Come and Eat!
By Mara, Current Missionary in Thailand
We call her Yaay, which means grandma, like we do with all the elderly women here as a form of respect, but with Yaay Khay, she really is our grandmother. She has known the missionaries for years. When we go to visit, we never have to worry about catching her at home – she’s been homebound for a long time. She can’t sit up anymore, but the house is so small she can reach everything she needs from her bed. Enclosed in those four walls, she leaves the door cracked open most of the time for a breeze and, maybe, to feel more connected to the bustling world outside that she has long been separated from. We often find her sleeping, but she always says, “Come whenever you can! Come when you feel lonely! Come when you feel bored! Come when you have questions! Come when you want to practice your Thai! Come and take a rest!”
Recently on my way back from Thai class I decided to pop in and see if she’d had lunch yet and if she needed a bath. I entered and settled down cross-legged next to her on the mattress as usual; with her we can “taam sabaay” (make ourselves at home). We chatted a little and she said she’d already eaten, so I figured I would eat when I went home. “Do you want a bath Yaay?” “Yes, please! Nobody has helped me since the last time you came.” That had been over a week ago. Before starting the sponge bath, Yaay asked me to step outside so she could use her bed pan, something she refuses to let us help with. I waited on the step a while and finally knocked again, “Yaay, are you done yet? Do you need help?” “Wait a moment!” she called back. I sat back down to wait, thinking about lunch and all the work waiting for me at home.
Finally, the door opened. I entered to find that she had spread a colorful sheet out on the bed like a tablecloth next to her and arranged rice, soup, and stir-fry (from the neighbor) in separate dishes. Somehow from where she lay on the bed, she had laid out a feast for me! Her eyes twinkled up at me upside down from where she lay as she said, “Come and eat! You must be hungry!” She grinned mischievously, thrilled with her little trick. It seemed to me that it was Jesus who had prepared the meal for me.
We say our mission is to be an instrument of God’s mercy and compassion, but more often it is I who encounter God’s love peeking out at me from in between the rundown houses, broken concrete, and wrinkled faces.