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In Hyderabad, things are changing in the neighborhood! Read this story, and ask God, what can I do in my neighborhood?

God is at work and wants to reach the people there!

John 5:¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

CHAI AND SAMOSAS by Ruth Khanna

A couple of months ago, I felt like God wanted us to go out and serve tea and a snack to a specific group of women.

I had been meeting this group of women – all of them working at a bank training institute, while on my morning walk, and as they passed me, we would exchange greetings. One of them had worked in our home before, so she would ask in detail about each member of our family, including our pets! These women would pass me towards the end of my walk – around 7.30 am. They would work all the way up to 5.00 pm. It was a long hard day, and they would come to work after cooking and packing “tiffin” for their husbands and children. I felt God say that perhaps it would be nice to serve them tea and a snack at the end of their day’s work – for no reason, but just to show we cared. We did that, and the environment changed.

The first time we served tea and samosas, we chatted and laughed. There were some cable repair men nearby and we asked them to have some chai and samosas too. People working in the buildings nearby popped their heads out and saw our table set up with flasks and a box of samosas, and came out smiling as we waved to them. They joined us on the side of the road. One watchman brought his young children. It was just an amazing time of fellowship and feeling God’s love surround us.

The next time we served tea and samosas in the same lane, we moved our table a bit, so we were still accessible to the women from the bank, while also being in view of other lanes nearby. Auto wallas parked nearby, smiled and asked what we were up to. We told them we just felt like serving tea and snacks in Jesus’s name. This was the first time we were mentioning Jesus. They thought that was really nice, and came up to the table and helped themselves to the refreshments on the table. One of them went to call some watchmen from another building, and as women who were employed in nearby houses went by us on their way home, we offered them tea and samosas too. They stopped and chatted. The women who work at the bank, then asked for me to pray for them and their families. I had to do this in Hindi and Telugu! Saraswati (who has worked in our home for many years and who came to Jesus last year) stepped in to help when one of the women needed some advice and counselling.

Each time, as we stood around the table, I saw such pleasure in a simple activity such as drinking a cup of tea and eating a humble samosa. It struck me then that when we blessed the food, and because we were doing what God asked us to, this whole activity took on new meaning. Now I feel as if we are sharing Holy Communion together and that even as these people partake of this very simple feast, they feel the love and comfort of God.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. (Luke 24:30-35) (My prayer is that these women’s eyes will soon open and they will see and know their Heavenly Father)

What can you do this week to bless your neighbors? Let us know what God tells you to do! God is at work!