I spent a total of 5 weeks in North Africa and it was one of the craziest but also most rewarding experiences of my life, definitely something I will never forget. We went into North Africa to teach English and make friends with refugees, as well as work on a new English school in one of the refugee camps. Unfortunately our plans fell through, and we also experienced almost two weeks of pretty heavy rain that washed out a lot of the houses, since they are made out of sand and mud. The boys on our team helped put up a few relief tents for some of the people that lost their homes as well as lay down tile work so that the long term missionaries could have a kitchen in their common house. Us girls were able to clean the classrooms in the English center and teach English to some of our friends during home visits, as well as in the classrooms in another camp. A typical day was spent immersing ourselves in culture, making dinner or washing our melfas (traditional dress), making friends, and praying for the refugees here. And of course making traditional tea. Lots and lots of tea.
During about half of our stay we lived with host families in the camps. My friend Zoe and I stayed with Sura (not her real name) and her family. The first week we stayed with them they killed a goat for us to welcome us into their family. They even graciously showed us pictures of them slaughtering the goat for us. They also gave us new melfas and Sura and her sister did our make up for us. We ate lunch around 2 and then rest during the hottest part of the day (around 110-120 degrees) from around 3-5 then we danced and made tea and had dinner around 10 or 11, did the dishes, and went to sleep on our mats under the stars.
One of the nights we spent with Sura, after she had finished the last of five daily prayers to Allah, we asked her if we could pray with her and ask Isa (Jesus) to give us dreams. She said yes, so we prayed and then fell asleep. Early the next morning we asked her if she had any dreams and she said yes! She said that she had dreamt of a huge lion who was following her around. We asked her if it was a good lion and she said "oh yes, he was a very good lion, but every time I look at him he would walk away." Zoe and I asked our friend Timmy what he thought about the dream and he said that it was Jesus and He wants her to follow Him, that's why He walked away! So Zoe and I were able to tell her that the lion in her dream was Isa and He wants her to follow Him, and she seemed excited about it. We had several other amazing talks with her and at one point I gave her my testimony about how God changed my heart and helps me to trust people, because that was something she struggled with. She listend to our worship music with us and we talked many times about the differences of following Islam and loving God. She even asked if she could read my bible on one of the last days. I'm very excited to watch God continue to draw her, and many others in, and I'm so grateful that He allowed me to be apart.
Another night Zoe and I decided it would be fun to make an "American" meal for our host family, so we asked Sura how many of her family members would be home and she said about 4-5 (she speaks fairly good English). So we bought enough food for 4-5 but while we were preparing our mashed potatoes and half a chicken, Sura's cousins and brothers came over and more and more of their friends until their were 13 people! Zoe and I looked at our 8 potatoes and half a chicken and decided to ask Jesus to multiply the food as we put in the pot. "And leftovers too!" we said as we put the two handfuls of potatoes into the boiling water. About 20 minutes later, Daisia (Sura's sister) took the pieces of potato out with a ladle and she just kept scooping and scooping! "There's more?" Zoe asked, "yes" Daisia said with a straight face. Zoe and I lost it. "That's soooo not how much I put in their dude." We were laughing so hard. Thank you Jesus. Then we were pouring and pouring the carton of milk to make our potatoes and Zoe grabbed it to hand to me so I could use the rest and realized that it was full! "Did you get a new milk??" she asked. "No, that's the one I've been using this whole time." I replied. We were so blown away by God's provision. We even had leftovers, just like we had asked. It really spoke to me and Zoe personally as we were both deciding whether we should continue with YWAM in a secondary school, even though we didn't see the funds, and this was one of the turning points in decided to trust God, because He alone is worthy and He really is provider. Even of potatoes and milk. :)
I have many more stories like these and would love to share with you! Please message me or leave me a comment and I'd love to tell you more. Thank you so much for your interest and support. Love you all!
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