There is something about familiarity that makes you feel so at home.  It's not even about being close to family or childhood friends, having full use of your vocabulary, or going to Starbucks and ordering an iced white mocha that they started making once they saw you come in.  It's the smile from the bus driver who knows that you take that bus the same time, the same day each week.  It's the way that the baristas strike up a conversation with you at your favorite coffee shop in town about the book you were reading the last week.  It's the 8 year old boy who comes up to you at the church you're visiting because he remembers when you stayed with his family months ago. 

When living in another city where you don't have your usual comforts and support around you, there are days when you think, "Why am I even here?  Why am I doing what I'm doing?"  But then something like the above happens, and you remember that God gives you the family and encouragement you need exactly when you need it.  And what a great joy that is.