I am really growing to adore my neighbors across the street. They are involved in the Comunidad Cristiana in a variety of ways and the whole town can tell from the mom's enthusiasm, warmth, and genuine goodness that she for one is a person transformed by her relationship with God. We see them often and they are becoming increasingly important in my life for a number of reasons other than just seeing them at weekly worship meetings. One is that the mom does our laundry (by hand and then irons every piece). Another is that one of the daughters, a 30 yr old single mom of 2 who doesn't attend the Comunidad, is an enthusiastic participant in Alpha and the knitting group. And a third is that the mom is providing childcare during Alpha for free as an offering to us and to God.

Today when the mom came over to drop off our laundry, I asked her if the whole crew could come over next week for lunch (the main meal of the day). She agreed, but when I asked her how many people would be available (not at work or school), she seemed a little confused and said she'd get back to me. Then she looked up at me and asked, "Are you inviting us to come over for lunch?" Yes, I said, a little confused myself now. What had we been talking about all this time? "No one has ever invited us over for lunch," she said.

Now there's still a chance that there's some confusion here. I started to doubt myself later and think that maybe I communicated to her that we were taking them out to lunch. But what if there wasn't a misunderstanding? What if she really has never been invited to someone's home for a meal? Is it possible? I get excited thinking about how many chances we have here to be a blessing to others. And I'm looking forward to having the lot of them for Black Bean Chilaquile, Mango Avocado Salad, and my housekeeper's delicious garlicky, oily, slightly crispy rice.

1 Comment

1. Anonymous on June 15, 2008 at 10:12 AM

   Oh, I wish I were closer. I would so love to meet your neighbors--and to sample the tastey sounding food:-) Mom