The large room is packed with tables and people. This restaurant is, I'm told, more typical of the area. The clientele is, as best I can figure, predominately Hindu, though I'm confident there are a few Muslims as well. There is no sense of bad blood, and the servers scoop large portions of rice and curry onto plates. Everyone eats with their fingers, including the young man across from me. His motions stutter as if nervous, but he smiles at me broadly showing no other signs of ill-ease.
He introduces himself. We chat briefly about my visit to the area. Then he asks in a slightly pitched-shifted tone, "Are you a Christian?"
"I am."
His smile widens even further. "I am a Christian too!"
A moment before he asks me questions about the church I visited and tells me about his six hour commute "home" each weekend where he worships in "his" church with his parents. His smile was contagious, as was the joy of meeting a brother in Christ halfway around the world. Not that I didn't know other Christians in the area. I had visited a service with hundreds of them. But this was the first to connect with me as a fellow follower of Christ.
I've seen him a few times since that meal. Each time his glad smile turns toward me in greeting. And each time, no matter where I am, I reminded that I am not alone.
I have family here.
As you travel the world in your Sonlight books--or, if you're so blessed, physically--do you find it encouraging to learn about our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ scattered about the globe? I do.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
