Morocco is the milk

To accept everything is an exercise, to understand everything a strain.
Orthodoxy

I found Morocco to be a land of color, hospitality, and couscous. 

Oh, and beautiful camels.

Honestly, it was refreshing to be in a developing country. So many things-even the smell of the fresh air- reminded me of Honduras. One particularly difficult time with respect to nostalgia was a short walk to a beautiful outlook, led by a kid no more than 10 years old. He and a group of little, soon-to-be friends accompanied us through their narrow streets, kicking around an old soccer ball and trying to make small conversation with the few arab words we knew. 

Passing by shanty towns was also difficult. Many people come into the cities seeking a higher standard of living, and they're left in slum like towns on the outskirts- no running water, no address to put down for applications. 

I was forced to think again about how I fit ___(fill in the blank with some unjust thing) into my faith in a God who is just and loving. Why does evil happen?

And again I was brought back to the evil- the injustice- that I am so thankful He allowed: the cross.

That's the only response I can accept to that question, for now. It just isn't a scientific one; it doesn't ask for an explanation of why there is evil in the world and why it can be that evil existing in the world doesn't contradict God's character.

It's a personal question. And He gives a personal answer: me too. I'm not far off. I suffer from evil too.

So I thought of that quote up there and the reality that understanding everything is a strain.

One thing I love about Morocco is their way of talking- every other sentence included a 'God be praised' or 'God willing'. I don't believe in the same God, but it was still so encouraging to hear a people who do not presume to know everything or be in control.

And, amazingly, I met a sister in the Lord! The Moroccan family I stayed with has two students from the U.S. for the semester and, soon after meeting them, one was talking about how she wants to do campus ministry and I was like 'no way! I'm doing that this summer!' God be praised. I was so encouraged.

I also missed home a little extra in Morocco because every day, at every meal, we drank this delicious Moroccan tea that is just like the iced tea my mom makes during the summer with mint that grows beside our house. 

But at least I got cleaner than I've ever been since birth. We went to the Hammam-the public baths- and received these scrubbing gloves that literally take the top layer of skin right off. It was quite the experience. That's about all I have to say about that.

After the baths we all got henna. As we had been traveling in groups, we now got to see other people in the program for the first time in a couple days (and those being very exiting but tiring days), and it felt a little like a family reunion. I realized how blessed we are by this program. IES Granada es la leche. Morocco es la leche.

That literally translates 'it's the milk'. But in Spanish that means it's really great...It cracks me up every time.

Toward the end of the weekend we got to hike up to a home in a rural village and talk to a woman and her mother about their lives. It was so special to talk to them and learn about their experiences, their struggles, their joys. 
We talked about the great disadvantages of being a woman in their time and the things they remember fondly. For example, the mother said that, as the youngest, her brothers treated her like a princess. She said that with the cutest expression, revealing how sweet those memories are to her.


Her daughter and one of guys in our group somehow almost got together. 
*please note that this is all through a translator* 
The daughter said she could see right through him, that he has a golden heart. Then she proceeded to tell him there is a difference between light honey and dark honey and that dark honey is better. Yes, he's african american. And he responded, 'I like moroccan honey'... Just chilling in a rural village in the mountains of northern Morocco. We were about dying with laughter.


We spent the last night in Chefchaouen. It was a dream- all blue and white. 

I found a Penn State sticker in our hotel the first night in Morocco. I must say I miss Penn State a lot and I am greatly looking forward to my return, Lord willing that I return. 

But I've decided to enjoy the time that remains. The Lord brought me to this verse a couple days ago: He who goes out weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126

I guess I needed a reminder that He is working things during my time here that I will harvest later. He's sowing things-whatever lessons He's had for me-that I know will result in later joy. These lessons sometimes involve a little weeping, but I am looking forward to bringing Him a harvest with shouts of joy. 

One tapa at a time

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs

Thinking about the last two and a half months in Spain, I am completely in awe of how the Lord gave me a great friend in Molly!

Today we hiked up to the most beautiful outlook, soaked in the sun on her terrace (sorry Pennsylvania friends...I am a little jealous of the snow honestly), and then got ice cream and talked about how if we hadn't become friends this would all be so much harder.

One tapa at a time!
She said this in passing the other night and then we stopped and realized this short phrase holds so much meaning, and should probably be famous or something. Thinking about doing one tapa at a time was like a nice deep breath, considering all the things we have to do and then remembering that in Spain we can just do one thing at time. And it's like the Lord has a million ways to tell me, 'don't worry'.
*tapa=small food item that comes free with a drink in Granada. Examples: small sandwich, jam, fried eggplant, shish kebab, little fajitas, some jam, calamari, jam. 

It is SO good to process all the change with someone going through the same things. 

I guess this is just a little thank you note to her for being a great friend and to the Lord for giving me a friend in her!

I didn't know what to write about this week and she jokingly said 'about how cool I am?' and then I thought, perfect- a short post about how blessed I am before the Morocco trip so people can forgive me for all I write in the post about that experience. 

So, get ready for ensuing stories from upcoming adventures in the north western tip of  Africa!

As far as it depends on you

If matters go according to His will, they go according to mine. Consequently nothing can go "wrong",-I must be satisfied.
Mozart

This weekend Korrinne, a friend I met through the DiscipleMakers Missions Conference, came down to visit from her own short term home in Salamanca. 

It has been sweet to gain a new appreciation for Granada through the eyes of someone who is for the first time seeing all the wonders that have begun to seem normal to me. And everything is just a little more special now that it's spring, and the flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining (and burning my face even when I wear sunscreen).

We visited the Alhambra, went to a bar to watch Barcelona play Real Madrid (those guys get into it, man), toured the Arab markets, and enjoyed many beautiful views that I have already seen but now seem even more precious.

Hanna, my german friend, is currently volunteering in South Africa and she texted me yesterday: Seeing so much, but literally Megan, today I realized so much that not even traveling to the most beautiful places on earth makes you REALLY happy. NOTHING can fulfill you besides God!

How true. I've felt the truth of that text many times. While walking around that white washed area of town you see in the picture above, I ask myself 'how can I ever be discontent here?' Well, when I'm not finding my contentedness (is that really a word...?) in the Lord. 

Having Korrinne here was a huge encouragement to that end, since I got to talk to someone with the same beliefs as me with no language or distance barriers. It has been SO good to keep up with friends back home and to talk to Spanish Christians here, but it was something else to just walk around with a good friend who also wants to serve the Lord. 

I've been struggling a little with a particular class, Islamic Civilizations. And with the culture in general these days which places 'sincerity' above truth. Like, 'do you really believe sincere followers of other religions are going to hell?' 'I just can't reconcile the evil that happens in the world- how do you explain that and a good God?'

Well, how do you explain it without a good God?

For me, his goodness exposes the evil that we manifest, not the other way around. 

'I think Jesus was just a good teacher.."

Okay, well, what do you think his main message was? 

If he was a good teacher, he wouldn't have lied over and over about his own identity, claiming to be God and teaching his followers to follow him. 

But sometimes we are just too intolerant to the idea of hearing others out. Learning about Islam has, honestly, been a blessing. 

I am blessed to know that not all muslims are as radical in their beliefs or treatment of women as those seen on tv. I'm blessed to even learn the difference between 'arabic' and 'muslim'. There are a lot of things I just never knew. There are a lot of prejudices I'm now finding unjustifiable. There are a lot of good things to be found in other schools of thought.  

And in some of my most honest moments I can admit that I wonder how I can hold on to Jesus's claim that no one comes to the Father except through him. 

But that is just the wondering I want to be doing here- why do I believe Jesus is the only way? How do I think of other religions in light of that belief? How do I love those who disagree with me and live at peace with them? And why is the topic that is so often on my mind so seldom on my lips?

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Romans 12

So the refreshment of having a friend here with whom I could just share my joys with and hear 'amen!' instead of 'get it, girl!' or something along the lines of self fulfillment was just really, really nice. 

And to expound on the quote above, matters aren't always going according to my will in the sense of my wants and wishes. Things are frustrating (like the Simpsons-who knew Spain is in love with the show that gave me my first existential crisis?), some people just grate on me, and frequently I just want to curl up in bed. But when I think of putting my will in line with His, and seeking to be satisfied in Him in the time I have left here, I am totally at peace.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 

Colossians