It's Good for the Soul

Dubai, like many Middle Eastern cities, has a few things in common with Utah. Well, mainly one important thing--a church on every corner. Of course, these two areas don't really share a common religion, but if you are looking to worship Islam here in Dubai, you are never a stone's throw away from a mosque. But if you want to worship something resembling Christianity, then things get a little tricky.

Due to the large amount of foreign workers in the city, Dubai has allowed said workers to practice their religion, and has set aside neighborhood for them. This neighborhood, Jebel Ali, is not exactly centrally located. Fortunately for this automobilely challenged blogger, my church's leaders requested to rent a villa in one of the Jumeirah neighborhoods for our small congregations, and the request was approved.

Attending church here in Dubai, and even in a villa for that matter, is a lot like attending church in any other part of the world. We sing, pray, have potlucks, and there is a large quantity of children. There are a few differences however. First, my branch is a very multicultural branch with families from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Philippines, etc.

And the second difference? Church is on Friday. For the Muslim world, Friday is their Sabbath Day. Businesses close and the weekend begins that day. In order for other religions to avoid conflicts with work and school, we just shift our worhip day to Friday as well. (Please note that due to the strong Catholic population in Lebanon, church was still on Sunday there.) Let me tell you having worship services on Friday really messes with one's head. I forget that it's Friday, and I wonder why people are emailing me from work on a weekend. I was Skyping with a friend on Sunday and thought it strange that she was headed to church that day. It's just a little bizarre, but I think you will have to try it to really understand how odd it is for a Westerner.

There are two LDS congregations in Dubai, one in nearby Sharjah, and also in Abu Dhabi. (These four congregations along with several others across the Arabian Peninsula make up the Manama, Bahrain Stake--a stake is kind of like a diocese.)

So far, I like my branch. Everyone is very friendly. I think they get rather excited to see a new face since not a lot of Mormons up and move to the Middle East. (Plus with the economic crisis many have had to leave Dubai.) Last Saturday I was invited to dinner at one member's house. They found pork and were having a barbecue. I joined three other families, brought some cupcakes, and had a really great time. I do miss my little branch in Beirut, but I am glad to have more people to associate with.