Image courtesy Google. |
This year, of course, I wasn't in a parish over Christmas. I have so far received a bunch of Christmas cards from back in the US, including several from my former parish. I love receiving cards, and I send out a bunch as well (I blogged about the experience of going to the central post office here a couple of weeks back). On Facebook, I instructed folks not to send any valuables or perishables -- it's just not secure over ordinary airmail.
Well, one of the cards that recently arrived contained a Walmart receipt. This very sweet, devout, elderly couple had trekked to their local Walmart and figured out a way to send me some cash via an international money order. On the accompanying note, they apologized that I would have to go to Walmart to get the cash. The generosity and large-heartedness of the people of God never ceases to move me!
Of course, there are no Walmarts in India (at least no retail stores). The receipt clearly indicated that the money would be delivered in Indian rupees. It turns out that Walmart uses a money transfer service known as Moneygram. It must be fairly popular, since there were quite a few locations where one could receive a Moneygram, including the neighborhood post office. Intrigued at how this would work, I trekked off to the local PO.