Church #3

 Normally I like things to be chronological. I was back tracking to start this blog, but before I get caught up, I want to write about church. Today is Friday, but that is the Sabbath here. Eric had to work, so I took an Uber to church. I scheduled it to where I would get there about 5 minutes before it started. Unfortunately there was and accident and we got stuck behind it. I was nervous and didn't want to take up the Uber driver's time. He was so nice and even offered me a sip from his water bottle. I politely declined. Eric had told me to ask them to take me to the Mexican Embassy and church would be in a villa right next to it. We got into the parking lot and there were no signs of a church. The driver was so nice and kept driving around asking people where I should go. I know many people say that men look down on women in this culture, but I have not experienced it. In fact, he was looking out for me and I was so very grateful!

Turns out other people were late and it hadn't started. I followed a cute young couple inside to the chapel. He's from Highlands Ranch and is friends with my stake president's son. Such a small world!

I snuck a pic before the meeting started.😏

I have been very happy being here in Qatar, but it felt so good to be at church, feel the spirit and just be in a familiar place! Sacrament meeting was really cool. The youth, leaders and other adults have recently returned to a temple trip in Rome! I hadn't realized that Rome was the closest temple. I guess that is why in the prayers they pray for the Dubai temple to be built soon. Some of those adults were the speakers today.  It sounds like such a wonderful trip! My favorite part of the meeting was the rest hymn. It was How Firm a Foundation. I loved it because there was someone two rows behind me that I could hear singing. He had a very strong African accent. It was making me smile through the whole song. Then we sang the line "at home or abroad, on the land or the sea".  That line had never hit me like it did today. It reassured me of all the feelings of being at peace attending a very diverse ward in a villa! 

The church is actually two villas connected by a walkway. One is the chapel and the other has rooms where all the  different organizations can meet separately. After sacrament meeting, I was talking to the couple I had walked in with. Pretty soon, we were the only women in the room. She said she would show me the way to Relief Society. We went to that room. Again it was occupied by men. We went to the walkway. There were women there, so she went and asked where RS was. Turns out it is a SS week. We went back there, but there were only four other women. I guess they all serve in Primary and Young Women or chat in the walkway!😄 I forgot take a pic of the front of the villas. I will add that next week.