Worth Gawking At

Tonight I had my first chance to walk into the slums that are just across the street from my house. As I approached the first alley the smell of urine was overwhelming. Men sat, barely clothed, on outdoor cots just to escape the heat of the inside of their "home". A little boy stood in the alleyway wearing absolutely nothing.

As we got further in the smell turned slightly more pleasant due to the little pots of burning coal used to heat the food that they have.

We passed a larger than life Hindu idol sitting out in the street amidst all the homes as if his job was to protect them or give them good fortune. Something tells me he's not answering.

As we approached some women, S was able to start some conversations just talking about children and how they are a blessing from The Lord. One woman said no we are in charge of how many children we have.

We continued chatting and were eventually invited in after having our picture taken by a man who attempted to speak English. It's really a big deal here to see Americans as we are far enough away from a major city and there are only 2 families from the States in this town.

The home we entered was only lived in by a family of five but when we went inside practically the whole community followed. There were probably 30 people inside this little concrete living room complete with a fridge and a pot of coals for heating food. What should have been the kitchen held an old fashioned sowing machine which the lady used to make pillow cases.

We were offered water and of course did not refuse for fear of offending the ones who had invited us in.

At one point, a little boy about 12 or so, was so in awe that two white women were sitting on his couch that he was bent over head cocked staring in the face of my friend as she spoke. His sister promptly slapped him to get him to come back to his senses. I looked to my left and saw the crowd that had gathered. At that moment, I thought to myself "if they are this excited to see two average Americans, what would be their reaction should they have the chance to come face to face with their savior. What a life changing day that would be!

I plan to go back to that little community just across the street from my house to practice language among the people there. And hopefully one day soon I can introduce them to Someone really worth gawking at, the one who gave up everything.