A home stay and hospitality
By Susan Barlow
Picture yourself standing with 26 other Presbyterian Women, waiting for your name to be called to connect you with an Indian Presbyterian woman in whose home you’ll stay for the night. What are you thinking? “Shall I shake hands or bow?” “Will I enjoy the food?” “Can we even talk to each other?”
As these thoughts raced through my head in Shillong, India, my name and the name of my host were called. Suddenly, a small but very determined lady took my hand and said, “Come, come.” That was the beginning of a delightful friendship.
After being shown my bedroom and bath, we had tea. My host, Milandon, then prayed and sent me to bed. In our conversations, I mentioned that the little brooms I had seen people using looked very efficient and I might try to take one home. Within a half hour, there were two, folded and taped for packing. There also were four packages of tea that I had said I was going to buy for my daughter.
As a finale, we had a dinner with all the host families and Global Exchange participants. My family dressed me in a beautiful red Indian dress, complete with red lace blouse and scarf. I was told to keep the outfit as a gift.
When it was time to say goodbye, Milandon and I were both in tears. What a memorable and lasting 48-hour experience!
Susan traveled to India in October 2011 with Presbyterian Women’s Global Exchange.
Invite the participant from your synod to your next event to share more insights from this life-changing trip.
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