Moroccans make it especially easy to have an authentic cultural experience. You don’t have to do much apart from a sincere greeting with a smile and a simple “Salam” to be invited over someone’s home for tea and biscuits. In no time at all you’ll find yourself with the entire family (grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, neighbors, cousins, the works) joyfully gleaning over a mountain of couscous or a simmering clay pot full of tagine. I love it here. They make relationship building so easy and their families are so intimate.
This is my second time in Morocco. I must say, though, that it has been such a different experience! First of all, rather than being in a major city, our team has been staying in a very small coastal beach town. Everybody knows each other here. The friends we’ve made have told me that we may be the first tourists they have ever met. Talk about being among the unreached!
There’s a lot of power in consistency. I’ve found that one of my favorite things to do is run to the veggie stand because the neighborhood we get to walk through on the way is flooded with women and children. That’s a rarity here and there are only specific places where women actually congregate outside. Usually, you’ll see them in the work place or at cafés. We’ve been able to connect with women of all ages through the consistent trips up and down this street.
I absolutely love it here. I actually found myself coming to tears while watching one of the young girls perform dance moves Nashielly taught her to “Shadow Feet” by Brooke Fraser. We also were able to teach her younger sister some dance moves to “my God is so Big”. We are trying to make small yet consistent moves to allow them to see the truth of our Lord in our words and our actions.
We’ve seen God move in many big ways here. It’s really been an incredible week overall.
On a not so magical note, our team has been smacked with head lice! And, those unwanted pests known as “bed bugs” have not relented at all since leaving El Camino de Santiago. Let’s just say, this week consisted of a lot of nit combing and frequent laundromat runs. Which, by the way, there’s only one laundromat in town that really uses high heat and it’s pretty pricy! It’s quite the pesky situation but our hopes are high. We knew that signing up for the World Race meant discomfort. We knew that choosing to follow Jesus onto this route meant potential bug infestations and that we would be leaving everything behind. If this means our gear too, so be it Lord. We are here for you!
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:8.
The “sufferings” have definitely served to increase our dependence on Christ and have really made for a ton of hysterical laughing moments.
If you could please keep our team in your prayers, we are currently searching for new housing inland toward the city. And also, that these pests would be gone once and for all!
Pray for boldness within our group and love like no other for the people in our neighbourhood here. We want to plant seeds of love and truth everywhere we step!
Thank you so much for reading! Love you all so much!
If you would like to support me financially, I am currently a little over half way to being fully funded for this trip. THANK YOU!!
Tamara
