Wow! God's plan was way different, way better, than the plan I had going in to Morocco! My group went into our Outreach with 10 members, planning on staying five weeks in Morocco followed by traveling the sex trafficking route north to Amsterdam to debrief with our entire Justice class. Our plans did not quite stay the same.
We started off in Morocco traveling to six main cities: Casa Blanca, Marrakech, Tan Tan, Raat, Fes, and Tangier. The second and fourth week of Outreach we also visited the smaller Moroccan families and villages on our Sahara desert and Atlas Mountain Treks. Our second month, as we were planning on and preparing for our journey up through Europe, we learned that God had a different idea for our group. In order for our entire team to be able to go to Europe, three of our teammates (from Jamaica, India, and Vanuatu) needed to apply for and be approved for European Visas. When we got to Rabat on our fifth week, our struggle began. We ended up working with three different embassies and consulates, many missionary workers’ help, paperwork and visa photos from each country, invitation letters from YWAM bases in Germany, Amsterdam, and Spain, endless long days of waiting in anticipation and prayer; and to sum everything up, we took three extra weeks in Rabat to learn that God wanted to keep us in this Muslim country to learn to sincerely love it: these people, this culture, the lifestyle, and yes, even the religion. It was very challenging and at times frustrating, but once those three weeks were over, we were denied visas, and we just ran out of time to get them, we knew we had to totally surrender our plans and seek God’s direction and will for us 100%.
God totally opened so many doors in Rabat because we had to spend a significant amount of time there. Relationships were built with so many locals, best friendships were formed. Support, encouragement and help were able to be offered to missionary workers. A love was formed for the country. Fasting of my team members for people of high importance, like the king. Being offered a visit to one of the ‘Muslim Only’ Mosque and being able to proclaim the name of Jesus in such a place. We attended the biggest Music festival of all of Morocco, maybe even all of Africa, and were able to show the love of God to the people there. We did things that we would not have had the opportunity to do if we left the country when planned. God is so good with his timing and planning. I would not have left the country as in love with it and satisfied with this Outreach as I did staying three extra weeks.
Some of the many things God taught me or spoke to me during Outreach:
-read the Old Testament small prophets and finding out the situation in Israel at that time was similar to the current situation in Morocco
-Read through the Gospels
-Be ready to share personal testimonies or devotionals
-Surrender my Rights!!! And to be conscious about my selfishness and to stop
-Step back and let the guys of our group lead and step forward and be supportive of that
-Felt the injustices of Moroccans, especially the women!
-Learn to fall in love with God through his scripture even when he was silent in speaking to me
-I was in Morocco to be a major support, encourager, and refreshment to the missionary workers
-My plans are never as good as His!
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