Dinner with Thomas and Benita

Today was a very domestic day. Jess and I spent most of the morning working around the house, trying to make CDH-I a nice home. We mopped, cleaned, hung up a dish rack and totally reorganized the kitchen. All this was preparation for guest night #2. We were expecting Thomas and Benita, the couple we mentioned earlier that works with college age students.

Benita brought over a grocery list for what to buy and she and Thomas volunteered to come over to teach us to cook rice and dahl, the traditional meal in India. As is the Indian way, the power was out for most of the day which limited us to prep certain items (ie, the delicious brownies that Ashley had prepared for the night). However, as is the Indian way, the show must go on. Thomas and Benita came over right as the power came back on. They had also invited Steve, an American that lives a few villages up. So, the cooking began (some with electricity, some without). It is amazing to me that they are not phased one bit by no power. They just light a candle or two and continue in the work. They also brought over chicken to fry.

Fellowship.

Benita preparing.

Our amazing cooks/ teachers!

After spending about three hours together prepping for the meal, we finally sat down (on the floor) to enjoy this meal (with our hands-no utensils required!). The conversations were so encouraging. We really feel like Thomas is one of the first people that we’ve met that totally understands what we are trying to accomplish here in Manali. He is a genuine believer with a genuine heart for the lost. He also shared a lot about discipleship and community (interesting since we are the Community Discipleship Home…) We love this evening and hope that Thomas and Benita can really pour into this program.