A Familiar Environment In An Unfamiliar Place...

Sometimes as Peace Corps Volunteers we become so accustomed to our lives here that we don't really realize what we're missing until we experience it again. I had one of those experiences this past weekend. (Yes, I'm still in Azerbaijan.) Being a primarily Muslim country, there is not an abundance of churches to be able to attend here in Azerbaijan; in Baku there are only a handful, and even less that are in English. But this past weekend a friend had an apartment in Baku, so I and a few others came in and stayed with her and then went to Baku International Fellowship Sunday morning. It was like going home - familiar music, friendly faces and the commonality of the English language. There is a large population of expats living in the Baku area because of the oil industry (other reasons too, but that's the big one) and this church initially grew out of their desire for a religious environment for their kids and themselves. It has since grown and there are Azeris attending along with foreigners. It was truly one of the most diverse places I've been - locals as well as people from pretty much all of the continents - Asia, Africa, Europe, North America...Azerbaijan isn't the first place I'd think to hear Spanish, but that I did! This environment is something that I miss incredibly. Church has always been a second home to me and while I feel comforted by having a group of friends here that completely gets that, it's still different than not having the familiar environment of a church body. It was so nice to worship in this place that seems so secular and to realize that I'm in the country for the same reasons as many of the other people that I was worshipping with: to serve others. And while I've been here for over a year now and it was the first time I was able to attend, it definitely won't be the last.