I weaseled my way through the crowd and squeezed into the back corner of the church. While not the most comfortable of spots, it was the only one left in the room full of hundreds of other believers, both Asian and foreign. After a few songs, as the worship night continued on, I glanced over towards the door… “WHAT?!” I thought to myself.

I didn’t believe my eyes! I got closer thinking a must have been mistaken. But as I approached, they said “Hello.” Three of my classmates were there too!

Due to the sensitive nature and security risks regarding the work here, there is always a little bit of a relational dance with other foreigners of who will admit “it” first? As a result, I’ve been learning my new language for the last 6 weeks with these classmates and we hadn’t realized we are all brothers and sisters!

But there we all were, worshiping together.

I have been asking God for friends who also believe, specifically a girl who isn’t going to leave at the end of the semester. And as always, He came through. I found out that night that Mari isn’t just here for the along haul (she’s married to an Asian brother), but she is a sister! And to make it all even better, I get along with her super well. 🙂