North Africa

We searched for a man (or woman) of peace. This isn’t always easy to find.

A man of peace is someone who has influence and respect in their community AND is open to learning about the Gospel. This learning can be at different stages – from totally grasping and accepting the Gospel to simply being open enough to discuss Jesus Christ.

We searched in northern Africa for this person. The mountainous terrain provided a beautiful backdrop. Houses were built up the side of the mountains. In most areas, streets were so narrow that a car could not go down them, only pedestrian traffic.

We hiked up and down the mountain, stopping to talk to anyone. We sat at roadside tea houses, drinking tea (a glass of hot, sweet tea with a handful of mint leaves). We talked to the waiters and those sitting near us. Most men were happy to talk and curious about where I came from. (I was the only blond hair, blue-eyed person on the team – so it was obvious that I wasn’t from North Africa.)

Another woman on my team and I talked to a hotel clerk. She was young and very interested in what we were doing in her city. She wanted to set me up with her brother on a date (maybe on my next trip to North Africa, I’ll have time for a date). We watched women wash clothes at the community washing machine (a river with small waterfalls).

We finally ran into the person we were looking for, the man of peace. He drank tea with us, then invited us to his house for lunch. As we sat talking to him in his home, he told us that every time he meets a Latin person or an American – they are always so nice. Then, he asked if all Latins and Americans were Christians. That made me smile. You see, God is working in this man’s life. God is making sure that every foreigner he meets is a Christian and has a chance to share more about the Gospel with him.

Our man of peace had watched Mel Gibson’s “Passion” more than a dozen times. He had a lot of questions about Jesus’ suffering. This provided the perfect opportunity for my team to share more details about Jesus and his life.

All of this was going on in Spanish, so I just sat back and prayed. Then, his wife walked in with the girls. She spoke some French, so we ended up talking about Jesus, too, as we played with the girls.

Please pray for this family. God is working in the hearts of this family of peace. It has been five years since they met their first Christian and had their first conversation about Jesus.

"Taxi Driver"

I spend a lot of time traveling. This means hours on the airplane, bus, train, boat, taxi and sometimes camels.

One of my favorite things to do in a new place is to ask my taxi driver to take me to his favorite spots. There’s a British television show called “Taxi Driver” that uses this concept. A taxi driver shows you the town from his viewpoint. Often, you see things that are off the beaten track. So, on this trip – I pretended I was the host of the show “Taxi Driver” and went on a taxi adventure.

I saw some fantastic scenery. In Spain, mountains glistened with snow. We went to a scenic overlook in Granada. From there, you could see the mountains, the entire city, and a castle – all while you sat listening to gypsies playing flamenco music on their guitars.

We crossed from southern Spain over to northern Morocco by boat. We jetted across the Straits of Gibraltar. Once in our city of destination, a guide showed us the city from his viewpoint. On foot, we trekked up and down the cobblestone streets built on the side of a mountain. I got super thirsty so, we stopped at a table on the side of the road where a woman squeezed several oranges into a glass. (There was only one glass. So you had to wait for the person in front of you to finish before you could drink your juice.) The juice was so sweet, but I think this is where I picked up some kind of bug that made me pretty sick later.

Back in the taxi, I asked the driver to take us to his favorite spot. The Saudi Arabian Embassy was his favorite building in town. His brother was one of the guards and got us in to look around. It was gorgeous (but we couldn’t take pictures). Next, we stopped by the side of the road and bought some treats from three boys. It was some kind of root plant. It was very bitter and not very good, but playing around with the boys was worth the 3 cents.

Finally, we got to the taxi driver’s favorite spot – Hercules’ cave. Inside the cave, there’s an opening leading out to the ocean. The opening is the shape of Africa (only backwards). Outside the cave, you can ride camels or just sit on the rocky shore drinking coffee with locals.

The next day, we took off for another city. The taxi driver drove crazy fast around the mountain passes. Our wheels squealed as we rounded the hairpin curves. He fearlessly passed cars on roads that were not meant to have more than one car abreast. Then, all of a sudden he pulled over and motioned for me to get my camera out. I looked to my left and saw the most beautiful lake with a river running into it.

The next town we visited the taxi driver told us it was all painted in different shades of blue and white. It was a magnificent sight and looked so clean. The driver dropped us off at the taxi rank (since the town was a pedestrian only city) and gave us directions to his favorite destinations and a hostel.

We carried our luggage through the crowded, narrow streets. Vendors were on both sides of the streets. There were so many smells and sites to take in. One of my favorite stores was the soap and perfume store (suggested by the taxi driver). It had a lovely display of dye outside. And I bought some Moroccan perfume there – it looks like soap. You rub the waxy stuff on your body and the scent stays on for hours on end.

One taxi driver had so much fun with us that we called his wife and two-year-old daughter on the cell phone. He passed the phone to me so I could talk to his wife (even though we didn’t speak the same language). Then, I talked to his daughter. He was so proud of his daughter, his wife and his country!

There’s nothing like discovering a new country and culture through the eyes of a local. Meeting the local people really brings a country to life and always makes it become one of my “favorites.”

Spain

Spain is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve EVER visited. The mountains come out of no where and are amazing. I saw snow glistening on top of the mountains. I also splashed in the VERY cold Mediterranean Sea.

I had the chance to meet some really great Spaniards. I attended some meetings in Baptist churches targeting Spanish speakers to take the Gospel to the rest of the world. The ladies in churches are like women in every church in the world – they prepared more food than humanly possible to consume and demanded that everyone keep eating. I ate some traditional Spanish food. It wasn’t what I expected. I thought things would be spicy and hot, but instead it was all pretty bland tasting, however, it was very good. I even ate olives – okay, if you are in Spain you HAVE to eat olives even if you don’t like olives.

I traveled all of the southern part of Spain. I’d love to go back for vacation and have a chance to see it all at a slower pace, instead of from the back seat of a car.

Pray for these Spanish churches that they catch the vision for taking the Gospel to the Nations.