The True Meaning of Hospitality

Our Dinner Party

The Bible is clear... we are to be hospitable, but I have completely missed the true meaning of "hospitable" until now. 
One evening in the camps, my diagnosing partner, Sandra, and I were going door to door finding out what dialects each family spoke and providing them with the message of salvation in their language.
It was about 7:30 and many were eating their evening meal.  What you see in the picture is the cooking area outside of their room. 

We approached this couple, who were resting and enjoying their meal.  We introduced ourselves and worked to find out if they spoke another language.  They spoke purely Spanish and we gave them a CD and John and Romans in Spanish.

Then, they invited us for dinner.  We assured them that they should not worry about us, but they insisted; and anyone who has served or visited another culture knows that when offered something, you take it graciously.

The husband went in search for two more buckets for us to sit on and sent his wife to the little camp store (2 doors down) to purchase a soda for us.  They then found a spoon for Sandra and I to share and two cups for the drinks.  They filled a bowl with a little piece of chicken and sauce and offered us a basket of homemade tortillas. 
The food was delicious and the fellowship was sweet.  They knew the Lord and were enjoying asking me all about the United States.  We were there for about 15 minutes and excused ourselves to finish the work.

Wow, when I try to be hospitable I often think more about the food I'm going to serve, the condition of my house or the entertainment for the evening more than the people who are coming.
These people had very little when it came to material goods, but they surely understood the meaning of hospitality.  What a humbling experience! Thank you Lord for this lesson.