Amazing Marrakesh & URGENT Prayer Request
Dear All,
Thursday’s Bottom Line:
Our Morocco team members (Pastor Tim, Judah, Jenni, and Scott) are beating the heat, meeting in person with Judah and Jenni’s online group members, and planning for Saturday’s vision-casting there in Marrakesh.
Thursday’s Prayer Requests:
1. This one is time-critical: From 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Thursday MO time, our team will be holding a special meeting with eight people who have been trained in groups for several months, but who have not yet stepped up to lead new groups. The upcoming two vision-castings (Saturday and Sunday) are the main reasons for this mission trip to Morocco, and we need trained coaches to be standing in the wings ready to lead the new groups we expect attendees to sign up for. These eight people are those potential coaches, so would you please pray NOW for them to step up during today’s special meeting and be willing to lead groups?
2. Cooler weather and that the heat will not affect our team’s ability to function well and sleep at night.
3. Believers in the Marrakesh and Casablanca areas know about the Saturday and Sunday vision-castings and come eager to join groups and experience the disciple-making process firsthand.
Thursday’s Details:
Any time God connects TTC with potential disciple-makers in a new country, there’s a lot of ground work to be done to get the DM movement going and growing there. It often starts with just one or two contacts. Sometimes it explodes suddenly and rapidly like we’ve seen in the Philippines over the past couple years, and sometimes it’s slow and steady for a while before it really takes off like it has in Kenya. God knows exactly what he’s doing in Morocco, and our job is to join him in it; that’s what Pastor Tim, Scott, Jenni, and Judah are doing, so our prayer support and encouragement is vital!
In these updates, addition to sharing the important spiritual work that’s happening, I try to also explain what I can about the culture of a place, and like all cultures, Morocco’s is truly unique. Jenni has been the primary scribe for us in Morocco this week, so please enjoy her updates and pictures.
(These were written over the past few days. Note that when she and Judah left the states last week, the high was 58…)
“The high in Marrakesh today was 108. And yes, it is a DRY heat! We are literally in the Sahara Dessert. The home where we are staying is absolutely lovely…and does not have air conditioning. The pastor brought in a stand-alone AC unit to try to cool down the room where we will sleep.
“We had to hurry to acquire some groceries for tomorrow because everything will be closed down for the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha. Each family will be slaughtering a sheep tomorrow morning right in the middle of the city.
“Another first today was seeing sheep being transported into the city in the back seat of a minivan! Many little lambs are going to lose their lives tomorrow morning. It’s sad that they don’t know this is not required anymore.”
If you zoom in, you may be able to see a lamb standing to the right of the green foliage in the central part of this compound.
Scott said, “You’ve never seen so many goat heads being burned in one place.”
This whole event gives new meaning to goat roast…
Jenni continued, “The BEST part of today was having dinner with our Moroccan discipleship group this evening. It was so nice to sit around the table from all of them instead of talking to them through a screen. We tried tangine (a Moroccan dish cooked in a big clay dish) and shared communion with these loved ones.”
“On Wednesday, we (Pastor Tim, Scott, Judah, and I) met over lunch with some area pastors and staff members from an underground Moroccan church. The worship leader led some worship in Arabic, and we could sing along in English. It was beautiful!
“In the evening, I led some worship and Judah, and I shared our testimony at a prayer meeting in an apartment they call ‘meeting place.’ [This is to avoid suspicion, as believers must meet under cover there.] There were around 20 in attendance, including three from our discipleship group.”
And the next day, she said, “The streets have been abandoned, and most businesses closed down for the Eid holiday (except for the people burning sheep heads on the sidewalks—that is quite a unique smell!). The cost for each family to purchase and sacrifice a lamb is considerable, so they don’t waste anything! Last year, the king of Morocco declared that he would give the people a financial reprieve by sacrificing one lamb for all of the people. Isn’t that interesting? He probably had no idea he was illustrating the gospel.”
Here’s a picture of sunrise from the roof of their house.
Jenni ended with this: “THANK YOU for your prayers! The temperatures are dropping! It was actually cool last night. 65 degrees felt so good! I’ve never been so happy to wake up cold.”
We are all so grateful for your partnership in prayer during this trip. Please don’t stop now!
Blessings,
Patty