Hospitality

Do you practice hospitality?  I discovered that in many places in Africa, you should not expect to be invited to someone's home, you should just show up.  They will welcome you into their home and serve you something to eat.  It might take a while (if they have to kill the chicken and cook it) but you are expected to stay and visit.  There is a saying:  "Americans have watches, we have time."  Just as you are expected to just drop in for a visit without an invitation, you should be prepared for visitors to just drop in on you.  I will need to always be prepared to have something to serve to my friends who visit.  For many Americans this might not be a comfortable practice.  This shouldn't be too hard for me since I raised three children.  I never knew when they might bring home a friend or one of their friends might just show up.  I actually miss those days.  As I make new friends in West Africa, I pray that I will enjoy many opportunities to practice hospitality.  Don't be so busy that you fail to practice hospitality.  You just might find that it can be a real blessing not only to your guests but also to yourself.