after her newborn! 

That is our Heavenly Father looking after Sister Polly now! Thank you Lord for this picture of your enduring love! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#188 - Global Leadership Summit

Vol.# 188

As I sit upstairs on my rooftop looking at the beautiful sunset, I am amazed once again by the creativity and beauty painted by Our Master. 

 

Sunset From My Rooftop

Amidst the slight breeze and the smell of mosquito repellent, I think back over the last 3 weeks since returning to Kampuchea. You have already heard about the wedding. Right after that I was at my first meeting for the Global Leadership Summit which will be held here on February 15/16^th. We met to plan and form a committee, and assign responsibilities led by Pastor Leah. It is wonderful to have a chance to be a part of leadership training for Khmer. 

The John Maxwell model that will be presented is a business model that has done well in secular and non-secular organizations. We are a year behind the western world since it takes a year to translate the curriculum and the sessions by the international panel of speakers. This year Gary Haugen will actually be on site while the other speakers will be on the screen. 

 

First Global Leadership Meeting

Then in my second week, I was a sub for one of the Khmer teachers and taught 10 times and loved it! In my updates, I have spoken about my two Khmer sisters with whom I started a mentoring/discipling relationship, Srey Luch and Bopha. Both have finished their contract with New Life Church, and Srey Luch with her fiancé, opened a ‘coffee cart’ business at her parents’ home so I went to visit, along with the head of the Information Desk, Chetra, and we were both able to pray and encourage her as we visited. I will continue to meet with her for as long as we can. 

 

Trey Luch At Coffee Cart With Chetra And Tuk Tuk Driver

Bopha and I will decide next week on the frequency of our meetings since she is at home looking after her son, but I was surprised to hear from another teacher that she was happy that Bopha’s English language skills had gotten stronger and Bopha said it was because of Bong Srey Vidya! (LOL! My talking had a good result!) 

The classes I taught were English grammar for beginners, and Newspaper class for mixed levels. In the Newspaper class I printed out 2 articles from CBC news, the first on Canadian air traffic controllers sending pizza over to their American counterparts, and the second was on Martin Luther King Jr.! It struck me as so weirdly wonderful to be talking about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. here in Cambodia! 

 

Newspaper Class

SO I have been busy, and I am also back on the rotation schedule for the Information Desk here at the church! I was surprised by the welcome I received by my Khmer community here as well.


Today I went in to give in my passport and papers to get my visa renewed for one year. When you first enter the country you get a visa for one month, then after that you have to apply for a visa permit to stay and do volunteer work here in Cambodia, my heart country.  I asked Pastor Samdy and his wife Navy to pray over the invitation letter by New Life Skills Centre as we were about to send in the letter for the extension of the visa.

Prayer Request: Please pray as they did, that the letter would fall into the right hands, and that there would be no problem with obtaining the extended visa.

Prayer Request: Please pray that many organizations and individuals would come and be part of the Global Leadership seminar; that we as a team would gel and be able to use our individual giftings to encourage and help each other; that we would in fact be a model of John Maxwell’s teachings based on the Bible.

The video clip attached was made by Teacher Pov. The background info is this. He had messaged me to ask if I knew anyone in Toronto who had an extra guitar. I never seriously considered asking anyone because I knew how expensive it would be to travel with a guitar, so honestly I put it out of my mind! But 4 days later, I went to my friend Mary’s house and as we were leaving she casually asked if I knew anyone who needed a guitar! I just looked at her and kind of groaned in my spirit because I am thinking oh no, now I have to take the guitar! 

Buying The Guitar

So I took the guitar home but I thought I would get my nephew Daniel to check it out to see if it was in good condition to bring it back here.Yup it was! Now I am in a quandary! I would have to get a hard case to put the guitar in, plus I knew I was taking back an extra suitcase already and that is expensive! This is where Prem, my bro, came in! He suggested I sell the guitar here and with the sale proceeds I could buy a guitar in Cambodia! Oh so simple! SO after getting Mary’s permission, that is what he did for me. The video clip is from Teacher Pov expressing his gratitude! I just smile at how God orchestrated this whole thing! 

Prayer Request: Pray for creativity and energy as I teach.

Prayer Request:  I am praying into finding another home. I feel God saying to be still and this was confirmed when one of the congregants at church spoke on that verse in the Bible! Pastor Jesse also spoke on the season of growth within, of mentoring and discipleship, and that resonated within my spirit as I know that is why I am here at this time!

I know it is minus 30C there in Toronto now with the wind chill, so I am NOT going to talk about how hot it is here! I pray for His warmth to flow over you! I was so blessed to be able to live stream couple of days for Solemn Assembly with you. I am praying as move ahead together in 2019! MY word from God is ‘expectancy”! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#187 - Gratitude, Grieving and Celebration

Vol.# 187

The flight from Toronto to Hong Kong did not seem like almost 16 hours. I did not sleep much but I was able to be ‘quiet’. Amidst the tears of saying goodbye to my parents, siblings and friends , I know that I was blessed to have had the time to be with you all, for my soul to be refreshed and passion renewed for His plan for me here. I just want to say a special thanks for the blessing my parents gave me on my return here, and the special gift to be able to visit with not only my oldest brother in Florida and childhood friends in Georgia, but also my sister and brother in Toronto and high school friends in Trinidad and Tobago! To cap it off ,my neighbors from my hometown of Arima where I grew up were able to come and visit me at home here in Scarborough hours before I left!

Prayer: 

On a sad note, my housemate Channak, who was supposed to pick me up from the airport in PP and then drive the 3 hours or more to my former student’s wedding, had just found out that his aunt, who was like a second mom to him had passed away unexpectedly. He had to shift from celebrating for a wedding to grieving this unexpected loss. Please pray as his cousins and his family mourn this precious loss to their family. I had the privilege of meeting her many times when she had cooked our special order of seafood and prepared it for us when as a group we went to the beach. She always made this foreigner or as Khmer say ‘barang' feel welcome and included as we stopped at her place for refreshments!

But this did not take our God by surprise. 

I had received this sad news when I was at the airport in Hong Kong and was able by His design to have my former Tuk Tuk driver, who used to take me to Rescue orphanage when I worked there in 2011, to suddenly message me and I was able to arrange for him to not only pick me up from the airport in his taxi car, but he also helped to take my 3 large suitcases up 30 steps to my place (the poor man was breathing really hard!) and he also took me to the country where I presently am for the wedding! 

It is 3 in the morning and I am SO up! 

Reunited: The night before the wedding; 6 hours after landing in Cambodia and a 3.5 taxi ride!

Praise: 

God orchestrated all of this in the midst of the changes in plans. Tony De A (with support of wife M) had felt moved to give money towards transportation to the wedding not knowing of the changes in plans here, and I was able to sleep and relax after the frantic rushing around for the 2 hours I was back in PP! 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#186 - Final weekend in Toronto!

Vol.#186 

I pray you had a Blessed Christmas and you are looking forward to see what God will do in the New Year! 

As I look back over the last 3 months back home here in Toronto, and Florida and Georgia and Trinidad and Tobago, I am humbled by the love shown to me through your words, gifts, shared confidences and prayers.

Thank you for not only being His dance partner in Cambodia but also my dance partner through your prayers and financial support . My ‘dance’ there continues to be one of joy and gratitude as He continues to set the rhythm and work amongst my Khmer community!

This will be my last weekend here in Toronto as I return to Cambodia on Jan.4th! 
**(If you would like to continue to support please message me for important information!) 

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

#185 - From Morton House to Temple in the Sea to Heart Country of Cambodia

Vol.# 185

From Morton House to the Temple in the Sea to my Heart Country of Cambodia

Reverend John Morton was the first Canadian Missionary to the East Indians (1868) in Trinidad and Tobago. He came under the auspices of the Presbyterian denomination and initiated education for women when there was no opportunity for girls of East Indian descent to get an education. My parents remembered learning hymns in the Hindi language.

The Temple in the Sea is a Hindu pilgrimage site built by Siewdass Sadhu, an East Indian immigrant who came to Trinidad and Tobago from India. 
Mr. Sadhu had a vision and deep yearning to build this physical site which is seen as a testament of one man’s love of Hinduism. It is a story of human perseverance, personal sacrifice, and enduring efforts of Siewdass Sadhu. It was the creation of one man alone, unaided and ridiculed, his largest tool an ordinary bicycle. Mr Sadhu came over as an indentured labourer to work in the rice/sugar plantations here in Trinidad and Tobago. He used to make the pilgrimage to India each year to go to the temple there, but found that he could not afford it. So he decided to build a temple where others like himself could go to worship and pray. He used to take each tile of material on his bike to the site after work each day to build the Temple in the Sea.

As I muse over these two stories which I had never heard of, our caretaker here is ringing the church bell at Morton Guest House. The bell is manually rung at 6:30am on a Sunday morning preparing those to come and worship for 7:45am. I knew that our staying here was no coincidence. 

MORTON HOUSE ORIGINAL CROSS AND CHURCH BELL

A better chance at an higher education was one of the reasons why our parents migrated to Canada, thinking that going to a Canadian university would improve our chances at a better quality of life, a life easier than they had growing up. 
I thought of how God had planted that seed in my heart to go to Cambodia through the passion of one other person (Lisa Cheong) and an organization (Ratanak International), to teach English as one of the many skills which would give those from an impoverished background a better chance to find a job that would provide a better quality of life for them; a chance to not being at risk for predators by having a choice and opportunity for a better job; to be able to make a wise decision from so many unwise income-making opportunities. 

I am very grateful for the education I received, not only from the academic world in Canada, but also from the jobs (both paid and volunteer) that I had along the way, and the mentoring I received both formally and informally from RAC, Youth for Christ and other secular agencies in Canada. I think of Mr. Sadhu who had this single passionate goal to build this temple and I wonder, do I have this same passion, perseverance and tenacity to serve Jesus the Christ as this man? Visiting this site and listening to the story of Mr. Sadhu, I reflected on my own personal mission and purpose, recalling the first day I heard about the country of Cambodia through the passion of another, Lisa Cheong, and Ratanak International; visiting Cambodia in 2009; working at Place of Rescue from 2011 for two years; returning later and going to language school to learn the heart language of Khmer in order to share the Father’s heart of grace, redemption and love to my now heart country of Kampuchea (Cambodia). 
I became excited and challenged once again as I thought of the many opportunities I have had and how God is using me to pass on what I have learnt to the next generation of Khmer! Intertwined in these experiences is not only the academic teaching, but also the spiritual aspect of discipleship and mentoring; teaching work skills; building on spiritual relationships that goes beyond the border of academic skills, overlapping into how we live our lives; giving of our very best in every area of our lives as God gave the best for us, His Son Jesus Christ. 

As I sat at my last Sunday service at the church on the Morton compound, and watched the seniors and youth perform in their Christmas programme, I was re-energized by the wisdom and wit of the skit performed by both groups, but I was in tears as I watched the skit by the youth group there. They had written the script for the Christmas enactment with the usual nativity scene, Mary and Joseph, the wise men and shepherds. What was impactful was that where the Christmas story usually ends with the wise men going away thinking of the true gift of Christmas, the youth group added the other most important part: Jesus carrying the Cross for us and then dying for us. The youth leader talked about the ‘whole story of Jesus’ and ended with the youth bowing at the foot of the Cross where Jesus hung! 

I felt the real impact of the reason why we celebrate His birth, so that He would make the choice to die for you and for me, so that we can have eternal life with Him.
A story of redemption and grace and unconditional love!

Praise: 
Thank you for praying for our safety here. My Dad was able to visit his old hometown and walked through his childhood haunts. The driver that we hired just happened to have lived there, so he knew how to get to and around the old places. Even though most of the sites had been torn down and rebuilt, our driver was able to reintroduce Dad to the ‘new’ built up town. My parents then got a chance to pray for Alum, our driver. I also was able to meet with old high school friends!

 RECONNECTING WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Praise: 
My parents were able to bless the caretaker and his wife from Morton House, and to pray over and with them. Mr. Jimmy came over earlier, not only to help us move the suitcases down the flight of stairs but also to be prayed over by my Dad. My Mom got to reconnect with two special young women with whom she had been praying while she was here. My Mom had that honor of listening and praying over them again here.

Praise: 
I am thankful to have this opportunity to be here with Dad (92 years young) and Mom (82 years young) on behalf of my siblings! Now as we are in our sister island of Tobago, I got a chance to speak a prayer over one of the workers here. I was sitting looking at the butterflies and singing when this worker came by and said, "Enjoying the scenery eh? You talking to yourself?" I replied yes to the first, and no that I was praying. He responded that God woke him up early as he was thinking over a life-making decision he had to make! So I prayed for wisdom and faith for him.

Thank you all for continuing on this journey with me! I am returning to Canada on the 16th and will return to Cambodia on Jan. 4th. If you would like to meet up with me, I would love to hear your stories and to pray with you as well!

Love, His Warrior and Disciple, 

Submitting to be His Dance partner here in Cambodia, 

Your sister, Vidya 

(P.S. **For those who have been sacrificing to help me financially, please refer to the page about 2018 tax receipts etc. in the prayer letter or email me.)