Rats!

I went to visit my friend Kusum the other day. She lives in the neighborhood next to us. I met my coworker and we walked together. Kusum lives in a one room (I guess you could call it studio) apartment. There is room for a double bet and a cot. We entered in the groundfloor apartment and asked if Kusum was home. That lady walked us up to the second floor and yelled to Kusum that she had company. Kusum was sleeping on the cot with her daughter, but she got up quickly to greet us. We sat on the bed. So Kusum went outside the room to the little kitchen area and started making chai for us. She had to send someone to the market to buy some snacks to give us too. So as Rhonda and I sat on the bed, we discussed what we wanted to talk about with Kusum. Rhonda was memorizing a story in Hindi and I suggested she try and share it with Kusum. It was the story of Jesus calming the storm.

While Rhonda was practicing I noticed a movement on the floor out of the corner of my eye. I'm use to seeing mice so I thought that was what it was. Sure enough, I saw the little guy. It was white, which is unusual. Then Rhonda saw what she thought was another one, but was actually the same one that moves fast from one place to another. I started thinking that maybe this was a pet since it was white. So I yelled to Kusum to ask her. She came in and called for "Kichi" to come. She grabbed the little creature and put him on the bed next to me. Normally I would freak out, but I kept my cool. On closer look I decided that this wasn't a mouse, but a rat. And I remember that rats are actually quite clean creatures and don't bite. I learned that from a pet store. So I picked up the rat.

I thought about all the diseases we could be getting. Why am I holding a rat? I put Kichi back on the ground for him to run around. He went in some bowls and cups, looking for food. He climbed on some clothes on the floor. I wonder if those bowls get washed well and disinfected? I wonder about our chai cups and if Kichi had had chai out of them before? Kusum put him back on the bed and he smelled our snacks. Rhonda was quick to pull him away and tell him "no Kichi!" Then we ate and drank our chai.

Rhonda got to share two stories with Kusum. She first shared Jesus calming the storm and then the woman at the well. I asked Kusum to tell us the story back and she did great.

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we drink water that could make us wake up with the runs? Why do we eat on plates that a rat ate on? Why on earth did I hold a rat? Just so we can share these stories with Kusum. When we were preparing to leave, Kusum told us her husband was sick and I told her we would pray for him. And as we walked away we rejoiced that God's word was shared and that He will use it in Kusum.