Sahara

I camped in the Sahara, only a stones throw from Algeria. It was amazing. I left the school in Fez with a bunch of other students around noon on Friday. We traveled for about 8 hours southeast to the town of Erfoud, we stopped along the way in various places to take pictures of the landscape. I never knew how diverse the landscape of Morocco is! We arrived at Hotel Xalcua which is a five star hotel! It was beautiful! We spent one night here to just relax and sleep. Air conditioning never felt so good!

On Saturday we left and drove another hour to another hotel that organizes the camel excursions. We relaxed and swam here for the afternoon and around 6pm we went out on the camels into the desert. Riding camels is cool and all, but man does it hurt your butt! I have been so sore in such a strange place. But it was worth it. We camped right next to a giant sand dune. Had a delicious dinner and then were entertained by some African drum tunes. We all were taught how to dance like Africans and had an amazing time.

Saturday night we all pulled our beds out of the tents to sleep under the stars. I have never seen so many stars. So far away from cities and almost no pollution there is nothing hindering the view of the sky. It was beautiful! The Milky Way was crystal clear and I saw so many shooting stars. Just the glory and wonder of it all was overwhelming and points so directly to the creativity of my Lord. I was so overwhelmed by it all that I cried, tears of joy and wonder at the unending power and love of my Creator God who loves me so much. It was breathtaking.

At about 4:30am on Sunday a bunch of students woke up to climb the giant sand dune and watch the sunrise over Algeria. It took a while because every step I took I would slide down a little bit. But the view from the top was overwhelming. Just miles of sand and desert in every direction. Everyone was singing the song from the Lion King and we were all so loopy from lack of sleep. When the sun came up it was almost as breathtaking as the stars. Absolutely beautiful.

After the sunrise we rode the camels back to the hotel to shower and eat breakfast. People tell you that the sand will get everywhere, but you really don't believe them until it happens. It literally gets in every crevice of your body. And it's so fine! About 10am we started heading back to Fez. We made a stop along the way for lunch in Midelt. We stopped near Ifrane to feed the monkeys that live in the mountains. Then we stopped in the town of Ifrane which is like a little swiss town in the middle of Morocco. Very beautiful and so quaint. We finally made it back to Fez around 9pm.

Reflecting back on the whole weekend I just feel so incredibly blessed. I feel like God was reaching down to me and just showering me with love and reminding me how real He is. This is something I really needed to be reminded of being so far away from home and in a country that is so oppressive and averse to my faith. I'm just continually in awe of my time here. Every day is better than the one before and every day I'm learning more and more how to trust my Heavenly Father.

It's crazy to think that 4 weeks from today I will be home! This awesome adventure has gone by so fast! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!