anju.

On the second night we arrived in this country, I remember laying wakeful in Richey and Keli’s guest room and praying, “Lord, can you please give me a house helper – soon?”

I felt so guilty praying it … it seemed somehow trivial in light of our purpose for being here.  But after one full day in Keli’s apartment, I saw all it takes to care for a home and family, and I felt panic welling up inside me.  So I sent that desperate plea to my Father.

And he answered.

He provided Anju that first Saturday, four days after my prayer.

Virtually every South Asian house has a helper – some have several, and some have their house help live with them.  Anju works for my friends, Keli and Colleen, two hours a day, six days a week.  Because she speaks very little English, Colleen asked a mutual friend to communicate to her that I was looking for a helper, and Anju agreed to work for me also.

My slot of the day is smack in between Keli and Colleen.  Anju works for us from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon.

From spending time with my friends, I learned what things she does for them and what will be most helpful for me.  A top priority is the dust situation, since I – and I suspect also my children – have dust allergies.  So every day Anju sweeps and mops our floors, sweeps our rugs (they do not use vacuum cleaners here), and dusts the furniture.

Another issue is the dishes.  Obviously we have no dish washer, and all South Asian counters are built very low (when I stand straight with my hands at my sides, the counters reach just above my fingertips).  It is hard on my back to wash dishes often and will be when I start cooking more too I am sure.  In addition, the tap water is not clean so every dish must be thoroughly dried before it’s safe to use.

So every day Anju comes and washes a counter-full of dishes so that I can dry them later.

She cleans our bathrooms whenever we ask.  And best of all, yesterday she cooked us a mouth-watering pot full of homemade chapati – a South Asian wheat flat bread.  We had a houseful of our teammates for dinner, got buttered chicken take-out from this amazing place down the street, and devoured it all.

So.  That is Anju.  She has a very sweet spirit, loves the kids, and works so hard for us.

The most difficult thing about her is our inability to communicate beyond a simple greeting and my telling her what to do.  I hate that.  It is a great motivator to learn some of our state language (although actually her native language is from another state southeast of us).

She is God’s greatest gift to me since arriving here.

I can’t believe how quickly he answered my prayer.  And in the way he provided Anju, he said, “Don’t feel guilty about this.  The way you feel right now is not trivial.  It has everything to do with why you are here.  I see you – one human being in a sea of humanity in one of the most populated countries in the world.  I see you, and you matter to me.  And I’m going to provide for you.”

And so I thank him for this provision, every day, multiple times a day, often with tears in my eyes.

He is taking care of us.