Guess Who's Going to Dinner

I want to tell you a story:

Our business associates came to visit us from another city.  They came overnight on a train and all four of them (three were children) shared a train bed.  In their compartment was a man who snored louder than any human should be able to snore.  While the children could sleep through the sound, the mother, Jill*, could literally feel his breath coming at her.  Jill recounted, “It would have been terrible except every snore was different.  Each time I wondered what sound was going to come out next.”

While this man may have been a nuisance during the sleeping hours, he was a huge blessing during the waking hours of the train ride.  He spent several hours playing Go Fish with the children and entertaining the baby. 

I hadn't met this man, but I had heard the stories and rumors of his extreme decibel range.  However, a week and a half after our friends arrived for their visit we decided to accept the invitation to have dinner at this man’s house.  After driving in circles around a certain area and asking at least a dozen times where his building was, we resigned ourselves to going by foot.  While we walked, we found someone who could lead us to the building.  He was so friendly and his family seemed genuinely excited to see us.  The first thing that hit me as I walked into their flat was the penetratingly sweet smell of incense burning to an image of a Hindu god. 

They served us a wonderful dinner composed of all of the favorite dishes that my friend and her children had told him about on the train.  We met their sweet Pakistani neighbors for a bit.  But we spent most of the time just chatting with the man and laughing at the babies.  The man, Kasan*, told us about his career as an engineer.  But his secret passion is cooking….which showed in the excellent food.  Kasan also is a passionate educator and told us several stories about his students. 

We talked about Jesus some too.  He told us that his favorite thing that Jesus said is to be like little children.  Kasan had really pondered this and seemed to understand the depth of that statement.  Before we left, we offered a prayer and song for his family.  In return he pulled out this beautiful wooden flute.  Soon we were whisked away into his enchanting melodies.  I had forgotten just how much I love live music.  We hope to have Kasan and his family over for a meal soon. 

This is just one example of the kindness of strangers in India:  Met on a train.  Invited strangers into their home.  Made wonderful food and music.  Talked about Jesus.  Left as friends.