A Touch from Me, a Touch from Him
Two weeks ago I went by to visit my friend Shahaz, and found her in bed with severe back pain. Normally cheerful and animated, her face was pale and wore an exhausted expression. She slowly sat up and I began massaging her lower back, which seemed to give her some relief. Then I told her I was going to pray for her in Jesus’ name, and she gave me a small nod. My language isn’t good enough for a long prayer, but with my hand still on her back, I asked God to heal her and take away the pain, and to give her and her family peace. And I ended with, “in the name of Jesus” in the local language. She smiled, and after rubbing her back a little more, I left.
A few days later, my husband and I were passing by the grocery shop, and stopped to ask her husband how Shahaz was doing. He told us, “She’s fine. Her back is healed, thanks to your prayers.” We replied with the local phrase, “Thanks be to God,” and he responded, “Thanks to YOUR prayers.”
Last weekend was the end-of-Ramadan holiday, and we went by to visit again and found Shahaz busily passing out sweets and pouring tea, with her normal good humor and no trace of pain. As we drank our tea, she turned to a relative sitting next to her and began relating the story of how she had been in bed, and I had come to see her, massaged her back, and prayed for her, and how her pain had gone. “It was Jesus’ name,” she said, and repeated, “She prayed in Jesus’ name!”
Shahaz ended the story by saying, “She is a good friend to me. A really good friend!” Hearing that warmed my heart; knowing how to be a good friend in this culture is one of my most important goals. That, and learning how to connect my friends with Jesus, how to bring His touch of healing and love into their lives.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged healing, touch by Lisa
Girls Visit: Shopping Delight
What is it that we enjoy about shopping?
And why do we like doing it together?
No trip to India would be complete without shopping, especially when our daughters are involved. In our corner of the sub-continent, it means beautiful textiles, woven and embroidered in every combination of colors. I had done only a moderate amount of shopping prior to our girls’ visit, because there are only so many suits, shawls, and scarves one woman can wear, even in fashion-conscious India.
So here was my chance to do some serious shopping! 
Our local merchants, eager to help us feel at home, offered us chairs and chai. They showed us piles of embroidered shawls and scarves, many with detailed handwork. The type of wool our part of the world is famous for, “pashmina,” is feather-soft and light, but amazingly warm.
How often will Anna and Mary wear the lovely garments they carried home in their duffle bags? Probably only on rare special occasions. But that wasn’t the point. I loved seeing the delight on their faces as they gazed at the colorful stacks and racks in the shops. 
I found that, despite the many years I’ve known them, I couldn’t always guess which fabrics or shades they would choose. It was a joy to experience the chai and the bargaining together, and to share appreciation for the unique artistic tradition of this part of the world, a place I’m learning to call “home.”
Posted in Uncategorized by Lisa
Girls Visit: From Strangers to Family
I’m picking up where my last post left off, with more reflections on snapping photos, and how strangers become family. While our daughters were with us, we made visits to several neighbor families. Some of our closest neighbors are a large extended family of four generations. We were treated to an enormous meal there, with more spicy local dishes than we could possibly consume. 
Abbi, the 21-year-old granddaughter, was thrilled to finally meet the American girls she had heard so much about. She especially enjoyed making comparisons between our daughters, and discerned correctly that Anna resembles her father in many ways, and Mary is more like me.
We’ve been surprised to find that most families in this area wait until their daughters are in their early to mid-twenties before marrying them off. We haven’t been able to learn exactly why this is, but people tell us it’s better that way, and we would agree. Many of the 20-something daughters of our neighbors are well-educated, speak good English, and in some cases have jobs. So on our visits, they were able to talk with our daughters about things they have in common.
We spent an afternoon drinking chai at the home of Shahaz, who was my first real friend and the subject of one of my first blog posts. She has twin daughters; one is a school teacher and the other a dental hygienist. They talked with Anna and Mary about the ups and downs of their jobs, and were surprised to hear that the working life isn’t hassle-free in the US either! Then the talk turned, as it will, to the difficulty of finding a good man. Shahaz, suddenly inspired, turned to me and said, “I will find your daughters husbands here, if you will find American husbands for my daughters!” We all laughed.
After a round of photos, we got ready to leave. Shahaz gave our girls big hugs and told them that, when they return to America, they shouldn’t have any worries about me. “She is my sister,” she told them. “We will take care of her. You all are our family now.”
Posted in Uncategorized by Lisa