this month is a month with a lot more flexibility & less schedule than previous months. so, as we have been introduced to different people throughout the city, our team has made it a point to say yes when asked to serve, no matter the task. this has allowed us to participate in english classes at a university, babysit many different kids for many different events, lead church services, lead worship & share testimonies at women’s conferences. we have also been able to meet up with many locals to drink tea, eat couscous, experience a hammam (local spa), get henna, talk religion & culture, try on traditional clothing & just love on new friends!
this last week was full of events i never could have expected to happen, but because we said yes, i was blessed with two wonderful experiences!
first, alyssa (a squadmate on team unknown heights) mentioned that she was invited to travel 45 minutes outside the city & live with a lovely family for three days. she asked if anyone was interested & of course i said yes! we had no idea what to expect, except that we were told to bring long skirts, a head covering & good walking shoes. this is what our schedule ended up looking like: in the morning we helped homeschool their son & the afternoons were spent walking through the mountain villages to assist with medical care or learn about the clean water projects they were leading.
i learned so much during these three days, but the clean water project really captured my heart. this man is a civil engineer who is working to bring water into different villages throughout the mountains. some villages have springs nearby, while others have to walk 5 miles each way to get water. this causes many of the children not to go to school because they must make this journey multiply times a day to provide water for their family & animals. he taps into natural springs up in the mountains, lays pipes to a new water tower he helps to build & then from the water tower he runs pipes to different villages in the area. he has built about 30 water towers, which can supply water to 2-5 different villages each. this means around 100 villages now have access to clean water in their homes! what really blows my mind is that right now i am sitting in a mcdonalds back in the city we are living in, only 45 minutes from the villages that still do not have clean water in their homes.
one other opportunity i had out in the village was to walk a woman who was just diagnosed with diabetes through different ways she could change her lifestyle & try & manage her diabetes without insulin shots. we talked about her diet & eating habits as well as her exercise or movement choices. i quickly realized her eating habits were really good, but she sat in her home most days. with tired & sore knees, walking through the village on the side of a mountain was not something she really enjoyed doing. i was able to find objects around her home & show her different exercises she could do to split up the amount of sitting she was doing. her face lit up as she realized she could move & be “active” without having to break cultural rules or climb up & down the mountain. a big thanks to the InVitATION program at taylor university for providing me with the knowledge & ability to love on this woman!
as we walked through these villages & met the locals, this family asked us to pray for each person by name because up until us coming, they were the only two people lifting these specific names up to the Lord. if alyssa & i could join them, we would double the number of prayers that included their name! this really showed me how important it is to pray for those we meet by name!!
here are some pictures from this incredible experience:
our walk through the villages
standing on the water tower, looking out at the villages it will supply water to
hiked in some traditional clothes, not as easy as pants
was given the honor to pour the tea in one of the homes we visited
second, as we have been travelling, i have really regretted not studying spanish or french in school because those are the two primary languages we have been around, until now. i met a german family whose kids speak german, french, & arabic with only a little english. i have been able to join this family & help babysit & teach these kids using the language i studied: german. what a fun & unique way God worked!! these last three days, we joined the family on a weekend retreat they were putting on. mac & i travelled to the beach with them to watch the kids while they put on a conference. with mac’s french & my german, we were able to take the kids to the beach, play games, read bible stories & just love on them.
my favorite part of the weekend was sunday morning worship. it was led in arabic, then someone translated it to german for the families & then i translated it into english for me & mac. another prime example of the body of Christ coming together in a way i never expected it to (see my last blog for more examples)!
as our time here is coming to a close, my team is really dreading the goodbyes. this has been the most time we have spent in any country (40 days by the time we leave) & the relationships we have built are going to be really hard to end. we have 1.5 weeks left in our city before we begin our travel. please keep us in your prayers! pray that we can be intentional with our remaining time, that conversations can dive even deeper & that those we have loved on can truly know how special they are in the eyes of the Lord.
as always, thanks for reading!
madeleine
