Sojourning and Sparrows

For the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of traveling with a friend to North Africa and sojourning around various parts of Morocco. The capital of Casablanca, the city of Fes, and the coast of Bouznika. It was an incredible experience and journey, and one that led me down and around trails of beautiful countryside, aromatic spices, delicious fresh fruits and nuts, coastal sunsets, palace ruins, palm trees, cobblestone alleyways where donkeys are king, cracked, castle towers where sparrows have made their nests within its walls, and towards people whose methodical prayers rang out in the land morning, noon and night. While Morocco is technically a part of the African continent, it is a deceiving geographical fact, because the culture is anything but African. Arabic and French are the two primary languages spoken, much of the style is defined by Islamic rituals (women wearing berkas and dressed in long robes), the food is quite European, and many tourists roam to and fro.

As such, locals would consider African countries below the Sahara Desert as the “true” African countries. So, for me, this trip was an interesting break from the typical lifestyle I have grown accustomed to for the past 8 months.

Unfortunately, I did NOT run into Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.

But, I met many other interesting characters along the way. The interesting flight attendants who speak five languages, the weaver, the leather tanner, the fresh fruit juicer, the French waiter, the Spice shop man, the tour guide of the Mosque, the poor widow in the street, the Australian lady on the outgoing flight who was going to see her brother run in the Sahara Desert Marathon, the Americans on business from Baltimore, MD in Dubai, and yes…even the buff Moroccan dude who graciously helped me lift my suitcase down off the train! In moments like these, I reprimand myself for not having practiced my French more in college…but, what can I say? I am of a generation whose language flexibility is that of the web interface and Google, not of dialects and linguistic mastery. Sigh. Knowing multiple languages is a lost art.

So, as I sojourned, I snapped as many pictures as I could, and have now posted them in an album on Face-book. Feel free to take a peek. I must admit, I am going to be lazy and NOT post too many pictures here within this blog post, simply because it took me multiple hours to get the 60 up in my FB album, and I don’t have the time or energy to sit and upload three photos at a time! It was such a joy to capture some of the things I experienced and saw, and my only wish is that some of you could have been along for the journey with me. Funny lesson, but as I’ve traveled quite a bit this year, it has occurred to me that traveling IS fun, but not as fun without friends and family to experience it with you. I can’t believe individuals stuff their back-packs and head off for months on end by themselves to see the world! I can’t imagine how lonely that would be. It was so nice for me to have my travel buddy, Lauri, for the flights, the train rides, the moments when you just need somebody familiar in unfamiliar places. (Besides the fact that we both spoke English!)

Some other highlights of my trip was enjoying a Decaf Americano with a shot of Raspberry in the Dubai airport, swimming in the cold, Atlantic Ocean on the upper North-West coast of Morocco and knowing that it was the same water on MY side of the East Coast, buying awesome Chrismas presents in the Medina (shopping district of Fes), all the delicious, fresh food, watching new movies on the airplane (I haven’t watched TV or seen a new movie in almost a year), reading “Outliers” by M Gladwell, attending a couple of local Moroccan events that truly delved me into their culture and customs, walking through the 2nd largest Mosque (Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca) and seeing its grandeur and egg-white washed and glazed columns and pools, developing friendships with people to whom I was introduced, and learning from the sparrows.

Learning from the sparrows? Let me explain.

One day, I was sitting with a lady I met there and we were watching hundreds of sparrows fly in and out of the small holes in the sides of the old, palace walls. These little nooks were the homes of these plain birds, and each morning and evening, they went out and went in from these nooks. She commented, “Did you know that sparrows can’t really stand on their two feet for very long?” I replied, “What do you mean?” She explained, “Well, sparrows are genetically geared to either be flying for hours at a time, or simply resting in the cleft of the rocks. Unlike robins, or some other type of bird, they can’t just perch on their two feet for long periods of time.” “So, what’s the parallel…?” I inquired. She smiled, then said, “It’s a beautiful picture of the Christian walk. We should either be flying on the winds and wings of the Spirit of God, or resting in the everlasting arms, but never sitting too long on our two feet, as if we could self-sufficiently depend on our own strength.” I looked at her, and shook my head in amazement. Her insight was so TRUE, so real, so simple.

I walked away from that conversation thinking of the words of the psalmist in Psalm 84:

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise!
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and so have we, if we have embraced the eternal dwelling to which Christ has called us heavenward…the highway to Zion. As we rest in His grace, and run by His Spirit, He will always equip us to go from strength to strength…but we must always be residents of HIS house, not our own earthly residence.

As my sixteen girls return this upcoming Monday for our final Term in the school year, this spiritual metaphor is going to be on my heart and mind. I know that unless I find my strength in Christ, I will falter and fail and flop. Yet, as I wholly lean on Jesus, I am so encouraged thinking about the future grace for EACH day that the Lord has already stored up for me!

And, I just know that the next three months are going to be such a JOY in general – teaching 1st-4th grade music and theory, helping sponsor the Choir Tour through Nairobi, mentoring some Senior girls, hosting birthday dinners for my girls, watching Rugby games on Upper Field, helping assist a Sewing Project that is being started up among some local Kenyan ladies, continuing to invest in friendships here, camping with 7th graders and the Stocksdales in May at their lake cottage, and so much more!

It’s hard to believe that in under 100 days, I will be flying home to America, and my year here in Kenya will come to a conclusion. Already, I have begun to make preparations for selling household items and coordinating with other staff who want to purchase things from me. Already, I have begun to network with people back home as I’ll be looking for a new job. Already, my tickets home are booked. Already, my heart has begun to get excited at the thought of seeing YOU all! But, in the meantime, I want to be ALL here. I want to live whole-heartedly. And, I want to fully dive into each day, eager and ready to serve and to encourage and to guide the girls whom God has placed in my life.