Dad and I scootered to the airport to pick up Uncle Mamaya from Oman. Uncle Mamaya is Mom's younger brother.
Dad commented that Hyderabad used to be very simple, uncrowded, mild, back 10 years ago, but now it's become more and more like Kolkata and Mumbai. More traffic, pollution, crowds now. He said that many places just on the outskirts don't have traffic lights (I noticed very few traffic lights around where we live), which is because the twin cities (Hyderabad/Secunderabad) haven't quite caught up with the immense growth around it.
We waited for a "city cab" taxi, but couldn't seem to get one, even tho' Dad called in for one several times. Uncle Mamaya and I climbed aboard an auto-rickshaw instead. We had a good conversation along the way. Uncle Mamaya serves in an international church in Oman. He's been there the past 8 years, although he's thinking about moving on. He originally did some work in Rajasthan with the Muslims. His wife is a Christian convert from Islam and was ostracized by her family.
We had a prayer meeting at 7 pm. No one came for the first half-hour, during which time Mom, "L", and I sang songs while I played guitar. Two couples came later. We sang more songs and then shared. Dad came by eventually. We shared requests and then went around the circle to pray. One woman named Samla shared how she'd been sharing with customers at her store. They'd been asking questions about her faith and she welcomed the opportunity to share. All the ones she shared with come from a Hindu background.
