I've been told I really should try to talk with them, it wouldn't look right. Well, for the most part, that's not a problem. He doesn't speak a lick on English and the Urdu that comes out of his mouth I can't understand a single word of it. Until the other day. He saw me walking the kids home and followed me, talking about what, I wasn't really sure. I understood the word for night, and then he sorta showed putting something over himself, like a blanket and then I heard the word for children. I immediately knew what he needed. It's been incredibly cold lately - the paper talking about the cold waves that have come in. In my times of moaning of how cold I am in my house, I've been immediately humbled as I've thought of those who are living in worse conditions.
He needed a blanket to keep his kids warm at night. But I'm learning, take a little time to understand what is the right way to do things, besides, I didn't have any money on me and that's usually the last thing you want to do. I asked him to come back at 4 pm, after my language lesson, hoping I'd know better how to talk to him. Well, I didn't have a clue what to say, but was told to ask my landlord's son to come with me to talk to him. He said the man needed cotton for a blanket. And then he told him to leave. I was bothered by the way it went down. I'm sure the man just didn't express himself clearly. What was understood was that the cotton that stuffs the blankets was needed, but you don't just go buy it somewhere, so Aamir told him to go.
I felt uneasy about it and told him that I had wanted to help him out some way. He said to wait and see if he comes back. He didn't, but today, when I went to the store, he ran up to me and offered his services. He was talking so quickly, gesturing as he went. I kept telling him I didn't understand what he was saying, but that didn't stop him. Then he pointed out the shop that makes the blankets that are filled with cotton. I immediately knew what I must do. He told me how much they cost (roughly $10). I called a friend to get an opinion on the price and felt good about what was being said. So, as he dropped me off, I asked him to come back in about an hour (I actually said the wrong time, but it all worked out fine). If he showed up, then we would get him a blanket on the way back. He came and what a humbling experience when I asked him to stop in front of the shop and pick out a blanket. He wanted red. We looked at one and found a rip. There was one that he really liked, but rickshaw drivers aren't usually treated with much respect and you could see his timidity and asking for the one that had caught his eye. But he finally did, we bickered about the price and walked away with a new blanket. As he dropped me off at my home, I mentioned how nice it was going to be that this evening his family would be warm. He humbly smiled and rode off. I think it warmed my heart more than it is ever going to warm him or his children.
And who knows. Maybe, just maybe, he spun me a line and took the blanket back and split the cash with the shop owner. But I did what I felt in my heart I was supposed to do and in doing so, I gave to the poor and the cold, I gave to Christ.
2 comments:
Tears in my eyes.
It does seem hard to know what to do in these situations, esp. with the cultural differences...but if we're always so uptight about whether we're getting ripped off or not, then we'll probably never take the opportunity to meet needs! Besides, it doesn't seem like you made any kind of rash decision there, since you consulted other people, too. :)
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