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.