Friday, April 14, 2017

The Church Ladies

When I had one of my orientations in Chicago, I asked some YAGM alums how to figure out what church to go to. One of them gave one of the best pieces of advice I've had for maybe this whole experience. Find the old church ladies because they will take care of you. After doing some church scouting, I've ended up going to, as I fondly think of it, the church of the old people. Most of the Sundays that I get to go, I'm the youngest person by about 30 years. Partly, I ended up going there because that was the church that felt the most like church I'm used to from home, but even more than that, I never leave church until at least half an hour after church finishes because so many people come up to talk to me. Today was no exception. Even though it's Good Friday, there was fellowship time after the service. One woman, that I don't remember talking to before today, asked what my plans are for Easter dinner. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not going to be around for Easter, I'm thoroughly convinced that someone I was sitting near would have invited me over for lunch. For a while, earlier in my time here, I was really struggling with the fact that I didn't know any other Christians in my age range around my area. Part of that I realized was my own fault for not going to a "happy, clappy" church as I've heard them labeled, where there would be more people in my age range. But when I next went to church, those thoughts instantly vanished because everyone welcomed me so warmly. Maybe it's because I grew up as the youngest person in the family, but I love getting to listen to the stories of those who are older than me. I think that's been part of what helped me settle into being here. They've kindly told me about the place I'm living, people here, places I should see, and their experience and knowledge of America. So, although I love my job, my co-workers, my gap family, and the girls at school, I can't imagine what my life would have been like here if I hadn't found my English church family.