Two months ago I was having Morning Tea in our office in Phnom Penh as five other incoming staff and I were warmly welcomed to Samaritan’s Purse Cambodia. With lost luggage that hadn’t quite made it on my flight that had arrived around twelve hours earlier, I stood amongst many unfamiliar but friendly faces. Even though my roommate Bella and I were wearing the same clothing we had traveled in for a day and half, our new coworkers were unphased and made all of our luggage woes quickly disappear. After hearing everyone pronounce their names, I wondered how I would ever remember any of them. And while I had trouble pronouncing their names, my coworkers also had trouble pronouncing mine. I can’t tell you the number of times I heard people say something remarkably similar to “Pig” instead of Paige. But it was nice to know that the genuine struggle to get each other’s names right was mutual. Even better, the confusion from both sides lended itself to lots of laughter… one of my favorite things.
During Morning Tea on my first day in Cambodia, I remember being so excited to talk to the other two interns who were there, ironically named Erin and Aaron. They also came from North America and had already been in Phnom Penh for some time— one for a month and the other for a week. Despite the eagerness to be in an entirely new culture, it was comforting to have people close in age who could show my roommate and I the ropes in our native language. Erin and Aaron were so welcoming and eager to give us tips on what they had already learned during their short time in Cambodia.
One of the most notable memories of Morning Tea two months ago was all the exotic (and positively scrumptious) food I got to try. As my eyes feasted over the colorful array of fruits and baked goods on the carved wooden table before me, people explained what each treat was. There was dragon fruit, sliced in beautiful chunks with a juicy white inside and tiny black seeds… something unexpected from its thick, purple outer shell. There were also mini bananas and pastel orange jackfruit, which has a taste vaguely reminiscent of cotton candy. And then, to my elation, I discovered that the waffles on the table were made out rice flour and therefore gluten free! As I stood amongst unfamiliar yet sweet food and people, I hoped for meaningful friendships to be formed. However, all the while I was uncertain if barriers of language and culture would get in the way.
This morning I was having Morning Tea in our office in Phnom Penh as my Bong (Sister) Tivea announced that I would be leaving Cambodia on Saturday. I felt both blessed and sad as I looked around at the beautiful faces of each and every brother and sister in Christ that I have grown to love during my time here. I couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown and I had not anticipated feeling so reluctant to leave. I shared this sentiment with everyone, telling them how much I had loved my time here and how thankful I was for how beautifully they had shown me the love of Christ. As we stood in a circle, my Pilipino coworker Raul prayed over me while another Khmer sister Dalya laid her hand on my shoulder.
After Raul’s prayer we ate a feast of delectable food… food that now tastes like home. As we all circled the table of Khmer goodie, my supervisor Samson and I talked about our love jackfruit while I devoured many pieces, as well as a slice of dragon fruit. I also ate three bananas in the span of about five minutes. I was touched when Tivea presented me with a Khmer cookbook, which I later discovered was filled with lovely little notes from my coworkers. I knew I would miss my coworkers so much… their sweet and loving smiles, goofy sense of humor, and eagerness to become friends. I knew I would miss greeting them in Khmer and singing alongside them in morning devotions. And yet, even though the thought of leaving was bitter, being with all my wonderful new friends during Morning Tea was also very, very sweet— even sweeter than the jackfruit and bananas.
I was so filled with joy after Morning Tea because God had given me a tremendous gift… the gift of an international family of believers. In a room filled with people from Cambodia, India, Australia, Thailand, South Sudan, the Philippines, and America, we all had one thing in common— our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What an amazing glimpse of Revelation 7:9-10 it was to be standing together in our office this morning: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a Loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Morning tea… a glimpse of the greater feast to come.