Just add cous cous

I bet you didn't know that to make good friendships become great ones, all you have to do is add cous cous. As Sunday dinner is to us, so is cous cous after Friday prayers to Moroccans. So on as many Fridays as we can; Karen, Wendy and I get together over this steaming Moroccan specialty with vegetables and meat on the top, buttermilk on the side (which we give to Karen since she is the only one who likes to drink it), and a cup (or two) of cafe creme. During the meal, we we solve most world problems, learn about each other's lives and laugh until we snort.

Karen is our chaplain here and has been in Morocco for over 10 years (in a place where long-term means 3 years). Her husband, Kevin, teaches at AUI and her daughter, Claire (7), is a dear friend of Katrina & Kendra's. Karen is fluent in Arabic & French, which makes me terribly jealous. Because of her language skills and her heart of love, has reached out to many poor and needy people in the area as well as serving the role of Chaplain to AUI (mostly to foreign professors and students). Highly respected and on countless committees, she zips all over the country and is known and loved everywhere she goes.

Wendy is also a long-termer with almost 4 years in Morocco under her belt. Her husband, Ben, also teaches at AUI, and her two children, Jonathan (6) & Amy (4) are the favorite constant companions of our girls especially since they live in the next building. Wendy has the most amazingly generous, kind and thoughtful heart and is greatly loved by everyone as a result. I don't know how many times little plates of food have come our way, or how often we get a call when she is down town asking if we need anything. Since we both home-school, we trade off kids once a week. On Tuesdays I have them all for a few hours, and on Thursdays, she does (which is why you're more likely to hear from me on Thursday than any other day!).

I attribute our good adjustment here in large part to these two women, whose love for God shines through their lives, whose husbands are good friends of Gerald's, and whose kids are wonderful playmates for ours.