Of Gods and Men

Nestled at the foot of the High Atlas, newly covered in snow, lies a small monastery with a big story. In the midst of the civil war in Algeria, in 1996, seven Trappist monks were taken hostage and killed three months later. Who took them and who killed them remains a mystery - but the depth of their story does not. The story, told in the movie, “Of Gods and Men” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEIxzlKCgA) was filmed in nearby Azrou a few years ago. It is a thoughtful and profound retelling of the events of those years.

The brothers knew they were in danger and their discussions about whether or not to leave remind me of discussions our family had when I was a child. When these seven men of peace, one of whom wrote a letter forgiving the men who would kill him, were murdered - it shocked Algeria into realization of the horrors of what was happening in their country and actually led to the end of the war.

Two of the monks managed to hide during the raid on the monastery and were left behind. Those two surviving brothers moved the monastery to Fez, then Midelt, Morocco. One died a few years ago of cancer and the other remains there. Yesterday I had the deep privilege of kissing this dear man’s weathered cheeks in greeting (second from right). He led us to the simple room where they kept the pictures of the brothers (top) who were killed and told us about what each man was like.

Our whole family was planning on going on this outing, but Gerald awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible case of the chills. Soon after, he needed the fan, and I knew he was going no where the next day :( Since we knew the girls would not do well sitting for hours at a monastery, we took them on a hike into a beautiful gorge a few minutes away.

We also met a rather amazing and large man for whom the Berlin wall had been his school wall. Recalling how people holding candles walking to the wall was part of what led to its demise, he is walking a candle through Europe, North Africa, and all the way to Jerusalem where he prays his prayers and candle of peace will lead to the breakdown of the walls there. Here he is holding the record of all the places he has been. http://jerusalempeacewalk.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=28

The Dead Chicken Guy (or: Vegetarians Beware)

I have never been fond of running errands. Nor have I ever been fond of dying animals (I know, I’m wimpy. I didn’t grow up on a farm). That’s why taking a bike to be fixed is quite a chore for me. What does fixing a bike have to do with dying animals? Well, in order to get to the bike-repair guy, I have to walk past several chicken butchers. I must tiptoe not through the tulips, but through rivulets of blood flowing down the concrete slab. I push the bike through the blood to the back trying not to look to the left or right where the doomed chickens await their fate and where the butcher chops up the last unlucky creature. The smiling toothless bike-repair guy covered in grease awaits me. He speaks to me in French which I always find funny since it’s usually the upper class that speak French. Once, when he wasn’t there, I had to wait for him in the car for about ten minutes. There, front and center, stood the chicken butcher with a whole cage of chickens. He grabbed one at a time, grasped it between his legs, sliced its throat, then threw it into a large blue bucket. Lovely. Then I noticed the bucket rocking back and forth, back – and – forth, b-a-c-k and f-o-r-t-h until it slowed to a stop. A few minutes later I had the repaired bike in the car (for $2.00) and headed home, breathing a sigh of relief. And planning a vegetarian supper.

Of sadness, joy, hard work, long bus rides, and fun

ASI track team - Casablanca meet

A new family member! Stan, Diane, Emily, Dustin, and Heidi!

Last week began with a tragic event. One of our professors lost four members of her family in one day. Her father, two sisters, niece, nephew, and mother were driving from Rabat when the father fell asleep. The car rolled and all were killed except the mother who was wearing a seatbelt (which are rarely used here) and the niece who remains in a coma. Both this professor and her husband are in the school of business so we know them well. It is hard to imagine what Bouchra (Moroccan) and Nick (French) will have to face in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. Please keep them in your prayers.

The next events are intertwined. Katrina had her first track meet Saturday in Casablanca. We, being overprotective and overinvolved parents, decided to go along as chaperones/parents. Normally it's a 3 1/2 hour ride to Casa. With the bus it was 5. The kids were great, but still a five-hour bus-ride is a five-hour bus ride! Giggles and messing around were heard at the hotel until late that night and the next morning we were off to George Washington Academy to compete against four of the other American schools in Morocco. The day was full of flashbacks. In Pakistan, we did the same thing. We went to fancy American schools and competed as poor mountain children who almost always got beaten soundly. Then we would be given the sportsmanship award (I think they developed that in sympathy for us) and sent us back on the bus once again.

Yesterday it was pretty much the same thing. We had the least athletes and barely any standards to qualify so you can guess what happened! We had one girl and a few shot-putters who did quite well. The kids' coach is an Olympic-hopeful. He has come here between his junior and senior year in the States (he's of Moroccan origin) to train for college scholarships and beyond because of our altitude. He left the boys in his dust for the 1500 and lapped the last kid much to the screaming delight of our discouraged little school!

Another flashback was that Katrina was chosen for 100 m, 200 m, and long jump - exactly my events! She made the finals for both running events even though she is at least a head shorter than all the other girls (10-12). She didn't place in the finals, but she ran and jumped her little heart heart out. All the kids were taken aback by the hot, humid air of Casa in contrast to our pure, clean, cool, air of Ifrane!

The other event - joy - was my nephew's wedding, which happened towards the end of the track meet our time. It was hard not to be there, but since they live-streamed it, we were able to watch it. Towards the end of the track meet, we got permission to use a classroom and got connected to the internet to watch the wedding of Dustin and Emily in New York state. We caught the first half of the wedding but then lost the live-feed. After we had lost it for a while, I went out to Facebook and found that one of the ushers had written on FB that D&E were officially married! Talk about fast connections. To think that we, in Africa, could know the moment they were married (even though we lost the picture) was pretty amazing! We are excited for more pictures to come!

Then it was back on the bus for a loooooong ride home!

Summer Part II

It's amazing and overwhelming to think of all the kindness we receive in the summers. We're homeless and car-less but yet so many host and lend to us that we are humbled and thankful . . .

Visiting with Brad and Nancy in their wonderful new home in Fargo.

My chef nephew with his assistants - making food for Daniel & Helen's 25th wedding anniversary celebration!

There's the family! Alex & Emily (to be married in December!), Daniel, Helen (and yes, that's Helen's original dress!), Timothy, Andrew & David

Annual Olive Garden meal with Steve in Wichita!

Husking CORN in Meade which led to a very important part of our visit with the Reimers - eating corn!

They tell me I'm 40 now! Even had a gorgeous cake & wonderful party in Meade to prove it!

Such a special family - Charla, Jonathan and Kiana nearly a year after their husband/father was killed in a motorcycle accident. Spent some precious time together.

Good times with Grandma and Grandpa!

Sea World! The family favorite from Orlando - what amazing shows and animals! Gerald got stuck on the one roller coaster there - a little scary! But thankfully came off all in one piece!

Practically Perfect Mary Poppins! Lovely! Epcot this day - great to see all the country pavillions - especially Morocco's! Very authentic except that they had everything on the menu and fully-stocked bathrooms! Quite the storm the day we were here, so cut short.

Yes, that's right - we did Disney this year! Isn't it nice it's on the way out back to Morocco?

Our last stop before Disney - with Troy & Emily. Great to see Matthew doing so well after his diagnosis this spring. He is a champion in dealing with his low-fat diet and Lorenzo's oil. We are so thankful!

Summer

Oh dear - I'm doing a terrible job of keeping up with the blog. Sorry! I am still pretty swamped with the new job and am wondering when I'll get faster at planning! Here are a few summer pics to catch up a bit. I'm not reducing the sizes of the pictures, so please let me know if you have a problem viewing them.

I will not be able to post as much as before but I'll be able to do an entry every week or two.

Lots of pool time - it was so hot! This is at our smaller Friesen reunion (just Mom, the sibs, and the kids). So neat to see all those little nephews and nieces who used to run around in diapers and in general, cause all kinds of excitement, old enough to sit down and talk with! It feels like the size of our family doubled!

The dear Friesen brothers singing - sad not to hear Dad's voice, but I know he's singing in heaven!

Half of the Friesen family - such a great group - impossible to get us all together, but we try! God's faithfulness through the generations is so evident and tangible at these gatherings. What a blessing!

These are out of order - but here the girls are with Vera who had lots of teacher tricks to keep the girls happily entertained! We stayed with the Isaacs for a few days after the reunion.

Fun at the new children's center in Topeka! Dennis and Barb were ready and waiting to spoil the girls as soon as we arrived!

A few of the Friesens who stood still long enough for a picture.

Time with Mom in Hillsboro! She's doing well and as full of energy as always!