A Special Family

Take a good look at this family!

Our transition to Morocco was made smooth and simple by having Ron (my brother) and his family in Meknes. Transportation, housing, food, shopping help, entertainment, child care, tours on weekends... the list goes on and on. What a blessing they have been and continue to be to us!

The family picture was taken in France this summer where they were visiting Laurie's family. Abir (pictured separately - age 5) was not able to go along due to passport problems.

In the order on the picture: (back) Laurie and Ron - (front) Jasmine (12), Talia (10), Melody (3), Tamara (9), and Nakoma (7).

Ron runs an NGO helping those in orphanages, schools, elderly homes, villages etc. Laurie is the amazingly cheerful mother of six, and the girls are Katrina and Kendra's adored cousins. They all go or will go to a French school close by.

The next post will be Monday, October 2nd.

Closing the Chapter

August 5, 2006

Well, our month in Meknes is over. By now we can greet people, introduce ourselves and others, do basic shopping, restaurant ordering and read the Arabic on the signs (slowly - and ever thankful for the French underneath!).

Much of Meknes was founded on the blood of slaves - many of their bodies embedded in the ancient walls of the city. Even today, it is known for a pilgrimage site visited by people in deep trances and obvious and sometimes violent possession. Women in particular are involved in casting spells on others and other occult activities. Yes, whether or not you believe it, these things all are realities. Then there is the ever-present pressure on everyone to keep all the rules with the faint possibility that God will be pleased with them.

We ask that today you stop and lift up this city and the whole country to the God who loves it so much.

Our ship came in!

August 3, 2006



When we returned from language class one day, Ron and his accomplices had decorated the house in honor of Heidi's birthday as well as mine. Have you ever had a birthday ship decorated with origami hearts, a balloon dog, green peppers and tomatoes before? The veggies from their garden were part of our gift.

Ron and Laurie's helper, Aziza, made a lovely couscous and chicken tajin meal for the day. She is a widow with no other income who lives nearby. She always wanted to have us over, but has too little space in her house and owns no couches on which to entertain (she will be getting Ron and Laurie's very soon). Later, Gerald and the girls trekked all over the place in Ifrane to find the perfect gift for me - a special Moroccan poof (stool). Heidi looks great here considering she was lying down with a high fever before and after this picture - a rough part of her visit to Morocco.

Medina

Through this gate you enter the medina - the old city of Meknes. We have been unable to take a good picture of the winding maze of streets, shops, homes, and even an ancient Jewish quarter inside. If it were not for Laurie, we'd probably be wandering around there still!

The city itself is 1000 years old, with the outer parts of the walls being redone over and over again. Behind the main walls, more walls hide homes, beautiful hotels, courtyards and entire lives that cannot be seen unless you are invited in. Wandering through the streets, you wonder what secrets the place holds.

The shopping area is a blast - even for a non-shopper like myself. Fascinating stores are squeezed in around tight corridors filled with people. Every now and then a man comes through pushing a huge cart making deliveries so everyone has to ooze into the shops to prevent being run over (doesn't that sound like fun??). One passageway leads to another, and an apparently tiny shop on the outside turns into a whole world when you step inside. Clothing, shoes, carpet stores, antiques, housewares, pottery...you name it, Laurie can find it!

One time when I was wandering through part of the medina myself, I smelled a foul odor. Turning, I was met with the entire head of a cow sitting on a counter. Hmmm... I guess I'd inadvertently entered the meat market area!

Meknes - August 4

Meknes was once an imperial city made so by the avid builder and ruthless Sultan, Moulay Ismail, who began his reign in 1672. For his building projects, he robbed Volubulis (Roman ruins mentioned earlier), and used thousands of slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa and European Christians captured by pirates off the coast of Morocco. These slaves lived in a labyrinth of prisons under the city.

Here we are visiting two of his building projects inside the old city around which he built three sets of walls making it an imposing fortress.

The first picture is in the stables which held 50,000 horses for the Sultan's use. Scenes from the Movie "Matthew" were also filmed here.

The second picture is of the grainstores and water house area. Here, horses worked huge water wheels drawing water from under the ground for use in the city. The thick walls and underground passages kept the grain cool and give the place an air of mystique.

(I have no idea what I'm doing in the picture...)

Orphanage - August 1

August 1, 2006

Ron heads up an NGO (non-government organization) dedicated to community development in the area of Meknes. They have lots of projects including earthquake relief (an area that is still recovering from an earthquake several years ago), help with schools, elderly homes, orphanages, clean water programs, etc.

This picture is taken from an orphanage Ron and Laurie have been so involved with that they took one child home! Abir, mentioned in earlier entries, is living with the family bringing their total number of girls to six.

There are very few female orphans because they are quickly adopted out to Moroccan homes to grow into maids... As a result, about 90% of the orphans are boys. Abir has some mild handicaps which is why she was still there. Ron and Laurie's acceptance of her has spoken volumes about the love of God for everyone.

Here Gerald is with some of the endearing boys who proudly and energetically showed us around their new facilities.

August 2, Roman Ruins

August 2, 2006

Volubilis is an ancient Roman town near Meknes. It was started in the 3rd century BC by the Mauretanian kings and then annexed to the Romans. Later it was inhabited by Christians (one bath was converted to a baptismal) and then was Islamicized in 788 AD. It is especially noted for its mosaics which are still very clear today. It also boasts a small Triumphal Arch (see picture) and a Basilica.

Pictured are Ron and Laurie with their girls, Gerald and our girls, and our niece, Heidi. I shall refrain from any Roman godess comments...

Interestingly, it was at this site that the resurrection scene from the movie, "Matthew" was filmed.

Mosque of Hassan II

July 30, 2006

While in Casablanca, Gerald and co. visited the Mosque of Hassan II. The prayer hall can hold 25,000 worshippers, making it the second-largest religious building in the world after the mosque in Mecca. It covers 968,774 sq. feet and the minaret is 200 m (656 ft) high. Two-thirds of it is built over the sea. I had to make the picture of the door large so you can see Gerald at the bottom of it!

Play it again, Sam!

July 30, 2006

Gerald, Ron, Jasmine and Tamara (Ron's daughters) went to Casablanca to pick up our niece, Heidi (my oldest brother's daughter). She visited Morocco on her way back from Japan where she had been teaching English.

Here they are in Rick's Cafe modeled after the one in the movie "Casablanca." Before you get too excited, please note that none of "Casablanca" was filmed in Morocco!

A Moroccan Wedding

A few weeks after our arrival, Laurie was invited to the wedding of her language tutor and asked me to come along.

Dressed in our Kaftans (mine borrowed from Laurie), we arrived at 10:15 PM ...and were early.

There we sat for almost two hours as people gradually came in - no music, food or anything. Moroccans are quite happy sitting and visiting for hours on end. In the States, there would have been a mutiny!

Elegant maroon and white cloth made up the interior of the tent. Everything was ready - except the bride, that is. I was reminded of the parable of the virgins who were ready for the bride and those who were not (Mtt. 25:1-13). So many parables and stories in the Book make more sense out here.

At midnight we heard drums and singing. The bride had arrived! Apparently the groom came in riding on a Fantasia horse, but since we were inside, we did not see him. My chance to see Prince Charming and I missed it! Then the band started to play - deafeningly loud and filled with anticipation.

In came the bride sitting on an elaborate platform carried by four men (see picture above). She was wearing a white and gold Kaftan and had her hands painted with henna and her face painted as pale as it could be. Around and around the men danced to the drums as she waved and danced with her hands. This went on for quite a while until they brought her - probably quite dizzy - to the groom who had somehow snuck in the side door and was waiting for her on a decorated couch.

At 1:00 AM, we were fed. Served with great flair and fanfare, we ate chicken and olive tajin (see "hospitality" blog). Stuffed and not realizing there was another course, we were then given a mutton and fig tajin. This was followed by a type of butter and honey dessert. After waddling back to our tables, Laurie and I decided it was time to go home.

In the car, we were about to leave when the father of the bride came and told us it was simply ridiculous to leave so early (1:30 AM!). What did we think we were doing? He opened our car doors and told us to get out. We did and obediently sat down and watched the lovely bride enter in the first of her five changes of clothing - each representing a different region of Morocco.

At 2:00 AM, Laurie noticed the father of the bride was preoccupied, so we made our second attempt at escape. This time we were successful and off we went to bed while the wedding lasted another 3 1/2 hours.

This was only one night of the wedding - there were four other nights. Some were at the groom's home and some at the bride's.

I was so grateful for this experience as a wedding is a real window into a culture! And to all you American guys - I don't want to hear any more complaining about the cost and length of weddings!

Language Study

For the month we were in Meknes, we went to language classes every afternoon and studied in the evenings and/or mornings. Sometimes we were together with a tutor and sometimes we were separate. By the end of the month we had learned greetings, introductions, basic shopping, basic restaurant language, and we could read s-l-o-w-l-y in Arabic.

I was thankful for a little background in the languages from where I grew up which use the same alphabet. About 5-10% of the words are similar or the same in Arabic. I also wished I had paid better attention in high school French class because Moroccans constantly mix Arabic and French with each other and especially when speaking to foreigners.

As in many cultures, Moroccans love greetings - we learned pages of them! They love them so much that when the French came, they threw in a few French greetings too just for fun.

There is one sound I was having a hard time with. Ron suggested I pretend to swallow a cockroach every time I say it and - voila! I could make the sound!

We also decided it's impossible to be an atheist and know Arabic - every greeting, every comment in conversation, every goodbye - has God in it. "Praise be to God" or various forms of that are everywhere.

Moroccans are quite the linguists. Most people know at least French and Arabic - both spoken and written (that is basically two different languages). Many know the Berber dialect of their families and farther north most know Spanish as well. It is not uncommon to meet people who are fluent in 4-5 languages. The two times Gerald has told people he knows only one language, the response has been, "Shameful!" with a head shaken in disbelief.

We wish we could have had more time for classes, but we are SO thankful for the month we did have. It has really helped us over and over again. I start up with a tutor next week and Gerald would like to once things settle down.

Missing Him

It was a year ago yesterday that Dad stepped from this world into the next. I can't believe it has been that long and sometimes I still can't believe he's gone. I always thought he'd keep going strong and then do something like climb a mountain for his 90th birthday.

This week I summarized the journal we all kept during Dad's hospitalization as well as thoughts since then for our family. It was hard to do, but finishing it gave me a sense of closure on that difficult but precious time.

As I was walking yesterday God showed off in a beautiful sunrise over the forested hills surrounding us. The verse, "Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?" (Hos. 13:14) kept going through my mind. Yes, death seems to have won for now, but this is not the end of the story. There is more, much more - and that is how Dad lived his life.

It has been special to have a brother close by during this time. We even had our own little memorial service on Sunday. Mom is doing well "by the grace of God" as she says. She continues to inspire those around her with reliance on God. Although Dad's life has ended, the life he lived will bless the lives of all of us who follow him for many years to come. God has comforted me in so many ways - my favorite being a dream in which Dad came to me and gave me three wonderful hugs.

It was always so much fun to discuss the countries we were thinking of with Dad - he knew something about each of them. He would have been so excited about our coming here. He was our "daddabase" for information due to an insatiable curiosity about the world and all in it. He was always ready to learn, to grow, to do, to help, to share, to act, to love.

I miss him.