Pioneer Day

Kendra with her class's dream catchers

Katrina with her class totem pole

Talking with Kendra's class about what it was like to travel in a wagon for Americas Day. See Laura Ingalls sitting next to me?


Prairie girls and the wagon which couldn't possibly have taken us far!

It was Ron's idea to use tent poles for the covered part. I had fun creating this with the help of my sturdy pioneer man, a few benches, some carboard, and odds and ends. We decided the pioneers would have really apprecitated owning duct tape!


Last Friday was Americas Day and Katrina and Kendra's school. I got to set this wagon up, tell stories, do an art project, and even sqare dance (with the help of Kevin and Karen). It was such a fun day!

info

We just heard the other christian-run children's home down the road is being questioned again (they have had 5 police visits). The police woke up children from three-years old and up to question them. The hunt continues.
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http://www.voh-ainleuh.org/
Here is the VOH website. They have updated it since I last gave it -
1. The pictures of the children are on the side with Abir's being first
2. At the top, it says, "Click here - supporters page"
3. Then go to English where you can get connected to FB sites and news sites
4. The videos are of the children right after being told the parents are leaving and another summary one.

An great article also just came out in TIME:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1973739,00.html?artId=1973739?contType=article?chn=world

Afghan Wedding

Katrina, our animal lover
Ron and Laurie took us out to the place they ride horses - what a treat!
Puppet shows on 'good friend - bad friend'

I grew up with the question: "How much fun can you really have when there is danger close by and bombs are exploding just a few miles away?" In the Afghan refugee camps, the question hovered everywhere. It was thought that people shouldn't wear red (the color of communism), or dance, or sing, or have fun - when those they loved where dying or had already died. They were in a perpetual state of mourning. But I remember a wedding where the women broke out the red dresses - and they danced - and they sang - and they smiled. They defied the heaviness surrounding them.

Although our situation is not nearly as intense and is not at all dangerous, I still struggle with the verse, "Rejoice in the Lord always" I am reminded that Paul wrote it from prison. Yes, we will rejoice. We will carry on. We will hope. We will trust. Even when we don't know what tomorrow holds, or how the precious children at the Village of Hope are - as Mom reminds me, "God loves them more than you do."

We love Morocco. We still do, even though it feels like a different place than three weeks ago. And so here are a few pictures of life going on.

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Long Weekend

We just had a long weekend because of the Eid celebrating the birth of the Muslim prophet, Mohammad. So off we went to the beach to see if we could dry out and see the sun! Rabat (capital) The mousoleum where the current king's father and grandfather are buried - beautiful artwork inside and out. The king lives in Rabat and went several places while we were there meaning that wherever he went, monuments or roads were closed. This was closed because he was passing by. As much as he is loved, I can't imagine the logistics of living in a city with the king!
The Hassan Tower (minaret) - built about 800 years ago by the sultan. He intended for the minaret to be almost 2x as high, but died before its completion. Then in 1755, the great Lisbon earthquake shook down the mosque that went with it, leaving only these pillars.

I have never seen a beach with so many shells!

Inside an old fortress on the edge of the ocean in Rabat

The view from our roof-top beach-front apartment ($50 for two nights) - yeah, we're really suffering :) This is two houses down from one of the queen's beach houses. Well, techincally she's only a princess, but when I talking to the Moroccan caretaker at our place, he said, "I don't care what her title is. She's our queen!"

The second-largest lagoon in Africa which is a bird-watching area. We went out in boats to see all the flamingoes they had promised would be there, but it turned out they were just telling us what we wanted to hear. The flamingoes have all flown away due to the flooding. We saw miles and miles of houses in the middle of new 'lakes.' Everyone is affected.

Here are some fishermen bringing in a catch.

The Chellah -containing Roman runins from 2000 years ago and Arab ruins from 'only' 800 years ago. Lush and beautiful inside, complete with thousands of stork nests!

Rain, rain, go away...

A news report from BBC about an event last week that has affected many in Morocco. Forty-two people were killed in this incident. This is an hour away from us and is the city where Ron lives. This event seems to the be the symbol of all the rain we've had in the last few months. Morocco is struggling with flooding all over the place. And we know that many of you have had LOTS of snow!

BBC
At least 36 people were killed in Morocco when a minaret collapsed at a mosque in the central town of Meknes, officials say.
More than 60 people were injured in the accident at the Berdieyinne mosque in Meknes' old city during Friday prayers, according to Moroccan state television.
The TV report said that the collapse came after heavy rains which lashed the region for several days.
The minaret is said to have been four centuries old.

Many people are said to be buried under the rubble of the collapsed tower.
A resident, Khaled Rahmouni, told Reuters news agency that about 300 worshippers had gathered inside the mosque for Friday afternoon prayers.
"When the imam was about to start his sermon, the minaret fell down," he said.
Moroccan television added that the interior and religious affairs ministers had visited the site to supervise rescue operations.
The officials visited the injured, who had been taken to hospitals in Meknes and the nearby city of Fez.
Observers say that while neglected buildings in the old quarters of Morocco's cities collapse fairly often, the fall of a minaret is rare.
King Mohammed VI ordered the minaret to be rebuilt.
Meknes is on Unesco's world heritage list.