During our whole time in Morocco I was thinking ahead to our next country: Mauritania. One thing bugged me: the visas. It was possible to get our Mauritanian visas in Rabat, Morocco, but according to the Mauritanian embassy in South Africa we would be able to get it on the border. Knowing of the disconnect that so often exists between embassies and border controls I wasn't entirely comforted. Especially since it was Mauritania, the border was in the middle of the Sahara and I had read stories on the internet of guys coming up against the fluctuating rules at that border post.
Going to Rabat however would mean an extra 200km of travel and missing out on ministry opportunities in Casablanca. So Detlef (he was my co-pilot) and I decided to take the step of faith and opt for getting the visas on the border. I have to mention that from Rabat to the Mauritanian border was over 2000km's. Which meant that if we did not get the visas we would have to travel back to Rabat which would mean an extra 4000km's! Not something we were looking forward too.
So after finishing in Fez we went back to Casablanca where we served with our hosts in a local school. From there we jumped on the train to Marrakesh. This train ride was less comfortable than the one to Fez: it was overcrowded so most of us had to stand the odd 4 hours.
Marrakesh is situated at the foot of the Atlas mountains and is known as the “pink city” since almost all the buildings in the city are light pink. The city also has the largest traditional souk (market) in Morocco and is famous for the busiest square in Africa1.The square is filled with snake-charmers, performers, stalls and vendors. According to local folk the mosque also has the “most perfect” minaret in all of the Muslim world, claiming that it is 100% square.
When we arrived at the train station our host picked us up in his Landy. It was quite an adventure just to fit all 8 of us with our luggage into the vehicle. Little did we know that this was still comfortable compared to what we would experience during the rest of the year!
Our host took us directly to our first assignment: a catholic church. They had been using one of the buildings on the site and to show their gratitude to the church they wanted to clean up the garden a bit. We jumped right in and started working.
All this time I was also worried about our finances. Morocco was way more expensive than we planned and we were already over the budget. But God just proved his faithfulness again that day. When we finished working in the garden the Priest invited us into the monastery. There they had prepared a meal for us and the table was stacked with food! We sat down to eat dinner with the priests and monks and had a great time. Afterwards we sang one of our favourite songs for them in the Cathedral. Inwardly I prayed that the church would become a real place of spiritual influence in a city that desperately needed Jesus.
From Marrakesh we travelled 300km's south, via Agadir, to the ancient walled city of Tiznit, here we would meet my parents who were on their way from Portugal on their own travels.
Below: The famous Souk with the "perfect" minaret in the background.
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