The World is Your Mudpie!
Last week it rained in Figuig. When I say rain, I’m talking buckets of water falling on our little corner in the Sahara for 2 1/2 days straight. No big deal right? Maybe so. But one of the many things I’ve had to submit to since arriving in Morocco is the weather. Weather plays a much larger role in my daily life now, or rather, it’s straight up stolen the spotlight from re-heating up meals in the microwave and eating bacon. I’m at the mercy of nature – I feel I’m more vulnerable and exposed than in Indiana. I’d like to think I had more respect for nature and it’s power before leaving America, but in reality, I simply had more control of what I allowed myself to experience or endure. Snow outside? Just turn up the heat in my apartment or car. Torrential downpour? Pack an umbrella and a raincoat. Hot and humid? Find my tank top, shorts, hat and A/C and I’ll be just fine. “Those were the days” I say selfishly, but were they? Was my life back in the U.S. that much better than it is now? Does having more control over small elements like temperature in a room or how wet you’ll allow yourself to get outside make for a more full life? I’m learning schwiya b schwiya that I don’t need to have control over those things to be content with what God has given me. I’m being stripped of a lot of things which may seem small and rather unimportant, but clearly these are things I thought I needed to be ‘comfortable’ while living for God. More on this as it develops…I still have a ways to go before COS!
Our neighborhood is really old (try 600 years old) and mostly made of mud. The roads, walls, floors, roofs, etc. There is some wood and cement thrown in to maintain stability, but on the whole, it’s mud. Mud is pretty great. Dried mud that is. It keeps us cool in the 130 degree summer and is available in abundance in our Oasis. Add 2 1/2 days of rain to it though, and it turns into one giant mudpie. Our roads inside the ksar (neighborhood) flooded, the mud walls on our roof became so malleable I could take it apart with my hands and the best part, the water came through the ceiling in multiple spots. Soon pieces of ceiling landed on the floor and every bucket had a job of collecting droplets. I felt a little helpless but not in bad spirits. Times like this make me appreciate all I had in the U.S. and all we have here in Figuig. Mud and all. I won’t have very many opportunities to live in a mud neighborhood and I’m grateful for the experiences and the stories that come with it.
We took a couple photos from the ongoing thunderstorm on Saturday. It thundered constantly for a good solid hour. No break in the thunder, it sounded like an impending army of Orcs were trudging up the mountain to launch an attack on Middle Earth. ( sorry for that…I just finished re-reading The Hobbit, such a great book!) We had sunshine, rain, hail and a rainbow at the same time. Pretty awesome and beautiful. We spent a good part of that afternoon sweeping water on our roof toward the only drain into the street. Great way to kill a couple hours if you ask me!
Above is a photo of rain and hail collecting on our roof.
Check out all that mud!
