Imperishable Inheritance

Well, it's been a little while since my last post'three months in fact! I took a little excursion to North Africa to discern more clearly the will of God in my life. There is no doubt that I accomplished my goals and much more during this trip. Due to the length of the article I will break it into two parts.

Heading Over

I started my journey in the middle of August. I left my job, family, friends, and life in America for a short time. I went to London then to Spain where we stayed for a short while being briefed on our upcoming trip. We also received introductory training into the culture, security, and we also had a chance for us to become acclimated to one another. It was a profitable time, and it was here that I made a mistake that would determine the outcome of the trip. We then packed our bags and headed to our new home wide-eyed and excited.

Intensive Immersion

We then were subjected to the rigorous schedule that would make up the majority of our time. We became acclimated to our base town, and then we started the schedule that consisted of an intensive physical training program; class in theology, cultural anthropology, and information related to living in this Muslim world; and we also started discipleship that would last throughout the trip.

It was in this leg of the trip that I became very ill. In fact, at any one time 3-4 of us were sick. It was a constant struggle, but this was the worst. I missed our first excursion due to the illness. I spent a weekend in the fetal position with incredible stomach pains. I eventually did recover from this illness, but I would struggle with other health issues throughout the trip. It was one of the largest struggles amongst my team.

I did make it to the second excursion which was a trip to the wilderness. Here we practice using GPS, navigation techniques, and other survival techniques. One thing I noticed was the amount of team-building activities that we were doing. They stressed to us that the number one reason for missions teams breaking up was not getting along. It was obvious they were out to alleviate this sad truth that plagues much of the church. I found this especially important when in a closed country where the stresses of everyday life were extremely heightened.

A New Language and a New Family

We then started one of the most difficult academic things we did which was learning the local dialect. This dialect is a variant of Classical Arabic, and it was extremely difficult. We were given introductory lessons in conversation, but when we started learning the language it became evident that it was a difficult but not impossible task. We had to travel each day over an hour to get to our classes, and that alone was enough to stress us out.

During this time the Muslim pillar of Ramadan started. This is supposedly the month where the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad. They spent the month fasting from the first prayer (4:00 A.M.) to about 6:30 P.M. It was interesting to see how everyone in this culture becomes instantly religious; it's similar to Christmas and Easter here, but it's much larger and more prominent. This was the first time that Ramadan wasn't just something I prayed for, but it was something that had a direct and substantial impact upon my daily life. Even though we didn't fast, the cultural change around us impacted us greatly.

We then took a trip to the religious and cultural center of the country. It was here that I got to see the country as I imagined. Up to this point I saw only touristy cities, but this city was different. Ramadan wasn't just a cultural event here it truly made up the whole of life. Devout Muslims were much easier to find here as opposed to our base town that was a tourist spot full of nominality. We were all split up into home stays where we stayed with a traditional family that spoke as much English as I Arabic.

It was here that I truly experienced Ramadan. When I got the courage to go out at night after Fitur (the daily breaking of the fast), and when I opened the front door there were men prostrating right in front of the house! The Mosque was so full that the men had spilled over into the streets for prayer. As I watched the ceremonialism I was broken even deeper for these people. It was one of the most humbling experiences I had while there. I then met with men at the corner cafe right after their prayer, and we talked for hours on philosophy, science, religion, and I got to share the Gospel with them. It was an amazing experience I won't soon forget.