Rabat International Church

Before I left, I had done some research on line to see if there was a Christian church that I could attend, here in this Muslim nation... I found the Rabat International Church - the only English speaking Protestant church in the city. This morning I attended for the first time! Because the website boasted that on a typical Sunday morning, they have representation there from more than 25 nations and 40 denominations, I was expecting a mega-church. Instead, I found a wonderfully quaint chapel with about 150 people packed inside. The building hosts three different congregations - at 8:00 am there is a Korean service, 9:30 offers an English service, and at 11:00 they host a French service.

Being my first time attending, I didn't feel it would be appropriate to whip out my camera to document it all. Perhaps next week I'll be bold and take some shots. :-)

It certainly was an incredible mixture of people and cultures all enjoying a worship service together. Surprisingly, I knew four of the five songs they sang! The service was led by a gentleman on guitar, a young girl on percussion (some sort of bongos?), a pianist and two other ladies singing. This group was a mix of Koreans and Americans. The two pastors who lead the English service are both Americans.

My co-worker was able to pick me up for church. He and his family arrived only three weeks ago, beginning their three year tour in Rabat. Mark and his wife Faith have three boys - Conor (12), Collin (10), and Aidan (6). They were very welcoming and introduced me to many other Americans at the church. After church, we took the boys to the American school where they have classes and activities for the kids. Because it is a beautiful day, they kids all played an organized game outside before their Bible lesson. Meanwhile, I got to sit in the sun and talk to some of the American moms, and Pastor Tracy from the church. He has not been here long, and intends to continue his ministry here for at least the next five years. I didn't get to meet his family yet, but he seems like good people - except that he is a die hard Cowboys fan. Oh well...

Tonight I'm headed off to Casablanca for some sight seeing. This trip will offer some great photo ops, so I'll post the pictures as soon as I can!