By Manon Lane
More than 200 people took a global tour without leaving Trevecca’s campus Friday night, as the international student club NAMASTE, hosted the eighth annual Taste the Nations.
Trevecca students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to sample food from 15 different countries before the global entertainment and worship began.
“I really like the Chinese food,” said Trevecca freshman Dalisa White, who looked forward to tasting food from different countries as a way to prepare for international travel. This summer she will spend a week in El Salvador on her first mission trip.
Members of NAMASTE shared their different cultures through personal stories, skits, poetry, song and dance, and scripture reading.
Each year, NAMASTE’s faculty advisors, and program coordinators, professors Roy and Jooly Philip, try to add a new experience to the program.
This year they added singing. Roy Philip was especially excited to be able to include a multi-cultural version of What a Friend We Have in Jesus, sung in English, Hindi, Spanish, Malayalam, and Korean. The audience was invited to sing along in their chosen language.
Audience members were able to experience Bible verse, Romans 6:23, in 19 different languages, including American Sign Language, Russian, Tagalog, KiSwahili, and Portuguese to name a few.
As NAMASTE members recited the verse, the scripture simultaneously appeared on a screen, in that written language.
Roy Philip’s favorite part is people getting to hear Jesus Christ’s name, in different languages.
“That’s the whole purpose of this; we want to show unity in diversity,” said Roy Philip. “We may not be united with our food, we may not be united in the way that we dress, but the only reason we are united is because of Christ.”
The event culminated with a slide show of world headlines reminding the audience of the global issues facing so many people.
Freshman Justienne Coronel, nursing major from the Philippines, is a member of NAMASTE and participated in bringing Taste the Nations to the Trevecca community.
“I love that Trevecca has things like this, because they don’t have it everywhere,” said Coronel. “I’m really glad that my country is being presented to people in such a great light.”
