Rainy season arrives with a vengeance

Life in Cambodia is always full of challenges and the unexpected. The last two afternoons as I've been working in my classroom I had to get the mop out! Yes, the rainy season appears to have begun. Yesterday afternoon was't too bad. I know from past experience that the rain tends to drip from the top of the window frame onto the floor when the rain comes from a certain direction, and that's what happened yesterday. Since I was still there when the leaking started, I quickly pulled up some of the foam mats and set them to dry. It wasn't too bad, and by the time we came in this morning all the water had evaporated. No problem.

This afternoon was a little different. I was sitting at my desk when it started, thinking, this isn't to heavy. Maybe it will be a light shower this evening. As I was thinking that things changed, and next thing I knew the  water was streaming down the windows. I went to take a photo, but quickly discovered that the windows weren't keeping that rain out. It was coming in, and quite a lot of things were in grave danger of a soaking, including posters, and sheets of cardboard, my keyboard, and my classroom library! I quickly moved everything I could, including my desk and filing cabinet. Then I heard the sound of secondary students coming down the stairs. They'd obviously just finished an exam, so I quickly recruited some of the young men to help me move the bookshelf with the classroom library on it. The photo below shows where there water reached (and it actually spread further after this photo was taken). Each of those tiles is about 50cm across, so you can see there's a fair bit of water there. Of course, moving things that hadn't been moved since August left a fair bit of grime exposed too, so I'll be busy cleaning the classroom tomorrow morning. Hopefully some of the water will have evaporated by then. 

The rain was blowing so hard our "internal" staircases had water flowing down them, and I'm positive my classroom won't be the only one that suffered water inundation. It was like someone turned a hose on full bore at the windows and just blasted them with water. I guess the windows will be lovely and clean now! I'm just glad I was there and able to get most of my stuff out of harms way.

The rain eased for a while, and then came back again, this time blowing in the opposite direction, so I don't think any classrooms will have totally escaped the impact. Might be a bit of cleaning up and throwing out to do on Monday morning. Eventually the storm lessoned, and I looked up to see the most amazing sunset through my classroom window. The photo below doesn't really capture it, but it was just beautiful. The sky was orange and red (almost like it was on fire). As I look at it, I'm reminded of just how powerful God is, and of His promises to never leave us. In the power of the storm, and rain, I was also reminded of His love, and the promise of a new day tomorrow.

Something to think about ...

Tonight, as I was enjoying some Facebook time and catching up on blogs that I follow, I was delighted by this post. Please take a moment to read her post before you continue reading this one.

As I read Kara's reflections, it prompted me to think about the children I will be teaching this year. Each child who will come into my class this year is unique. He or she will bring his or her own special qualities, gifts, and needs. Each one has been placed in my classroom for a reason. I do not know what that reason is, but I do know that God will show me during the course of the year.

Teaching is a privilege and a huge responsibility. It was said today, that in Cambodian culture teachers are seen as just as important to children as parents, and at times even seen as "second parents". What a trust is placed on us.

As I start this year, I pray that God will lead me to know how He wants me to meet the individual needs of the children in my care. I pray that I will be open to His leading and guidance. I pray that I will be sensitive to their needs. I pray all this knowing that as I endeavour to lead and teach the children I will also be learning. I learn so much from the children in my care. I thank God for the privilege of serving Him and them in this way.

I also thank Him for those who pray for me! This is not a job I can tackle in my own strength. No way! It is His task, and I seek His strength, enabling, and patience to do the very best job that I can do, in His strength. I pray too that they will see Him in me.

Electricity cuts and God's goodness

One of the "joys" of living in Cambodia is the unpredictability of electricity supply. The last month or so, it seems to have been more unpredictable than usual, by which I mean there have been more blackouts than previously experienced.

This afternoon the electricity was on when I headed down for lunch duty at 1pm, and off by the time I headed back upstairs half an hour later. Grrrr! The lesson I had planned required electricity. Life's like that. Just as well I had a backup plan. We opened the window, and got on with it. It was still off during the after school program (I'm doing my second term of multiplication games), and by then any benefit of having the air-conditioner on earlier in the day was well and truly gone. I'm just glad my classroom doesn't get the direct afternoon sun or it would have been much warmer.

I dropped into the office before heading home, and made a comment that I was heading home because it was highly likely that I would have power there and could at least sit in front of a fan and work. I also commented that God had been very good to me in terms of electricity since I'd been in Cambodia. I said this, since most of the places I've lived have been on electricity lines that seem to suffer less cuts than other lines.

Here's the question. Was I right to acknowledge this as God's goodness to me? Just because other people (who also know and love and serve Him) experience more power failures than I do, does it mean God is not good to them. What do you think? Should we say that God is good to us when we experience good things, and others experience more difficult situations. Are we saying He is less good to them, or that for some reason they haven't earned His goodness?

Here's what I think. God is good. It is His nature. God works in our lives in His perfect way. He doesn't dictate what is going to happen to us, but He does choose to bless us, and to work ALL things for good for those who are called, according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).

So has God been good to me in leading me to live in places that have a reasonably reliable electricity supply? Yes, I think He has. Has He been good to me in other ways. Yes. Was He any less good when I went through that difficult time 2 years ago? No. In fact, as I look back at that time I can see many examples of His goodness in the dark times. Was He any less good when He chose not to heal my father's cancer on this earth, but took him home? No. Yes, it hasn't been easy adapting to life without Dad around, especially for Mum, but God was good to us during the time of Dad's illness in many ways, and continued to be good during the years that have passed since then.

If the power went off right now, would I rant and rave and blame God and say He's not good any more? I hope not. Was God good when the power was off this afternoon? Yep! Even if I didn't enjoy it that much, God was still good. After all I could have been out in the hot sun, with no shelter, and nothing to drink. Now then I might have a reason to question His goodness. Does God change? No. So does His goodness change? No way. So, should I acknowledge God's goodness in everyday good things, even if others are having not so good experiences. What do you think? I'll be interested in your comments. Meanwhile, I'll finish this post by trying something I've never done before and adding a YouTube clip of a favourite song on this topic. Enjoy!