Observations & Curried Rice

We have to complete 1 observation and 1 ethnography a week. As many of you know I am a bit shy and I felt the ethnography might be a bit challenging for me so I began to pray that God would send me someone. Today when I went to the park to do an observation I sat down on a bench and immediately noticed that a mother and son were sitting beside me. They were both from Bangladesh and had lived in New York City for about one year. It wasn't long until the father came and joined in the conversation and they were quite talkative. I found many similarities between the Bangladesh culture and the Filipino culture which intrigued me. I had a few questions written down but because they were freely answering my questions I decided to ask what type of food they eat in Bangladesh. I don't think I will ask this question again because before I could take a deep breath Mohammed took out a paper plate and gave me curried rice and chai tea. It so reminded me of the Philippines. They will give the shirt off of their back to Americans. And yes, of course I do could nothing but eat it even though I protested I was full. He was so proud since he had fixed it himself. I must say it was very good. Well, sure enough the next afternoon I got the worst stomach ache and I rarely have stomach aches. Praise the Lord it didn't last long and I found myself thinking that it was worth it because my compliments on Mohammed's cooking made him smile. He was so pleased to be able to share his country with an interested American. They even asked me if I was Christian. I replied that I was and asked their thoughts and they both remarked that we are the same. It made me sad because I know they are not the same and unless God intervenes we will not be spending an eternity in Heaven. I think that is one of the hardest things about New York City for me. They are in such a hurry always, with blank faces and I often wonder at the number of lost souls. We are so thankful for you continued prayers that keep us encouraged. But would you pray for Redeemer and the PCA church plants in New York City and for the many, many lost souls here? It reminds me of Manila, with the sheer numbers of people (and there are many more in Manila) there are so many that have not heard the gospel.