Let Them Eat Cake
The Christadelphian Shunem Home is a delightful place, cool and shady in a hot and dusty land. It is home to 60+ schoolgirls and 15+ elders. I feel as if the elders who live at Shunem are my communal aunts and uncles. I have so much affection for them. When we lived in the city for a few years I would spend a lot of my afternoons in their company, on the shady verandah, drinking tea and catching up with their news. There are rose planted gardens and washing lines in the central courtyard and the girls who live in the dorms here means there is always a delightful background chatter. The history of how some elders came to inhabit the small rooms is enlightening. Some ladies were found by Sister Sarah Galbraith on the side of the road, thrown out by their family or in-laws, homeless and alone and often unwell. Dressed in rags, barefoot and with no possessions. Some were unmarried and now at the close of their lives have no extended family to take care of them. Some have escaped from an abusive and painful homelife. Some are highly educated, speak several languages, love to tell you of their past when times were happy before sadness crept in. This place has been a sanctuary since 1999. No-one chasing you, only care and safety and kindness. Practical help in beds, meals, a library, a quiet room for classes and bible and prayer time.
The girls are children of parents with leprosy. Here at Shunem there is a safe home, food, healthcare, education and a real sense of hope of a different life to the wretched one of their mothers or fathers. Regular second Saturday day monthly visits keep the bonds of family intact and every girl goes back to the colonies for the main school holidays. I time my visit to Shunem for afternoon tea and snacks. Snacks are important in India - you have no idea what trouble you're in if you make someone miss snack time. This year, as last, we brought a batch of iced and marzipanned Christmas cakes from England. They contributed greatly to the weight of one of our 23 kg suitcases. We divvied them up between the elders, the cooks, the watchman, the drivers, the cleaners, the office staff. We served it up in small bowls, swimming in a lake of cream. It was super successful. A week later everyone is still telling us how much they loved the cake and cream combo. Good old Waitrose (a bit like Whole Foods Market). I wonder if the store buyer back in chilly December England ever imagined a small band of elders in a small home in a small dining hall in the middle of central India would be enjoying their excellent cake in 32 degrees shade.
At Shunem it is the quiet kindnesses that show how the home is run with gospel acts at the centre - if anyone is missing, another will ensure that a portion is kept back safely until they arrive. No-one left out. Specially not at snack time and definitely not when there is cake. It is the injunction of our God to care for children and elders and here you can see that here in a wonderful worked example. “God setteth the solitary in families” Psalm 68:6.