Meal time at the Best Center is a joy. About 25 people sit around this table. The meal begins with a round the table scripture. Each student and staff member reads a verse. Philippians and Proverbs are the current readings, noon and evening. Prayer is lead by the young men then each of us fills our own bowl. The common meal is rice with a vegetable and meat stir fry. Tom and I do not recognize many of the vegetables.
The Center population has outgrown this dining room table for meals but it makes a great place for the buffet meals. The first item is always the rice cooker full of rice. We each grab a bowl and a soup spoon. Then we get our own food and go back to the looong table for our meal together. The conversations begin around us, of which Tom and I understand very little. But we are not left out as the students do their best to practice their English skills with us.
This is not the typical meal. Whole fish were grilled for this meal, along with a great turmeric sauce, lettuce, sliced cucumbers and fruit for dessert. Awy (the cook) usually debones the fish for Tom and me and the little girls who live here. We feel honored but keep telling her that we are capable of taking care of the bones. She does not want us to choke.
Thursday evenings are special times. The Christians in this area gather at the BEST CENTER for a meal prepared by our staff. The tables fill the meeting room and bowls of rice are on the tables when everyone arrives. The bowls in the center of the table are filled with something to eat with the rice. It could be stir fry, soup, porridge (my favorite), fresh vegetables, etc. Every week seems to be different. There are usually about 50 in attendance.
It takes only a few minutes to clear the tables, wipe them down, put them away, wash the dishes, and arrange the chairs for group singing. We enjoy singing with them whenever there is a companion English song for their selections. We have almost learned a few of the songs that are strictly Khmer and can at least hum along with them.
Several of the young men in this photos are former and present students at CBI (Cambodian Bible Institute). They are becoming leaders in the church in Phnom Penh and in rural villages across Cambodia. We have enjoyed seeing the growth that is taking place. Their singing is so much better than it was the first time we came to Cambodia. They do not use four part harmony like we do in the States, but their enthusiasm is contagious.
There are also members of the Phnom Penh Church of Christ who join this singing time. The man on the right is one of those leaders. The man in the blue shirt is Paul. He is and Amrican now living near the BEST CENTER and volunteers here teaching English to the dorm students, especially when no other volunteers are here. He also is teaching Bible to those Cambodians who request that kind of study. His love for this work is apparent.
How many American women would enjoy preparing meats and vegetables on the floor mat? I'm not sure that I would be able to stand up after so long on the floor. This is the common way that this is done in this country. Every morning Awy comes home from the market and she and her helper get out the mat and begin their food preparation. When we go to the villages, there are no counters on which to work. There are no table and chairs on which to eat. This culture keeps their people more flexible than mine.
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