Dead ends leading to friends

The Counselor is our rock. He provides for us even in the most unlikely situations. His timing is perfect and he has a plan even when it feels like we keep running into walls or coming to dead ends. One day in our village trip really taught me this.
We started out the day with a crowded bus ride and a visit to a hotel, the place of employment of a friend. We then asked several people where the road to our next destination (B*) was. We were told several times that it is too far to B. "f'rajlkum? baid bzeff!" ("you're going on foot? it's so far!") Finally though, we made it to the road we were headed for and walked for a while. After maybe an hour, we saw a road that turned off to the side that looked like a more scenic route and we decided to take it. We didn't know that it did not lead to our intended destination. After a little while a man told us that we couldn't get to B by that road, we would have to turn around and go back to the main road if we wanted to go to B. By this time it was about 3:30 so we stopped for a little while to ask the counselor what he wanted us to do. We decided to continue on that road and see where we were an hour later. We made it another half an hour before another man told us that he was concerned for our safety since we were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, so we sat in the grass with a woman and her daughter who were grazing two cows and some sheep on a hill while a younger guy tried to get us a taxi back to the main road or on to a different town. We waited maybe half an hour and none came that could take us, and we didn't really feel welcomed there so we started walking back to the main road that we had turned off. We met a man who helped us out a little bit, he pulled some bread out of his jilabba (like a jacket dress)hood and gave it to us and then when we got to the road, he stood with us for like 20 minutes or half an hour trying to get us on a bus to B. He was finally successful and we were on our way. By this time, the sun was beginning to set and we were on our way to a town where for a time foreigners were not allowed to spend the night, and we had been told by a young woman on the road to not accept rides from strangers because it isn't safe. Needless to say, most of us were a little nervous.
On the bus, both Heidi and Jordan made friends and exchanged phone numbers but when we got to B we said goodbye to them; the girl Heidi met told us that we could stay with them if we didn't find anywhere else. Before too long it was dark, so we called Heidi's friend and asked if we could spend the night with them. That was fine, so we planned on that, but not 10 minutes later, Jordan's friend called and said we were her guests. So in a matter of 15 minutes we went from being shelterless to having two options of a place to stay. We ended up splitting up, three in one house and three in the other.
As I was literally tucked in bed and given a good night kiss from our host mom several hours later, I realized how good our counselor is to us. We spent the day roaming around in the middle of nowhere and feeling opposition from most people we met; the men who told us we should turn around, the people who didn't seem to welcome us. It all seemed to be for nothing, a waste of our time. But if we hadn't done that, we would not have made it to that bus at that time and we wouldn't have met those people who welcomed us into their home so warmly. We ended up spending two nights in the town where not too long ago it would have been illegal to spend one night! The counselor knew exactly what he was doing, and we've made some amazing friends!


Thanks so much for your thoughts as we were traveling!
-Jamila

*city not specified.

moving on...

Well, as another chapter of our North Africa experience comes to a close, I am reminded once again of how short our time here actually is. The end of Salaam 2, our second level of language class, took me back to high school graduation a little bit. Heidi, Lavonda, and I have been taking language class since the beginning of our time here and it's end is a little bit bittersweet.
So now, what will we be doing with the rest of our time?
Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for a trip to some villages. We basically are taking a change of clothes and some snacks and walking for 6 days, depending on the hospitality of the village people, who will be mostly Berbers (the natives of the North Africa), for our shelter and meals.
After that, two of us will be going to do childcare for a retreat in Melilla, Spain. (It's on the continent of Africa but Spanish property.) And then on the 26th we go vacationing in Spain!!
When we are done with all these amazing trips, we're hoping to get more involved in some volunteer opportunities. We've been doing some childcare for workers and volunteering at an American School, but there are a couple opportunities that interest us that have yet to work out. Hopefully with a freer schedule those things will fall into place.
Things to think about:
-health safety and provision for the village trip.
-that our volunteering opportunities would come together when we get back.
-guidance and wisdom in everything
-team unity
-that we would continue to learn the language outside the classroom and build relationships.
We are thankful for:
-our opportunity to see the countryside and its people.
-successful completion of language school.
-good weather over the last couple days and a good forecast for our walking through villages!

Thanks for your support!
Jamila for the team.