An Incredible Blessing

I wrote the other day that my daughter, Lauren, wanted to invite some foreign students from Rice University to our house for the 4th of July. When she asked me if it would be OK, I realized that instead of spending a nice, quiet day with the family, I was being given (“called?”) a “wonderful” opportunity to “do good.” This post is to let you know how it went.

In short, it was incredibly rewarding. The students arrived around 4:00 p.m. They were INCREDIBLY polite and glad to have the opportunity. One even brought us a platter of baklava pastry (hmmmm, good!).

I had been concerned about language barriers and having to repeat myself to be understood and having to ask our guest to repeat himself so I could understand and all the awkwardness that goes along with that. These guys speak better English than I do! They had initially been rejected by Rice because of concerns about their language skills, but when representatives from Rice actually met them and TALKED with them, they were blown away and admitted them. They told us they started learning English in their home country in grammar school. Three of the guys are 18-19 years old, one is the “old guy” in the group. He’s 24 and is in grad school.

After getting to know each other a bit — and eating baklava and chips & dip — the guys and my two yungin’s headed out to the pool. You would have thought this was just any youth group hangin at the pool. They soon had rigged up out of my pool vac and St. Francis statue (he was the line judge) a make-shift water volleyball court! They played for over an hour while I cooked good ole fashioned hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, which they wolfed down later with all the zest of any college boys. Before we ate, I asked the guys if they would mind if we prayed (not knowing their religious background but assuming they are Muslim, as a host, I thought I should ask). They eagerly wanted me to do so. I did close my prayer with “in Your name” vs. “In Jesus’ name.” I hope Jesus sees this as I do — not a cop out but an act of hospitality.

After dinner, I gave my kids a little Independence Day quiz. The four foreign guys knew more than my own kids did about US history! (They said they learned it just in the month they’ve been here.) We then drove down to the Miller Outdoor Theater and listened to the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s concert and watched the fireworks. They were thrilled! When I got up this morning, I discovered I had already been invited to be friends with one on Facebook!

I know that not all opportunities to follow simple rule #2 to do good will result in blessing. I suspect I’ll discover that some such opportunities come at a cost. But this one was an incredible blessing.