toubkal.

for the past two days, the team has been climbing this:

THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN NORTHERN AFRICA.

we are all writhing in pain. SO SORE.

but the mountain has been conquered.

cheers.

morocco.

morocco is...sandy, windy, colorful, french, arabic, african, busy, smelly, wonderful, and full of life. casablanca looks nothing like the movie, but it's still wonderfully european with its little cafés and pastry shops. the beach in essaouira is constantly being blasted by a brutally whipping wind, reminiscent of the sahara desert--which is merely miles to the east. the men are overt, usually friendly, and always ready to sell you a tour, carry your bags, or offer you a few "space cakes" to spice up the day. the women are quiet, withdrawn, and mostly covered from head to foot in traditional muslim dress.

and the markets.

every city has them. they are cramped, noisy, crawling with locals and tourists alike, with displays of vibrant fabrics and elaborate beadwork swaying in the breeze, and smelling of fresh crêpes mixed with new leather and the exhaust of motorbikes. it's a shopper's paradise, since they offer everything from curiously unique clothing to beautifully carved furniture...all of it available for moroccan dirhams, at whatever price you can barter your way down to. amazing.

we started in casablanca, and rambled off to essaouira last week. our school leaders, will and jeremy, flew in to join us for awhile. it was such an encouragement to spend time with them, hear their stories, and glean from their wisdom and experience! we got a routine going, and put it into action for our time in morocco.

our schedule looks something like this: breakfast at 8am. team meeting at 9. we give thanks through music and meditation during the first part of our morning meetings. we've been learning the importance of giving Him glory during these past few weeks. everything comes out of this. without it, we are disconnected, weak, and without purpose. we also spend a lot of time interceding. we ask Papa to speak, and give Him time to do so. we ask for pictures, words and scripture for the day, always looking for direction from Him before we go out to do His work. after that, we head out for lunch and proceed to wander purposefully...

not surprisingly, fulfilling our purpose here has required a bit of a different tactic than any of the other countries we have visited in africa. as a local moroccan informed us, "everyone here is a muslim." our presence alone allows light to burst through in a stronghold such as this, but we've also spent our days exploring the city, intentionally positioning ourselves for the Father to use us. we've met many different types of people, chatted with them, asking questions, and many times even getting them to delve into deeper conversation topics! there are already some amazing stories of friendships made, seeds planted, and curious seekers finding truth by spending time with our team!

tonight is our last in essaouira. tomorrow morning we hop a bus to marrakech to continue our work for the next 7 days. that's all we have left! 7 days. after that is team debrief, and then finally ISRAEL!!! excitement is building. but for now, we're thoroughly enjoying our time in morocco. especially because we finally have running water and a real toilet! :)

love from africa,

-jaclyn

smile.

video #2 uploaded last night!

a snapshot of kenya.

VID.

i tried to post this awhile ago. but it didn't work. and then we didn't have a good internet connection for ages. and now we do. so here it is...for your viewing pleasure...

our video from south africa!

bakshish.

i've posted some more pictures...mostly from the last week at the nile river, and from our stop through cairo. so fun.

CLICK HERE.

we're currently in casablanca, and heading out early tomorrow morning for a coastal town i can't remember how to spell! our school leaders will and jeremy arrived from tunisia last night, and they're joining us for the next leg of the trip. should be great...more updates to come!

<3

uganda.

our time in uganda is coming to an end. we leave jinja on saturday morning, fly to cairo on sunday, and into casablanca, morocco early monday morning. three countries in three days. awesome.

our team has been staying at the ywam base in jinja, uganda for the past few days. it's been a much-needed time of rest and recuperation after two weeks of non-stop evangelism. we are TIRED.

the Lord really watched over us and worked through us during our time with the earwickers. we grew as a team, but also individually. it was inspiring to see the work that brent and virginia are doing, and their zeal for Christ's kingdom was contagious.

after a week of living in their home in entebbe, doing school and church ministry, we packed up and ventured into the unknown. the islands of lake victoria are said to be dark, oppressed places. many of the residents are there to escape the law of the mainland, so crime rates are high. most ugandans never even visit these forsaken spots of land.

it was a long, difficult, and rewarding week of service. we slept in tents, bucket-showered outside, often didn't get dinner until well after 10pm, and woke up every morning to pray at 6am. we taught at churches, preached in villages, walked door-to-door sharing our stories and the good news of the gospel. if we hadn't felt like real missionaries up until this point, we do now. it was hardcore. and we saw God move. many people accepted Jesus, came for healing and baptism, and expressed encouragement by our presence in that place.

we were also encouraged. the pastors and evangelists that took us under their wings were a fiery, eccentric lot. and they love Jesus with every bit of their beings. pastor joash, brother michael, and brother brent made up the three musketeers...and they can really pray, preach and praise. our whole team was touched by their passion for the kingdom.

there are so many stories...too many. i can't begin to type up everything we experienced, but i hope the pictures help to relay a little bit of what went on. 

the team is gearing up for morocco now, and so excited! continued prayers are appreciated. the ministry in morocco will look quite different, since it's a muslim nation, and pretty hostile towards evangelism. we'll be posting again soon, but a little reminder: morocco IS a closed country, so when writing emails to any one of us, don't use any christian language! substitute different words for God, Jesus, worship, Bible, ministry, Christ, and DEFINITELY don't use the word missionary! caution is the key. we don't really want to find out what the inside of a moroccan jail cell looks like. :)

much love from the entire africa team.

more.

pictures from the islands!

island fever.

allelujaaaahhhh!!!!

amen!

we're back from the islands, safe and sound. it was a crazy, exciting, difficult and memorable time. i'll write a longer update when i have the time and energy. for now, we're back at the earwicker's house in entebbe, full of pizza and icecream. what a treat after a week of rice and beans!

in the meantime, i posted some pictures of the last few weeks:

east africa.