Sisters

All day breakfast. Now that’s my kind of restaurant. Pancakes. Crepes. Scrambled eggs and bacon. Any time of day. Mmmm, heaven. And it is affordable too.

We went there to celebrate our two eldest children filling their garden-style reward chart with laminated flowers, bees, caterpillars and butterflies. It took two whole weeks and a lot of encouragement, but we’d finally made it.

So, tonight we were off to a restaurant that we often drive by as it is close to our house. We managed to arrive soon after 5pm before it’s 6pm closing time (no one seems to want omelets after dark).

While we were ordering, the owner made a passing comment and my ears pricked up. “You are a Christian then?”, I asked her.

She beamed. “Yes. Of course. Since I was 12.”

I almost screamed with delight. (I can be a bit excitable sometimes but it is always wonderful to find a sister – particularly this far from home).

She quickly summarised her life story. An orphan, supported by some foreigners, she started a business at the beach town of Kampong Som. Two years ago, she moved to this prime location right next to a busy market.

While we were eating, she introduced her husband to us, who had just arrived home from work. Others also continued to file through the small restaurant to the back rooms where they all lived. It must be a full house.

We continued to chat as we ordered desert as well. I asked her how business was going. Sometimes busy. Sometimes quiet. The hottest months are always the slowest (I guess it’s because she doesn’t have aircon) which makes it a little hard to pay the rent.

I commented on how affordable the food is… she smiled. “Yes. Some restaurants charge very high prices for this kind of food. But I don’t want to make too much money. I don’t want to make too little money either. Just enough for me and my family.”

Now that's someone I am proud to call a sister...