Café au Lait

Maybe it's the homemade humus in my stomach, the mud on the hem of my pants from wandering through the medina or the faint smell of foreign cigarettes that I can't seem to get out of my black jacket, but I'm intoxicated by Meknes.



It's that point where everything is new and wonderful. Morocco is even better than I had imagined and I'm still enjoying the vivid colors of rugs hanging up to dry on balconies, the stale smell of a cramped grand taxi and the way you can see the outskirts of the town and the beginning of the countryside from our roof-top. Our meals are even more savory and much more colorful than my usual entrées in the states.

But all this aside from the apparent romance of the Orient (to make a reference to Flaubert) it is not without it's quirks.

This week I had the opportunity to visit a Hammam . Now, if you just read that, you have a tiny glimpse at the reality. At the truth of the matter, it was a series of chambers structured around a hot hot wood burning fire that heated water for steam. You situate yourself around the edges of the room where there is a kind of canal running excess water around. You grab your bucket, fill it with hot and cold water, and scrub down. Most Moroccans visit the public bath house 1-2 times a week and some swear they don't even need to shower between visits! It's nice, you have your spot, are squatted on the ground on your mat, and can wash your face, hair, and soap up.

The best? part, however, is the scrub down. In my case, in the middle of the large steam chamber sat several large Moroccan women. Their whole purpose is to take very rough scrubbing brushes and get every inch of dead skin off of your body. They will proceed to this goal using whatever physical and emotional violence necessary. I, being the 7 year old girl that I am, laughed histerically. This only made my large, African-American scrubber lady scrub harder and purposely tickle me while chattering off in darija. I was apparently the hit of the hammam, because everybody else joined in laughing at the American girl who couldn't contain her laughter.

The only way to begin to describe my feelings would be to say that I was smack dab in the middle of centuries of Moroccan culture and it was incredible. My room mates and I have decided to make it a weekly ritual. Who knows, maybe I'll impress some woman and she'll arrange a marriage for me to a nice Moroccan man? Insh'allah!

What has been exceptionally great about this week so far has been the new bible study I've begun. I started Beth Moore's book on the Fruits of the Spirit on Monday and intend to use that as my daily "curriculum" for being in the Word. With no local body of believers, I felt the best way to keep myself accountable to my daily Bread was to bring a set out 10-week long study. I began this book many years ago but didn't keep with it for more than a couple of weeks. 3 Days in, though, has already been incredible.

It's started out going through the beginning of Galatians and the foundation for our salvation which is in Christ. It was also an encouragement to read things and discover themes that have been points of struggle for me lately. In Galatians 13, Paul recounts the persecution of the church and the hardships that he faced in ministry but the resiliency of the Gospel to continue to advance and for souls to be won, no matter what was happening socially or politically. I feel especially challenged by that in my present field of mission. But what an encouragement it is that I can not mess up God's plans and that His glory is far beyond anything that I can dirty with my hands!



"But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will e blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet doit with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil." - 1Peter3:14-17

PS- Go listen to Helplessness Blues by the Fleet Foxes.

Another continent, another country, another world.

Greetings from Meknes, Morocco!

In my absence (due to lack of internet access) I have fulfilled several life goals:

1. Cross the Strait of Gibraltar
2. Come to Africa
3. Come to Morocco
4. Drank Moroccan mint tea
5. Had several tri-lingual conversations

Let's highlight number 3 first, though. I'M IN MOROCCO! This has been a dream of mine since 3rd grade art class at Hall-Kent Elementary where a Moroccan man came and talked to us and told us that Morocco and Alabama are at the same lattitude around the world. WHAT THE HECK?! this has stuck with me ever since and Morocco has always been on my #1 Place to Travel in the World list. So I'm here now, and LIVING here, I'm still a little speechless.

But let's talk in pictures, because that's much more fun, right?

This is part of L'Alhambra, it's a huge palace/military fortress in Granada, Spain. We spent a morning touring and taking too many pictures and just being in awe of the historic importance of it and the VIEWS from it:






After 4 wonderful days in Spain, we traveled south a few hours to Algicera to the Port of Gibraltar. From here we took a ferry across to Morocco!

This is the rock of Gibraltar:



About 5 minutes after taking off from the Port, we could see Africa. At this point, I almost wet myself. It was an incredible moment.

After reaching port, me getting to use FRENCH with the security guards, we rode a bus to Tangier where we spent the night in a hotel, toured the next day, and headed off to Meknes.

(For pictures of this, check my facebook. The Moroccan landscape is breath-taking.)

Since moving into an apartment with 4 other girls, I'm trying to become a local, or something like that.

Here's what my room looks like:


I share a room with one other girl, Mary and we have a huge living room and kitchen with Kalil, Jennifer and Heather. Mary and I have a large balcony off our room, which is really awesome, especially for drying clothes because we don't have a clothes dryer here! Apparently that is a strictly American thing, who knew? Also, there is no central heating here. And I was mistaken about the weather, it's very cold here. We were told that it would warm up in a few weeks, but for now it's multiple pairs of socks a night, leggins, sweatpants, t shirt, long sleeve, and hoodie to sleep in. Seriously, it wasn't supposed to be cold here!

Also, we have two sweet sweet Moroccan women who come cook lunch and dinner for us 6 days a week and clean our apartment. It's cool getting to talk to them in French (they speak NO english) but also I hope to learn how to cook great Moroccan food from them. One of them is a practicing Muslim and pulls out her rug to pray every afternoon- so I, being the cultural nerd that I am, get really excited.

One thing that I have been overwhelmed with, is the Lostness of this world. I mean, being surrounded by mosques and having a skyline full of minarets is a very blatent example of the unbelief here, but even in conversation with the people my heart has been burdened to share the Gospel.

On that note, please pray for the Lord to fill me up everyday and to be the only outpouring of my heart. I am learning to love people in a completely different light.

Know that I am lifting you all up daily! It is encouraging that even with a lack of local Church, God gives us the Holy Spirit to be able to pray for the global body of Christ, and that makes me feel close even when I am not geographically.

Al'hamdu l'illah,