Loving memories of our dearest sister Judy...

How blessed we were to have shared such a precious time with our darling sister Judith in Cambodia last year! I remember when brother Meng Him asked her sheepishly if it was ok to call her Judy because Cambodians have such difficulty in pronouncing ‘th’ in English. From that time on she was affectionately ‘Judy’ to all the Khmer people.

Judy loved Cambodia from the time she left the plane at the airport – I don’t think a smile left her face the whole time she was here, unless it was for a compassionate thought for people struggling or in need. The young people loved her so much - brother Vitou reflected yesterday with much affection, at how he was so happy she had been there for his baptism. We did so much together in the two weeks that Tim and Judy were here…our road trip to Siem Reap, calling in to see the students at LCDI in the province, the wonderful occasion of taking five young Cambodian men in a boat on the Mekong for their baptism, sharing many days teaching and talking at the dorms, making flowers with Nirath and lying in hammocks overlooking the river.

Judy was a tireless worker at BEC – we used to laugh about how it was impossible to beat her to the sink to wash-up, or to the washing machine to hang out the next load of washing. The clothes were barely dry and we would hear the familiar squeak of the ironing board – yes, there she was again, doing someone’s ironing!

We laughingly told the family back home how, with youthful excitement, she had jumped on the back of Nirann’s motorbike and sped off for a tour of the city…everyone was amazed that she had thrown caution to the wind and so fully immersed herself in this daunting, but exciting, city of Phnom Penh.

Judy absolutely loved the Cambodian babies and took every opportunity to nurse and cuddle the chubby little bubs that we would pass in the street or at the markets. The proud mothers were more than happy to pass their little parcels over to this beautiful ‘foreigner’ whose genuine love was all around her.

Of course all who come to BEC in Cambodia find a special place in their heart for sister Loy – but none more so than Judy. Judy and Loy shared a special bond and thanks to the grace of our Father, this bond will never be broken.

Our Worship Service yesterday in Cambodia remembered our Lord Jesus Christ, and Judy was there with us in our hearts. Brother Veasna closed with a beautiful prayer of thanks for our darling sister. His prayer asked God to strengthen those who now mourn, but he encouraged us to wipe away the tears and look to the fulfillment of God’s promise when we will all be together, forever. Following the worship service we joined together for our usual time of questions from the unbaptised dormers. They wanted to ask about the time when Jesus returns, so we read together from 1 Thessalonians 5 and talked about Judy. We have all experienced that amazing feeling of knowing that God leads us to the scripture, which will bring us comfort when we need it most and this was certainly the case for me as we read these verses…

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Rest in peace, our darling sister, and in the twinkling of an eye we will be together forever...

Lynne and Steve