From Casablanca to Kingsville

One of the many wonders of the modern age is the ability to travel great distances in a (relatively) short time period. I woke up yesterday in a hotel in Casablanca, and by the end of the day I was asleep at my home in Kingsville. I traveled 3,805 miles (as the crow flies) in about 19 hours. I crossed five time zones chasing the sun on its trek west meaning my day was 29 hours long. I am very happy to be back home and have many stories to tell. I am not sure how I will chronicle my journey although I will make great use of the 1000 plus photos and videos I took and the travel journal I wrote in multiple times each day. For now I am just glad to be home among family and friends.

Greetings From Marrakesh

After a few tough night's sleep in Ain Leuhand some great activities with children during the day, we made the 400 kilometer (about 250 miles) trip to Marrakesh today. We are staying in a beautiful riad in the heart of the old city. I will keep this short since there are others who want to get online, but know that I am well and the trip is going better than I ever could imagine. Tomorrow I will help paint a mural at a cultural arts center. There are new challenges each day and I never really know what I will be doing until I'm in the middle of it, but that is half the fun. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. I will try to post more tomorrow. Until then...I can't believe I will be home on Saturday. I am looking forward to the rest of my time here, but also to seeing family and friends soon.

More News from Fez

After a great night's sleep in an air conditioned room (my first AC of the trip) we took a walking tour of the old section of the city and visited a tannery. We did some shopping on the way back and I found some great tagines that are the pot they do most of their cooking in. This afternoon we went to a girls' detention center and did handcrafts and outdoor games. The temperature was in the vicinity of 114 degrees but it didn't feel a degree above 113. We were all dripping, but we had a great time. The girls are not allowed outside very often, so we wanted to go out for the crafts and games. I got to hold a 3 week old baby boy named Edna, and I taught a ten year old girl who was the daughter of one of the employees how to knit. I also worked with the others in making knotted bracelets which they all enjoyed. The ten year old girl caught on fast and was soon teaching the others (and me when I made mistakes). She spoke perfect French so it was great to spend time with her..

Tomorrow we will go to Tarmalaine and then on to Ain Leu (I'm not sure of the spelling of either of those) I will not have internet access, so feel free to check back in a few days at the earliest.

Things that have struck me about Fez....the streets are very narrow and turn into walkways that also become very narrow...Fez has more stray cats than I have ever seen before...doing laundry in the sink is very gratifying especially with quick dry synthetic clothes that I can wear immediately after washing. Any remaining moisture cools me off in the heat...men can wear shorts here but women cannot...trips that last one month are great except that I miss my friends and family.

I will be home in a week, but I am looking forward to all that the next week holds.

Hello From Fez

We have been busy and have travelled quite a bit. We went to Mergeeza and rode camels in the evening and then again at 5:00 A.M. the next morning to watch the sunrise. After the camel ride we drove most of the day to Tirnest which is a remote village that has had limited contact with Americans and probably never a group of eight at once. After our visit there, during which we meet with lots of people and played with the children, we drove to Fez where I am now. Mergeeza was extremely hot, since it is at the edge of the Sahara. The temperature there reached 110 degrees while we were there, and the tents where we slept did not cool down enough to allow sleep until 2:30 AM which was challenging since we were awakened at 4:45 for the camel ride. The experience was amazing and completely worth the effort. I climbed to the top of the Erg Chibba and saw a fantastic sunrise with the others in our group. The great news for us was that the village of Tirnest, where we were lat night, is part of the way up a mountain so the temperatures were much cooler. It was about 70 degrees at night which made sleeping easy. Mike, the other male on the team, and I slept in a house that has been converted into a barn. In the next room were sheep and other residents were goats, cows, chickens, rabbits, and a donkey or two. It was quite an experience. Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant near the famous Blue Gate in Fez and got to see thousands of birds swooping around having their dinner. It was amazing!!! Here are a few pictures. The first two are from Mergeeza. The second has the dune that I climbed. The third picture has a few of my roommates from last night and the last picture shows some of the country surrounding Tirnest.

Getting Ready to Move On

We are heading off to the desert tomorrow to ride camels. That should be a blast. Then we head off to a remote village that has had very little contact with people from other religions. After that we are off to Fez where we will go visit a detention center and then off to more locales. We will be travelling a lot and I'm not sure when I will have internet access. Things here continue to go really well. Today I did touch-up on a mural and started to teach a few women how to knit. You never know when skills from the past will prove useful.

Five Photos

The internet here is slower than at home but fast enough that I am trying to upload some photos. Since I have already taken more than 600 photos and 40 videos it was difficult to choose just 5, but here they are...On this trip I have learned that it is very hot when you sleep under mosquito netting, but I'll take the heat over the risk of malaria any day. I have learned that sometimes chickens like to hang out in the showers (this guy hung around even during the shower) and that sometimes vans get stuck in the mud. I have learned that some children are too small for the play day that we were running and want to take a nap. I also learned that boys and cats go together all over the world. This is a picture of the boy I got to know today and his cat Trevor.

Many Hours After the Walk

I had a fun walk through the streets with a few of the other team members. We went into a fascinating store that sold wonders of every kind. Most were far too large to bring back, but it was so much fun to look.

Today was a fantastic day...After an amazing Sunday morning meeting with 18 of us, we had a great lunch and then walked back to where we are staying. Since we had taken taxis to the house from the sook we had visited earlier, we were not exactly sure of the way. We got to a fork in the road and had to make a choice. I saw two men walking towards us and got the chance to ask them for directions in French. I studied French for many years and have never before had the chance to use it meaningfully, before this trip. On this trip it has already come in handy quite a few times since many in the local population speak Arabic and French.

While at the lunch I had the chance to speak to a ten year old son of a missionary who was the only child in the group of 18. Before I left home, Sherrill gave me a book of encouragement she had made, in which I read one entry each day from a different one of my friends and family. As it happens today's entry was written by Sherrill and it encouraged me to try to get to know a child and interact with him in a way that would make his day brighter. Given the course of events today this looked to be my only chance. I know I would have talked to him anyway, because as a teacher when I am in a room full of people if there is a child, I will be drawn to him, but in light of Sherrill's words I made a special point to reach out to him. We talked for a while about his life and some of his favorite things (book...The Secret Garden; movie...Despicable Me) and then included other adults into our conversation asking them questions like, if you were an animal what would you be, or if you could be transported into the world in any book to live the rest of your life what book would you choose. It was a lot of fun for all of us and for the ten year old boy since he was an integral part of starting the discussion.

I said before that my health was great which in large part it is, but I do have one small issue. Before we left Liberia we went swimming in the ocean, and I swam out 150 yards or so to what looked like a sand bar with waves breaking on it. As I got nearer and stepped down on it I discovered that it was a reef that had many sharp objects, a few of which decided to break off in my foot. There were six splinter type needles in my foot when I got back to the beach. Three were easily removed right away, and I have removed two more in the last few days. There is one left and it is beneath the skin. It hurts a bit when I walk so I am hoping that it comes out soon.

Hello From Morocco!!!

I am so sorry that I have not been able to post more frequently. The internet in Liberia is virtually non-existent, and even when present is slower than can be imagined. A pastor asked me to download Internet Explorer on his computer because he did not have the disk, but the download speed was less than 1kb per second. It would have taken years (literally) to do at that point.

Now that I can write I am almost at a loss as to what to say. I'll start with big picture things and move into smaller details later. My health and the health of all of the team is excellent. There have been some meals that I have had some concerns about but not eating food offered to me by those who are making a sacrifice to offer it was not an option. My riskiest meal was the send-off meal from Liberia in which I ate a sardine salad sandwich. Although it agreed with me, I have no plans to add it to my diet:)

I was in Monrovia, Liberia last week doing round two of the teacher training workshops in the morning and seminary/computer training in the afternoons. It all went very well. It was wonderful to work alongside fantastic American teachers. Our mission was to teach Liberian teachers how to write effective lesson plans, what teaching strategies they can use, and how they can handle classroom management. We worked with well over 200 teachers that came from more than 80 schools.

I am headed out for a walk....some team members are going out since we have some time to go explore...sorry this is being cut off in mid-thought but when in Morocco...don't sit indoors when there is a walk taking place...

Hello From Ganta!!!

Dear Friends,

I am sitting in Ganta, Liberia which is a nine hour drive from Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. I am using a computer that was donated to a pastor of a local church. No one here could get the computer to connect to the internet. The pastor was amazed that I was able to get it up and running. I so much wanted for him to leave the computer here where we are staying so that I could update the blog. I did not want to ask but was delighted when he offered to let all of us from America use it this evening.

The days here have been amazing!! The teaching of the teachers has been incredible. There are over 90 teachers that have come from 54 schools. The teachers are going to take the training we are offering and share it with all of the teachers in their school. One skill we are teaching is how to write a lesson plan, and we are using the Calvert template that I use with my students at school. I teach in the morning from 9:00 to 1:00, and then grab a quick bite for lunch. I head over to the Liberian International Christian College where I am teaching Rick Warren’s 12 Ways to Study the Bible from 1:30 – 4:00. Our conversations at the college have been amazing. They do not have many materials here and were ecstatic to see that we had brought a suitcase full of brand new resource materials like Topical Bibles, exhaustive concordances, study Bibles, and other books.

The internet connection here is very slow (think dial-up) so I cannot add any pictures. I wish I could because the children and the countryside here are both so beautiful. In a land of such poverty and hardship it is heart-wrenching to see such kind generous people who have such beautiful spirits. Like my trip to the Philippines I have been struck by the fact that they do so much with so little, and I have so much and do so little when I am back home.
The pastor has not used the internet much and has never had a computer that could connect to it, so tomorrow night I am going to show him the ropes. I strongly suspect the lesson will continue in every free moment until I leave on Friday. It is wonderful to be able to help spread my love for technology in a country so far away.

The living conditions in Ganta are very sad to see. The houses, which are usually more like what we would consider a shack only have electricity if they have a generator. The house where I am staying is very nice has a generator that is turned on from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM on some nights and 7:00 PM – 6:00 AM on others. My headlamp has come in very handy. We do have running water from a gravity fed tank but the water pressure is non-existent. A shower is only really possible by dumping cold water over you, soaping up, and then rinsing with more water. It is actually very refreshing since it is very hot here. I sleep under mosquito netting which makes it even warmer. I have been exhausted at the end of each day and sleep has not been a problem. I have not had any sickness at all which I am very thankful. Since there are nine others who can’t wait to use the computer I will sign off. I may be able to do a short post when I am helping the pastor learn how to navigate the computer.

I am so happy to be here!!!!!!!!!!!

Morocco!!!!!!

I am in Morocco typing on a keyboard that is unlike any I have ever seen. The keys are all in the wrong places. The good news is that I am here and doing well. The flight over was smooth but we had some problems because our carry ons were checked by four different people with four different standards. Some people had scales while others would merely look at a bag and declare it to be too heavy. All of the things made it which is key. In one hour we will fly to Liberia. The flight takes four hours. I did not sleep on the flight over, but I got a nap today of about three hours. We are all very excited for the adventures that await us. The next two weeks in Liberia will be busy and I have heard that the internet is very scarce. I will update if possible, but may not be able to. The mood and spirit of the team is wonderful and we are all excited to be here.

I just realized that this is a French keyboard. I had no idea that there keys were different. I am sitting at a reception desk, because the other computers were not working and a person came up and asked me a question. Luckily I know French which is spoken quite a bit here, but I did not know the answer to his question. I met a man from France today on a shuttle bus, and we had a great conversation.

I will write more when I have time and internet but must go now.

Pray that the rest of the travel goes well and our health stays good.

What I Will Be Doing in Morocco

Morocco is going to be whirlwind of activity with a lot of travel and a lot of different activities. I will be doing computer training, helping on various building projects, making first contact with a village that has never had a Christian visit it, working with children at a detention center, leading craft classes in a remote village, helping to paint a mural at a cultural arts center (after I'm done they may take the word "arts" out of their name) and a whole host of other things that will come up along the way. During my two weeks I will be staying in Midelt (4 nights) , Outat Alhaj (1), Merzouga (1), Fes (2), Ain Leuh (2), Marrakech (3), and Casablanca (1) (where I will only answer to the name Victor Lazlo).

I do not know exactly what will happen, but I am excited for all of the possibilities which soon will be realities.

Liberia in a Nutshell

There are a lot of websites out there that deal with Liberia. One that is very brief can be seen here. Since some of my students may be following my trip I will not post sites that deal with the wars and other troubles that Liberia has endured. The state of education in Liberia is poor but improving. The president is a huge advocate of education but does not have the necessary funds to completely overhaul the system. Most of the qualified teachers left the country during the times of strife never to return. There are many in Liberia who want to be teachers but they lack the basic training. That is where Compassion Corps comes in.

Updating the Blog

I am led to believe that there is the possibility that I can update this blog from time to time in Liberia. Since electricity is spotty at best throughout most of the country I am a bit skeptical, but we'll see. At the very least I am going to update the blog in Morocco and do final touch-ups and proof reading when I get back. I really hope that I can update it as the days pass, but it will likely be done on the fly if at all, so I apologize for aney speeling arrors inn advants:)

My Responsibilities

Once we get to Liberia we will be spending one week in Ganta, and one week in Monrovia. In the mornings of those two weeks I will be team-teaching with another member of our team named Miranda. Six teachers will be split into three rooms with anywhere from 30 - 50 Liberians in each room. The Liberian teachers we will be working with want to increase their effectiveness in the classroom, and that is what we will be there to help them with. We will teach lesson planning skills, classroom management, and other things needed to be effective as a teacher. Each day we will teach three lessons back to back.

In the afternoon, while the other teachers are working with the Liberian teachers on practicing the skills we went over in the morning, I will head to a local seminary to do a four day workshop. From 1:30 - 4:00 each day I will be leading sessions based on Rick Warren's 12 Ways to Study the Bible. The preparation I have done to get ready for this ten hour workshop has been intense but also very enriching. Just earlier tonight I finished my lessons both for the teacher training and the seminary workshop, and now I am ready to go. For some of the evenings we have programs with the children that should be great. I will be running a soccer game which the children there evidently love to play. I can't wait.

I have other responsibilities on the weekends that I will tell about as the days unfold.

Team Meetings

Early on the morning of April 9th I drove to Delaware for a team meeting (my first, and the second for the others) where I would be meeting the team for the first time. I was a bit nervous as I entered but soon found out that everything was going to work out great. I met the other team members and felt a bond with them from the start. We started talking about the work we would be doing and dividing up the responsibilities, and it has been all that I could ask for. I have now attended about four team meetings and I am completely comfortable with Beth (the other leader), Jan, and the rest of the team.

The Seed is Planted and Quickly Grows

This spring, I took a fantastic, intensive 15 week course at my church called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. It took place on Sunday evenings from 5-8 PM, and I learned a whole lot. On March 27th we had a speaker from Wilmington, Delaware named Jan Bean. She spoke about Global Communities and mentioned her work in Africa. She is one of the people who runs a group called Compassion Corps, sending teams to Egypt, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Morocco, and Liberia. Jan mentioned that this summer she was leading a team to Liberia to do teacher training. My ears perked up instantly, and I was interested in hearing more. After the meeting, I spoke with Jan and asked her if there was any room on the team for this summer. Not only was there room but they had been hoping that one more person would join to give them a team of ten. They were looking for a teacher who had some technology skills and some seminary training. As it turns out I hit the bulls eye on all three accounts. Within a few days I had applied and been accepted to go on the trip. I signed up to go to Liberia for two weeks (where the teacher training is taking place) but soon heard that some of the team was staying to do some work in Morocco. The nature of the work lines up very well with what I had studied in the Perspectives course so I signed up to stay on for the extra two weeks in Morocco. I leave on June 23rd and get back on July 23rd.