Christians in a Hindu Country

We are now back in the state of Maharashtra for the final leg of our journey--doing InterPlay at some workshops sponsored by a Jesuit priest who is a friend of mine.  So, after visiting Hindu temples and attending Hindu weddings, now we are in a very Christian region of India.  Within two minutes of introducing themselves, in fact, the owner of the home where I am now staying told me that their family had been converted to Christianity over 400 years ago!  Can you imagine, having that in your family story...?  The United States hasn't even been around that long, and here these young women are telling me about something that happened in their family four centuries ago...a conversion to Christianity inspired by the Portugese settlers who lived here.  Everyone here has western names--Joyce, Jennifer, Gregory, etc etc--and even last names are more portugese, like "Da Silva".  Christians make up only 2% of the population in the country, so it is amazing that we are in a region where whole villages are Christian.  Most of the people coming to the InterPlay workshops we will be attending are Christians...