Can't we all just get along?

I wasn't going to comment on this....I really tried not to. (Sorry to our friend from here who I know is reading.....this does not of course include you.) I had heard before I came that during Ramadan sometimes there are more fights than usual....let me say TRUE,TRUE,TRUE. Fighting is kind of a common thing to see on the streets from time to time here, but in the past few days I have seen two pretty major ones. The other day A. and I were shopping in a busy area of town and we saw a huge swarm of people gathering around a group of men fighting. -Let me stop there to say that swarms are super common. Crowds are everywhere here. But when there is a fight everyone goes to see what is happening. - Anyway, so we were in the busy area of town shopping, we got in our car and we were trying to drive away. The mass of people were screaming, women were grabbing their children and running. I looked over and to my surprise the men were throwing huge rocks at each other. I mean softball size. They were throwing them at a man on the ground too. All the cars were honking like crazy-more crazy than normal-trying to get away from the rocks and the fight. I know that is not normal for here or anything, I was just amazed it could go on for sooooo long. We were stuck in traffic at the intersection for at least 10 minutes, and the fighting was not letting up.
Just last night I heard yelling outside our apartment. I mean hateful yelling. I looked down to see what was going on. It was almost 1am. All the men that worked at the barber shop on the first floor of our apartment were in a fight with some men dressed in djellabas and long beards. I looked around and noticed almost every balcony had someone leaning over watching the fight. LIVE entertainment. Honestly all this anger scares me. I have seen several other small fights this month as well. You know they will blame it on the lack of food all day or whatever, but it is the lack of Jesus Christ in their hearts. I guess I would be mad and frustrated all the time if I was living only for myself and trying to work my way into Heaven. They say Islam is the true religion of peace...hmmmm.

So what did you have for dinner tonight????

Well, if you are from here chances are you had Harira. This is a famous soup that the people here eat every night to break the Ramadan fast. I thought it would be appropriate to share the recipe. If you make it then you will know exactly what this whole country smells like from about 4:00pm until 7:30pm. I am not joking.....I open the door to our apartment and I feel like I just took a bite. Every family eats it everyday, I am not exaggerating. If they don't eat it everyday they are really in the minority. So here you go, you can fit right in.......

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/4 cup lentils

2Tbsp chopped parsley

2Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 small chopped onion

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp saffron colorant

three sticks of celery chopped very fine

( it would be great if you could use the leafy part too)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1lb lamb or beef chopped small

2 cubes beef bullion

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup rice

8 grated tomatoes

salt to taste

1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup water

Place all the first section of ingredients in a large pot, saute on medium heat for a few minutes. Fill your pot 2/3 of the way full with water. Cook until all ingredients are tender.

Add in rice, tomatoes, and salt*. Cook on low until rice is tender.( You can also add 1/4 cup vermicelli pasta for a fuller soup. )

Finally add flour and water mixture. Simmer for a while longer until all is well blended.

*Add lemon juice to taste for a real authentic taste.

This recipe serves about 6 people.

* salt and lemon are always placed on the table for everyone to add to their personal taste. Harira is usually served needing salt. So don't over do it with the salt in the pot.

Let me be honest....it is good...but to eat it everyday for a month....well....

I mean it is not Papa John's, or MEXICAN FOOD, or even taco bell,or The Cheesecake Factory,or Starbucks, or Applebee's, or Cinnabons,or Cracker Barrel, or even Subway...........Okay, sorry....it has been a while!:)

Respect is an Understatement.

I have been wanting to share this but I really haven't been able to think of the right words to say. Before we came over here, I will not try hide the fact that I was scared. I was intimidated by what was in front of me. I felt so small and so helpless. I thought we would be hated and unwanted. I even let my mind entertain thought of all the horrible things that "could" happen to us. I made my self physically sick. Worry and fear- two things that don't have a place in the victorious Christian life were taking over. After we got here and the Lord began a work in my heart everything was improving. I was learning to daily trust the Lord and not let myself think about anything "scary" or negative. Of course I had to learn to not watch Aljezeira News Station, and we quickly deleted all the propaganda channels.(There is one channel that shows nothing but Insurgents in Iraq killing American Soldiers and laughing about it. They just show it over and over again all day.) Yea, sick to your stomach doesn't explain what I felt when I saw that. We erased that one as quick as possible. I had to eliminate as much negative as I could. But everyday I was growing daily more comfortable here.
Then we heard news from Turkey....a Bible publishing warehouse type place had basically been attacked. There had been 5 young Turkish guys who claimed they wanted to learn more about Jesus and His message. They arranged a meeting with two young Turkish Christians and a German man serving in Turkey. They used the Publishing place as a meeting center as well. Well, to make the story short and less graphic, the 5 "seekers" brutally killed the two young Christians and their German mentor. The German man had a wife and 3 beautiful children. He was in his 30's I think. They had a huge funeral for the men. Thousands of Turkish believers attended. The fiance of one of the young Turks had to watch the funeral from far away because though she is a Christian her parents would not let her attend. The thing that impacted me the most about all of this and the thing that really helped change me, was that at this funeral the wife of the German was interviewed. She was asked if she had anything to say to the men who did this to her husband. She replied to the question with a very short but familiar statement: "Father forgive them for they know not what they have done." She responded in Turkish. I am sure when the people heard her answer they were amazed and confused. This response can only be given and understood by those who know the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. When I heard about this I began to cry, I asked God to make me as strong as she is. She stayed in Turkey with her family. This kind of example I have never seen before. I praised God that his Grace is sufficient. I learned how petty the little things I get upset about are. I learned honestly how to appreciate my husband more. I learned that if this lady could trust God and have faith even enough to stay there, that God would meet all my needs and calm all my fears.
I am not saying since then that I do not struggle or worry. It would be a lie to say that, but since then I realized that my life is about God. HE is great and He will always be all I need! I can honestly say that living here has changed me in ways I never thought possible. I know God is working in my heart and life. It is amazing to me how if you are scared and alone how if you search for Him, He not only lets you find Him, but He lets you know Him better. I don't know if this makes since, I am just writing whats in my mind. Never more than a few days go by without me thinking about this lady. I don't even know her name I just know that I respect her and that God has greatly used her in my life. I just wanted to share this with who ever is reading.

Feeling Alone.

I just got off the phone with two of my good friends . I just got finished talking about all the hard things I feel I am facing right now. My husband just left for a trip for one week. So we are here alone for this short period of time during Ramadan. (Ramadan is the time of the year when everyone suddenly becomes super spiritual. They all pray five times a day. They fast all day and then eat a ton at night. Of course that is loosely put.) I just complained and "vented" as we women like to say. Then I hung up the phone and God began to work in my heart. I know I am facing spiritual warfare right now. When I feel discontent I know it is because I am letting the devil win. I feel so convicted right now. Though I am facing challenges I have never faced before. Challenges I would not be facing if we did not live in a Muslim country, I am reminded that I don't understand. I don't have a clue what alone feels like. I just got off the phone with people telling me they were praying for me. I have many good friends who really do care about us who are praying for us. I am so thankful for them. I can't stop thinking about how it must be for the Christians here. Having to everyday be reminded that the don't fit in, even in the country where they were born. Let alone their families. The pressure they must feel. I am sure their families are asking them to pray and to go to the mosque. Some of them are completely alone. Like my friend M. who had no idea there were other Christians here for about 8 years. That's "ALONE." But I DON"T FEEL SORRY FOR THEM!! Praise God, that's honestly the good kind of alone.

I am asking God to meet our needs and help us to be a blessing to those around us. Please pray for the Christians here. Pray for God to use them. Pray for God to strenghten and comfort them.

Healthy Version of Fish Tagine

Okay here is another recipe, only I modified it a little bit. A lot of oil is typically used in Tagines* here, but since we eat them so often I try to adjust the recipe to make it a little better for us. If you want a more traditional tagine* just add about a 1/4 cup more oil and spice mixture.

* A "Tagine" is a typical dish here. You can have tagine of chicken,fish,or meat. They are all prepared in a simliar fashion. More on the way the people here cook it in another post.


INGREDIENTS:
(serves 4-5 people)
4 pieces of fish of your choice (frozen or fresh tilapia would be my choice if I lived in the USA)
2 potatoes
3 carrots
1 small onion (or less if you don't like onion very much)
2 medium sized tomatoes
1 handful of fresh chopped cilantro (or parsley)
1 tablespoon cumin
salt to taste (a tablespoon maybe)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon saffron colorant
chilli pepper to taste
1/4 cup mixed veg. oil/ olive oil

Okay, it might seem a little intimidating with the spices but it isn't. And it is simple to make. Of course you don't have to eat it like the picture, you can serve it on individual plates!!!

1. Cut potatoes,onions,carrots,and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Layer all the above in a LARGE skillet or casserole dish if you would rather bake this dish. Potatoes first, ending with the tomato. Save a few slices of tomato.
3. Lay fish on top of veggies.
4. Mix together spices,1/2 of the cilantro,oil and enough water so it pours easily over fish and lightly coats the top of the vegetables.
5. Place remaining tomatoes on top of the fish and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.
6.Add a light dusting of salt and cook until fish is fully cooked and potatoes and carrots are tender.
(you may have to add more water, and change spices to your taste.
I hope you will try this recipe it is one of our favorites. I am jealous you guys won't have to be careful not to swallow any fish bones. -it really is a pain to have a little tiny one stuck in your throat!!!!

Nothing like Northern Hospitality!!

Living here is teaching me so much! Muslim women believe one way to ensure their welcome into Heaven is by being hospitable!! They really do an amazing job......so you can imagine the pressure I feel when we invite friends over. When they leave I feel like I have run a Marathon...( or should I say done an exercises DVD because I really know what that feels like. ) Before I go on let me mention something very important:
- If an Arab invites you to their home, they really mean they want you to come to their house. Excuse this next comment if you are the rare American who invites and really wants to always have people you barely know in your home.
-You know how we are, we always say "if you are ever in the area please,please come to my house." Of course what we mean is" if you are in the area CALL ME....and if I have time we will go out to eat or something. " Well in our experience here in North Africa (as well as with our Muslim friends in the States) They really mean it and if they live more than 1/2 hour from you don't be surprised if you are expected to spend the night!! Whatever time you go expect to stay looooong time!! You will most likely be shown every picture they have. (And if they have a video of their wedding you will see that too!)
In our time here we have invited lots of our friends to our house......in this time I have learned a lot! How did I learn by inviting our friends to our house ???? Well, the first few times one of my friends was "invited" to our house she came in, went in the kitchen......and TOOK OVER!!!! At first this got me a little upset. I was thinking okay, this is my house, my kitchen, my food,etc. Then I realized if I just accepted all the criticism I could really learn a lot. She means well when she tells me "......you don't know how to do anything right!!!!" :) I will admit they don't just pop anything into the oven directly from the freezer and eat it 20 minutes later, so I give them credit for that.
Every mother assumes the responsibility our teaching her daughters how to become good women. They are taught from the time they are little that is pleases God for them to be good housekeepers. The greatest compliment you can receive is, "you are a real woman." It is also an embarrassment to the woman of the family if her family eats out a lot. One embarrassing thing happened to me when we first got here; I was walking in the door to our apt. and my new friend (we had only been here a few weeks) stopped me and said, "Do you ever cook?I saw you just yesterday with a rotisserie chicken from the store. For us that is a hshuma(a shameful thing.)" Again this friend meant her comment for good. I explained to her that I really like to cook but we didn't have our kitchen set up yet. She nodded and later that day she rang our doorbell and handed us a huge plateful of food for our whole family! Later that week was when our daughter got sick. As soon as she knew we were at the hospital my friend walked in the rain to bring us food and see how we were doing. It is a real challenge for me to think of things I can do to repay my super hospitable friends and neighbors. Sadly, our hospitality is similar but our motives are completely different. While I my mind I do for others to show God's love for them, in their minds in a way they do for others to gain God's love for themselves.

No PLUCKING.......

Eyebrows that is..... I am never going to understand all the "rules" Muslim women are suppose to abide by, but come on...what is so spiritual about a uni brow???? Really my friend told me she really need to go get her eyebrows waxed, but she said it was a problem during Ramadan. She said God doesn't like it when women pluck their eyebrows. When I asked" why" she kind of shrugged her shoulders and said "He just doesn't like it and If we pluck our eyebrows when we get to Heaven God is going to rip out every little hair!" OUCH! But I guess this is pain she is willing to face or should I say a "rule " she is willing to break.
After a little study I understand a little bit about where this idea comes from: The idea from the Quran is that we should not change God's creation. -I guess for some it would be a big change. It even goes as far as to say that if the woman's husband asks her to pluck or shave she should refuse. I am all for being happy with how God made you, don't get me wrong. God did create us the way He wants us. But come on. -I wonder how they feel about nose hair...... Just an honest question. Maybe I should start looking at eyebrows to see how serious they are!?????
I am learning more and more about the liberty we have in Christ! The TRUTH really does make you FREE.......even free to pluck your own eyebrows!!

Dessert Anyone????

Here in North Africa we get some of the best citrus fruits in the world!! I love driving along the coast and seeing all the citrus and olive trees. It is really beautiful! Here is a recipe that is not really only North African but it is really easy and really good. My friend's family makes it all the time.

LEMON MOUSSE

1 can of evaporated milk

6 tbspoons of powdered sugar

the juice of a large juicy LEMON

-Chill the can of milk in the fridge an hour or so.

-Once the milk is chilled pour it into a large bowl.

-add sugar, one spoon at a time stirring continually

-Whisk until the mixture becomes several times the volume

-mix in LEMON juice. The mixture will thicken immediately.

-Freeze overnight.....you can taste it now!

I love to eat this as a topping for raspberry or strawberry sorbet. It is good by itself too!

So there you have it, a super yummy and super easy little dessert!

Hospital vs. Clinic

I will just take a minute to answer a question posted in the comments....
Well, we got a first hand experience at a private clinic our 3rd week here. We spent three days in there with our daughter. She had roto-virus! YUCK!!! She had been sick for several days and she could not keep anything down. She was already very small so when she didn't seem to make any progress we knew she needed IV fluid. Since we don't have that at home we knew we had to go to the closest clinic.(two blocks from us). The room at the clinic was very nice. It even had its own refrigerator. It was a big room with a bed and a couch. BUT..... I had to ask them to bring me a baby bed. I guess they thought a baby would bed fine on a very tall hospital type bed with no railing. Um.....NO! I had to pretty much stay on top of them telling them what to do. After two days they told us that our bill was getting expensive and we should go. Not "okay she is much better now" or anything like that. I had to tell them I wanted her to stay until we were sure she could eat and not just puke it all right back up!!! (sorry to gross anyone out with the word PUKE.) :) After 3 days she got better and we went home. So in this instance all I can say was the clinic served its purpose. Impressed I was not,but happy to return home with a healthy little girl,yes!!
The Hospitals are public and cheaper(sometimes FREE) and the care is not as good.(of course this is what I have heard.)
As far a need for health care here. It exists but the Government is very strict on outside health care. I don't know all the details, we have just heard from several people it is very difficult for healthcare professionals to work here. Because of security. Hope I somewhat answered your question.

What not to wear.......

What to wear today?????.....A common question of women around the world....Well, I thought I would share this with you guys, so you can know a little bit about how we dress over here.

I thought I would take a minute to write about some of my first impressions on the way the women dress here....why is that important??????......let me explain my impressions first then I will explain form my point of view.

When we came here it was cold so I will start there...

-I saw no skin except for the hands and the face of the women.

Turtle necks, scarves, or head covering are a must.

I felt naked if my neck was showing even a little bit!

-No ankles showing. If they wore long skirts they put tall boots or pants under their skirts.

-Very, very dressy clothes...0r super dumpy clothes (like pj pants under skirts with hot pink socks etc.)

-Everybody tries to match everything, even the frumpy girls who wear their pj pants try to match their pink cheetah print pj pants to their pink head covering.

-They either care a lot about what they look like(the majority) or they really don't care at all.



And as it got warmer.......

-Everyday it seemed like the women would get a little braver

-Soon everyone was dressing more "normal"

-Still long skirts and long sleeve shirts

-If they wear pants their shirts almost always cover their bottoms completely

-Finally sandals of kinds!

-Even in the heat they wear lot of layers



So for me, I have spent this summer in long sleeves and ankle length skirts!! I have some friends who even follow that "dress code" when they go swimming in the ocean. For me, I just choose not to go. AAHH...sitting on the beach in longs sleeves in 95 degree weather!!!



I try to dress like them except for the head covering, if I wore a head covering everyone would assume I have become a Muslim. It is very important to fit in with the women around you. But it is also very important to establish a distint difference.I don't want to be immodest by their standards. Although I do get told by some of my friends that I need to cover up my hair. I do darken my hair to draw less attention to myself. It is obvious when I dress like them they feel honored and pleased that I want to be like them. One of my friends got really disappointed when I told her I wasn't going to wear my djellabas in America. I will always be an outsider to them...always..because so much of their culture in centered around Islam. Anything I can do to get me one step closer to them is something I willing to do! I wish they could understand the freedom we have in CHRIST.

STUFFED!!!!

I had a really fun day today! This morning I just got some things done around the house. Nothing too exciting there. The normal breaking up toddler fights and cleaning up spilled juice on the floor. At around 2:00pm (after a super quick lunch before the babysitter came-we don't like to eat in front of her during Ramadan.) I went out with my friend who lives here in our apt. building. Most women don't like to go out unless they have to during Ramadan. They believe it is wrong to wear makeup during Ramadan......so they wait until after the sunset to get all painted up. (The "rules" of Ramadan I will save for another day.) But there are a few days of the month(of course these days vary form woman to woman) that every woman can eat and go about as normal. So we went out to buy so material to make new Djellabas. Djellabas are the long robe like dresses that are very popular and stylish here. I really enjoy wearing them too. We had a great time. We bought some nice fabric and talked about designs for how to make them. Of all the women I saw out today I was one of 5 without the head covering. Everybody is very conservative during Ramadan. I am more obviously "the FOREIGNER" then usual.
After buying our material we drove to a small town outside of our city to buy bread and fresh mint from the mountain women who ride there their donkeys in to sell their goods. It seems so crazy to have two drastically different cultures living so close together. In the city people live similar to people in any big city....but in the mountains here the women wear pointy straw hats with a bath towel stuffed up under it. That is really in style!!! (literally a bath towel...flowered seems to be the "in" thing.)
When we got back home my friend insisted that I get the kids and come to her house to eat the meal to break the fast for the day. So we went. I learned a lesson the hard way......don't go eat dinner with people that haven't eaten all day if you have! I am so stuffed right now. Here the main dish every night is Harira. A really thick soup with meat,noodles,rice,beans,and vegetables. I had to eat the never ending bowl of soup. I tried to share mine with the kids. That has worked for me in other countries.....they just brought out more bowls and poured more soup!!!! They will be up until 1 or 2 in the morning eating and watching TV. Then they wake up around 4am to pray...and eat again.
To end the night, my friend Khadija called me. She is working hard to convert me. She has set me up before. You know, told me meet her some where and then had her friend who speaks English meet us to really get her points across. She is so passionate about Islam. I am just waiting until I can really speak Arabic well enough to get my points across.
An afternoon and evening of intense language and culture learning. I pray that God will use me in the lives of my friends here. This is the first time in my Christian life I have had actual friends that are lost and on there way to hell. Sure we enjoy each others friendship and time, but we are so different. I think about that every morning when I wake up. Just how different we are. God has put me here to be a light to them. I love them, I pray that God will do the work only he can.

You won't find this on my husbands BLOG......

I was thinking since the food here is really amazing I would share a few things with you from time to time!!! Living in any culture different from your own means changing what you eat. Fitting into any other culture means learning to cook the food they eat. Praise God the food here is amazing. Sometimes really different, but I haven't eaten anything gross yet!!! If you are trying to diet this is not the place to come!
- Let me start by explaining HOW we eat here. No forks or knives needed. We eat from one huge plate/bowl in the center of the table. Here you eat the food by eating it with bread. Just scoop it up. It is a little messy but to them it is no big deal if you get food on the table or anything-it is normal. So, I actually think it is pretty fun. I try to make food from here every other day. Then I have our close friends taste test it.......one is really honest, if you know what I mean!!

So here is a recipe for a common dish: Lamb Tagine (you could use beef)

2lbs lamb or beef
1 Large chopped red onion
2-4 cloves of Garlic
1/2 tsp saffron colorant
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 cube beef bouillon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 C olive oil


-Saute all the above ingredients in the oil until the onion is tender. Add 2 Cups of water and simmer just until the meat is tender -but NOT mushy. (or you can put everything in a pressure cooker.)
Add a variety of vegetables listed below. With the veggies add 2 grated tomatoes ( just grate the whole thing, the peeling will separate.) 1/2 hour before the meat is finished.

Suggested veggies:
green beans (not canned) peas, carrots, cauliflower. For an extra good Tagine fry the cauliflower with an egg before adding it.

Depending on the quantity of vegetables this serves 6-8 people. It is great the second day too!

* I hope that is understandable* Learning to cook in another language is always a challenge...but that's another post!

A little History....

So I have sat here and watched my husband post many things and I have always had things to add but I never wanted to invade the male blog world. So, I thought maybe there were a few women out there who might like to hear about things here from a woman's point of view


Where to start.......well I guess I will just take this one day at a time.
Today we went to our church which is an hour and half away. It was a great service! I noticed that when it got time to go the people started acting a little sad. It is Ramadan here now. Easily the hardest time of the year for ex-Muslim Christians. I sat with my friend M. she was sitting quietly by herself. I thought...."okay make yourself get over there and speak to her." So I sat with her and talked with her about her testimony. She has been a believer for 10 years. Until 1 year ago she did not even know other Christians existed here. She told me it was a kind of alone no one could understand. But she said that smiling. She is a courageous woman. Her mother knows she not a Muslim. She talks about her faith with her family from time to time.
After I have one of those conversations I am always convicted of the lack of contentment I have in my life. (Wow, I am being super honest on this first real entry....hope I don't scare anyone away!) I mean I am always finding things not to like in my life, I find myself dwelling on the struggles of living here in this Muslim country. But this NOT my where my only friends and family are. I have friends who I can share my relationship with God with, my friends that share the same desires and vision. Friends I can call and pray with. Friends that I praise the Lord for. But......M. until last year she knew of no one. And now she only knows 5 Christian women. I know God has us here for many reasons, one of which I truly believe is to be a friend to the believers. To provide the vital companionship that will help each other develop a closer relationship with God. I am blessed to know M. she is an awesome person. -And I thank God that he is merciful with an undeserving person like me.

First Post

Coming from North Africa...This is the ladies version of what is going on with PNA. Everything you have read on the Ramblings in North Africa is totally male: no details, no style, just the facts. But this...this is from a woman's perspective.