Last week when Grace and I were apartment shopping, I spotted a church with services in English at 10am on Fridays. Since I do not teach on then, I decided to check the service out this week. I arrived at about 9:50am and was let into a dark church, where I sat for the next 40 minutes until the minister and rest of the congregation arrived. I guess even church operates on Egypt time!
Anyways, service was led by an Irish man, who has a thick accent that I found myself mimicking as the congregation read passages aloud together. I found the sermon reflective of the current location of the members (aka living as the minority in a Muslim country), yet grounded in the Word. The congregation could not have been larger than 25 people, including the 15 children running around the back. The offering was collected in a baseball hat and the hymns were selected on the spot by the one woman who could play the organ. Given my church background, the simplicity and informality was quite familiar and relaxing.
After the service, things got wild. Okay, wild might not be the most accurate word to describe the situation that ensued, but it was totally shocking and unexpected to say the least. I was just reading some of the signs in the back of the church, when I overheard some British man ask another man where he was from. I missed his response, but stopped dead in my tracks when the British man started asking about Elvis Presley songs. The man kind of laughed a bit and confirmed those were in fact about Kentucky. I immediately interrupted and exclaimed, “Wait, you are from Kentucky?!?!” He confirmed and asked where I was from. Of course, he initially thought I was joking, but I insisted I too was from Louisville. He called his wife over instantly, introduced her, and told me they had just moved to Alex three weeks ago. We kept talking, learning that we had even met years ago when I was at high school because he spoke at a basketball camp I attended.
How crazy!!! I am not in Alex for 48 hours and I am exchanging contact information with a family from my hometown.
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