Impromptu Tea Time

I'm always looking for green spaces for Keira to play in.  The park is nice, but it is usually very crowded, and parking is never easy.

One day, I loaded Keira's bike and drove to my friend Dalia's neighborhood.  She told me she wouldn't be home, but I could park at her house.  As we were riding, we came upon this large, green empty space. 

Keira parked her bike and took off running.

There was one older lady sitting way on the other side in a folding chair all by herself, so I wandered over.

She spoke a different dialect of the language I am learning, but we were able to communicate some.  She was very kind, and what I gathered is that she had gone to the market, and when she returned, she had been locked out.  She was patiently waiting for her sister to return.

We sat together for awhile, and then a neighbor she knew pulled up on the other side of the green space.  They greeted across the grass, but soon the lady and her daughter came over for a more appropriate "hello."

The daughter spoke English and help translate for me between her mother and the older lady.  After about 3 minutes, this sweet mother said she was going to make tea and bring it for us.

What I didn't know is that she meant a real tea party!

Her son came out carrying a table!  

He walked it all the way across the field, and while he went back for snacks and a table cloth, his sister went to the older lady's house and brought four chairs from her porch.

Then, while the mother was still making tea, the older lady sat at the table, and the daughter played soccer with Keira.

Tea arrived in fashion!

This kind of hospitality is rare! 

I had never met these ladies before, yet they welcomed me so warmly.

The large box on the table is some special Turkish coffee packets she liked.  We were talking about what she liked, and when she found out I had never heard of her favorite kind, she had her daughter go back to her house and get me not just one packet, but the entire box to take home!

They were all so kind and invited me to come back anytime I wanted.  We exchanged phone numbers, pictures, and I have since run into her and her daughter at the grocery store.

This was such a lovely God-surprise on a beautiful day when I thought we were just going for a bike ride.  I hope we all remember to take notice of how God sometimes chooses to love on us through the people around us.