Nilda’s Hospitality
By Maria Silva
I wanted to write about an aspect of showing love to others—hospitality—as we’ve had an amazing opportunity to learn about this topic by seeing genuine hospitality in action.
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.—Hebrews 13:21
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.—Romans 12:132
About six years ago we moved to a new neighborhood. Since arriving here we’ve tried to be open to our neighbors to show them love and kindness. We would always greet them with a smile, asking them how they were doing, and this was different for many of them—a newcomer and a stranger being so friendly with them. Several times we prepared homemade pizza and delivered it to them still hot from the oven as a sign of friendship. They could hardly believe that someone would do that. We thought we were doing good in showing our neighbors we care. But then we met Nilda, which gave us a whole new perspective on reaching out with acts of kindness to others.
We got to know Nilda through her two adult grandchildren, who are both 100% physically disabled with a genetic degenerative disease. In order to help with their care, she decided to live in the same house with her daughter and her family. Caring for physically disabled people creates a lot of work and stress, and no one would blame this family for focusing on their own problems and challenges. But not so with Nilda. She is the most hospitable person I have ever known, always inviting any passerby in, offering them a drink or some food.
When we started going over to her house because of some projects we were working on with her disabled grandchildren, we thought she was being so hospitable with us because we were helping her family. But we noticed that nearly every time we would pass by or come over, there was always at least one, if not two, sets of visitors. The kids often laugh, comparing their house to a train station—as previous visitors get up and start leaving, new visitors enter the house—there is a constant flow of people.
Drinks and cakes are always handy, or snacks and simple dishes are prepared in minutes. In spite of the challenges and difficulties this family is facing, a joyful and optimistic atmosphere emanates from this home. Visitors are always welcome.
When you come in, Nilda right away invites you to sit down and without asking fills the table with plates, forks, cakes, snacks, and then asks if you would like some coffee or tea. It doesn’t matter if she is tired or not feeling well; her heart is there with you, and she will gather all the energy she can get to serve you and help you in any way she can.
Even our dog, who occasionally visits her with us, doesn’t leave without a bowl of water and a special dog treat or two. In fact, our dog recognizes Nilda at a distance and can’t wait to see what yumminess will come to her this time. Nilda pays attention to the smallest detail of her visitors.
When someone passes away, she will gather a few food and drink items in a gift bag and bring it to the mourning family, and spend some time with them. She did that for us when our grandma passed away. Apparently, it’s a local tradition, but she does it with her whole heart and with genuine empathy and concern.
She was devastated when her own mom passed away quite suddenly after several other of her relatives died. We encouraged her the best we could, but her fragile heart was quite hurt. She stopped attending gatherings and singing. And yet her hospitality hadn’t changed one bit even during that hard time. The house continued to overflow with visitors who never left thirsty or hungry, and although she wasn’t hiding her sadness, she didn’t flaunt it in front of others. And then after only a couple of months she was “back” again.
I asked her what helped her to get over the grieving so quickly. She said, “I realized that my mom would be very sad to see me sad. She would like to see me happy, and so I started singing again and having fun.” Simple. As simple and sweet as Nilda is.
I don’t know if in these few paragraphs I can truly describe the joy, kindness, loving concern, help, and hospitality that she gives to others. The following Bible verses come to mind when I think of her:
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.—Matthew 23:113
And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.—Matthew 10:424
This reminded me of the following quote I read:
There’s a reason why Jesus frequently chose to share meals with his followers. Hospitality creates trust between strangers and builds bridges over the rough landscape of our lives. If Christians want to share God’s love with their neighbors, they simply have to invite them over.—Crosswalk Editorial
We decided we also want to practice hospitality and show God’s love and concern for others in this way. We are not always available at home to entertain visitors, as we are often out taking care of various aspects of our ministries, but we learned to keep a stash of some snacks and drinks on hand, which we can offer to unexpected visitors, and be ready to invite them in whenever we can. We don’t have such a fancy selection of snacks as Nilda does, but we do what we can.
It’s amazing what a difference we see in people and how many blessings the Lord brings about as a result. For example, when our car mechanic brought back our car that he had fixed in his garage, we invited him in for a drink and some snacks, and spent time chatting with him. It was the first time we were able to get to know him on a deeper level. And the cost of the repair turned out to be extremely cheap, even though we never asked him for a discount.
A man who came to repair our kitchen stove accepted our offer of a drink, and after talking and exchanging stories, he said he would fix our stove free of charge as a help toward our work.
As the garbage truck was passing by to pick up our trash, we invited the men in for some coffee and cookies, and spent time talking with them. Although it was the first time that we’d invited them in, the youngest one of them said, “I have already been here.” He went on to explain that he grew up in an orphanage that we had over for a pizza party and a clown show in our yard several years before, and he was one of the attending kids. As they were leaving, they said that if we ever had any extra garbage, they would be happy to take it for us. Little did they know that at times we struggle with exactly that—extra garbage!
We didn’t ask for any of these “favors,” neither did we invite these people in with this in mind, but just by showing genuine concern and “practicing hospitality” Nilda style, the Lord touched their hearts and led them to offer something.
We are very thankful for Nilda and for teaching us through her example the power and effect of hospitality in action. Having experienced it ourselves from the visitors’ point of view, we were able to apply it to our situation and start practicing hospitality at our own house. Needless to say, we are very pleased with the immediate results and the positive effect it has on others, and we are happy to be able to witness in this way.
Let me end here with a quote on the topic, which I found very applicable and inspiring:
Our Lord’s wonderful picture of the Judgment reveals another phase of the splendor of kindness. He tells us that the little things we do—feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, showing hospitality to the stranger, visiting the sick, and the other nameless ministries of love of which we take no account—if done in the right spirit, are accepted as though they had been actually done to Christ himself! … The best thing we can do with our love is not to watch for a chance to perform some one fine act that will shine before the world—but to fill all the days and hours with little kindnesses which will make countless hearts nobler, stronger, and happier.
—J. R. Miller
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