Week 11

Hi friends, we are thinking of you all, as always, but especially at this time of year. Christmas definitely has a different feel here but we’ve been treating our neighbours to lots of festive tunes! We miss you all lots and are so delighted that Josephine will be here in a week so celebrate with us! We have such good news of hope and freedom to share with people here!!

I have been having lots of fun in school lately as we’ve been covering the A's house in homemade decorations. We’ve been studying the Nordic countries and it’s gotten as low as 11ºC in the schoolroom so it’s practically like home!

Noel has been busy, busy, busy at the association teaching English and working with all of the different age groups. They even had him speaking at an event for International Volunteer Day!

He has also been running his Adventure Club with Becky, Dan and Reuben and they’ve been exploring, abseiling and raft building! Now they’ll just need to find water to put the raft in!

Encouragements:
My cousin and her husband were in the city last weekend and we had a wonderful day with them. We realised afterwards how much we had needed a break. 

I am also enjoying my “youth group” (3 local teenagers I’m teaching English to at our home). Please pray for good conversation despite the fact that we communicate though a strained mixture of French, Arabic, English and Pictionary!

I had an ear infection and it is gone praise God! We went on a trip to Marrakech because we had a free lift, but it rained! Luckily, because we came home early and then had a trip to the local A&E! I am better though and my hearing is almost back to normal.

Please think of:
Us all over Christmas, that we won’t be too homesick or physically ill as with the drop in temperature between daytime and nighttime (25º down below 10º) and no central heating we’ve had a lot of colds between our two houses! Noel isn’t feeling great today so please pray his sore throat passes quickly.

Please pray also for our mental and spiritual health! Like I said above, it’s important to recognise when we need a break and to get out of town for a day. Please pray that we’ll recognise this in the future before we feel down.

“Fun” facts we’ve observed:

1. No one is ever on time... ever.
2. Taxi’s and coke are disproportionately cheap :)
3. The internet and ice-cream are disproportionately expensive :(
4. It does get cold!!

Christmas card options with our borrowed children! 

Homemade decorations!

With thanks to my cousins Jean and Louis!

Marrakech magic! 

8 weeks...

Hello everyone, we hope you’re all well and we think of you often.
We are loving the time we have here for prayer and the closeness we feel to God as we rely on him daily.

We can’t believe we’re here eight weeks, time flies when you’re having fun!  The weather this week was good and we have been good and busy lately with both of us working five days a week now and language learning and whatnot. We feel settled in but everyday there is still an adventure to be had and new things to see and learn :)

Today we all went to a village in the mountains and did crafts with a class of 6 year olds and a class of twelve year olds. It was organised through friends of K&R's. It was very rewarding and a lot of fun! How we wish you could all be here to bee the sights, there is such beautiful scenery and such wonderful characters!

The 3 kids and their parents are also well and we are all in good spirits. Who knows how we'll be after tomorrow- a public holiday where kids throw eggs, who thought that would be a good idea?! (Ashura)

This week we are mostly grateful for fellowship, mostly missing people (and brussels sprouts and good coffee and cheese and nice clothes and shoes...!),  and mostly praying about the serious challenges for believers in this part of the world.

Art class on the roof :)

Noel's class in the mountains 

 Yes, he can really remove and replace his thumb!?

Week six...

Hi, we hope people are still checking this as with the bad internet we aren't very up to date with emails!

This was a big and interesting week for us! With many encouragements, discouragements and blessings.

Encouragements
Last weekend we were in Ireland for 2 days! It was a flying visit with 43 hours of travel for Noel's brothers wedding. It was a HUGE blessing to be with family!

And our mammy Bow is coming to visit in less than six weeks time!!!!

Noel has been able to secure a full time voluntary position with the street children’s charity! This has been our prayer since we first heard of it back home! He is teaching English, sports and kick boxing as well as helping with pre schoolers. He will work with ages three to twenty-one. This is very exciting and we are so grateful for such an incredible opportunity! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THIS!

Teaching is still going well for me. We had a great week for Halloween and are now learning all about Thanksgiving. Noel has started an Adventure Club with the three kids and they are so excited to get outside and climb things!

We have had several amazing conversations this week about God with new local friends, one of whom we just met today! We were buying spices and a stall owner opposite the spice shop called us in to look at his products. We ended up staying for two hours and were able to talk openly and honestly, discussing our beliefs and his. What a blessing! In Camelot it’s good not to have a tight plan for your day because you never know what will happen if you just let the day carry you!

Discouragements
We were also able to have a similar conversation with a policeman we met under less positive circumstances. My bag was stolen on Friday. My only loss really was my iPhone but I’m fine so we’re are not letting that get us down. The enemy can’t get us that easily! I do miss my watch, Bible, internet, teaching assistant, toy, music and TV! But, the local police and all of the people who were nearby were so kind and helpful that it warmed our hearts. I feel very safe here and certainly one bad egg can’t take away from the friendliness we have experienced. However that explains why we’re even less contactable than usual!

Do email or facebook mail us any time!! 

Lots of love and thoughts
N&R

Week Four...

Hi blog reading friends!
We hope you are all doing well :)

This blog is about our time in Camelot, and we have been here one month today! One month, one kilo of peanuts, no major illness, 3 bars of Cadburys, and as many answered thoughts as insect bites (that’s a lot)! We have had a busy week, mostly because it is Christmas, I mean Halloween, I mean Eid! 

Eid info:
Eid alAdha is a huge celebration commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael in obedience to God and God’s provision of a sacrificial sheep. Each family buys a goat or sheep and sacrifices it on Eid and then have a meal with their family, many of whom travel home from other cities or from Europe. Like at Christmastime, they visit friends and neighbours and exchange gifts, especially new clothes. There was a great atmosphere about Camelot in the build up and the streets were crowded from 7am to 10pm with shoppers and pop up stalls. And then come the morning of Eid (Friday) the place was deserted and we wondered if perhaps that lamb had returned?! Also like Christmastime the shops close for a few days and the kids have a week or two off school.
After Eid the teenage boys sometimes dress up in the sheep’s skin and head and run around scaring people. This is why Eid is also like Halloween. They are called the Billmawen and are common in the mountain villages, although we did see some here on Sunday. 

We were blessed to be invited to a family’s home with K&R and the kids and had a wonderful Tagine with beautiful people who made us feel so welcome and dressed me (Rachel) up in all sorts of traditional clothes. It was such a blessing to experience the pre& post meal hand washing, to drink lots of mint tea and to feel so welcome in a foreign land.

The Irish are here!
A group from DCM also arrived this weekend (and brought the rain!). They are ages 14 and up and are here for a week to serve and learn. DCM bring a group each year to work with the local association for street children and Noel is having a fun and busy week with them. I was cycling to school this morning and came across fifteen Irish guys wandering through Camelot. I spotted them from way off! 

Teaching
Teaching is going well and we’re all still having fun together! The Irish is coming along well and today we made pumpkin papier maché bowls and learned about the US Presidential Elections. Do you think they’re too young for The West Wing?!

Thoughts
We are really enjoying our language learning and feel good about our progress. But it can still be so disheartening. I am finding it particularly hard not being able to make friends.
Noel is doing lots with the association this week and feeling so much joy being able to work with the kids there. Last week he also met with the volunteer who teaches boxing and martial arts three times a week. He would love Noel’s help so we are so grateful for that opportunity and hope that many more like it will arise from this weeks contact.

We are thinking of all of you too so do keep in touch. (Or come visit!!!!)
We love and miss you all loads.
N&R

Week three...

This evening brings to an end our third week of adventure and discovery in Camelot! We are just back from a company retreat in a small town a couple of hours away. We were looking after the children and so after two days of sitting room obstacle courses, hide & seek and meeting some inspirational people we are feeling a healthy fatigue :)

It’s 7pm now, which is rush hour! People seem come out after dark to shop and socialise while it’s cooler. We are still discovering so much about life and culture here. There are many social norms that we have still to master or even notice! Rachel’s great discovery of the week is that underneath the beautiful dresses women wear here... they’re in their pajamas! She feels cheated at having thought they were all so elegant but also because she has been missing out on such convenience and comfort!

She has had another great week at school, where she is for about five hours each day. The children have been such a joy and she is loving seeing them learn and enjoying their subjects. Noel has given her a badge in advanced bravery for cycling to school on her own this week! She would love your thoughts as she has still to meet any local women and feels restricted by the language barrier.

During the week Noel again visited the association he hopes to help with and had some more meetings and met some more staff. He will return there this week so please think of him in this. Some friends from home who have volunteered there previously will be coming this week so if our father wishes we hope that this will be beneficial. He has also had some more language lessons so please think of us as we continue to learn! And spare a thought for the many locals we attempt to practice on! Noel would also love if you could continue to think of him as he continues to make & spend time with local friends, he hopes that these are people ready to hear the news.

Wednesday was our second wedding anniversary and it was such a joy to spend it in an amazing country. Noel surprised me with a trip to a resort in a town about thirty minutes away. We took a taxi for €1.50 and had our first experience of the taxi bus system! Four people squashed into the back and we were both man-handled into the front passenger seat! You’ve got to love the efficiency of space, remember when you could do that in Ireland?!

We appreciate all of your thoughts and we are thinking of you all also. This week we are especially remembering our SBC family. We are so excited today to hear of the first official morning at the Riasc Centre and wish so much in our hearts that we could have been there.

Do keep in touch!

N&R

One of many "coffee shops" in Camelot! 

Week two..

Week two has ended after a great Sunday trip one hundred years into the future, I mean to the city! We met some of the other workers at club (which happens about twice a month) and, much to the delight of the kids, went swimming at the beach and to McDonalds! It has been a very hot week, with another one forecast, so we were glad of the cooler air by the coast today. We were also glad to escape the flies that have enveloped our town as of late!

We have been practicing cycling through the busy, unruly streets of Camelot both for speed (as it’s normal here to walk very slowly) and to create a bit of a breeze for ourselves! We have also been practicing our language learning as Noel has begun his lessons. We have made our first traditional dish, a Tagine, so we are feeling increasingly settled in hamdulilah (thank God).

In an answer from our father Noel has had great opportunities to spend time visiting new local friends and playing football. He was also able to have a brief thought time with an American team who went to the mountain village with Roz and Becky. Tomorrow he has a meeting at the street children’s charity that he hopes to work with so please think of him.

Rachel has had a great second week of teaching and hopefully we can upload some pictures of school and of life here! Rachel would appreciate your thoughts as she tries to meet some local women and make some friends.

This week we are mostly grateful for excited hearts, answers to requests, open doors and no illness :) (just bites! And not only from the kids!)

Have a great week! N&R

1st traditional dish :)

The great escape!

Reuben likes "hanging out" with Noel!

Week One...

We have just finished “club” time with our family here and are having some down time after our first week in Camelot. Outside we can hear the call to prayer and some noisy goats and sheep. Many families have bought one for Eid alAdha, a muslim holiday which takes place in a couple of weeks, commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael in obedience to God and God’s provision of a sacrificial sheep. 

It’s very hot today, about 35/40º so we’re staying inside with lot’s of water! We’re settling well into our new home and our neighbours are very friendly, especially the very cute little children who say “Bonjour Misure!” whenever we go past!

Rachel has completed week one of teaching and is loving it. This week the kids learned the Irish for when a dog barks and so have been running around “ag tafann” for the last few days! She would appreciate your thoughts for continued enjoyment, enthusiasm and energy :)

Noel was able to visit the street children’s charity he hopes to help at and got a tour of the place. He was also able to meet some of the staff and will hand in his c.v. officially during the next week. He would really appreciate your thoughts for them to be open to having him on board and using him. He has also made a few friends about the town and so would also appreciate your thoughts for discernment in knowing who to spend time with, for friendships to develop with and for good conversations to arise.

So far we are really loving the culture here in Camelot. It’s a whole new world for us! We go the market (the souk) or one of the many local small shops (hanut) most days for our bread (khubz) and water (Lma). The local people are very friendly and helpful and seem to really appreciate and get a good laugh from our attempt at the few sentences we’ve learned so far! Rachel is embracing the local garb and enjoying the new experience, albeit a bit warm under those head scarves!

This week we have been mostly grateful for friends, sunshine, new exciting experiences and great food :) And of course, looking back to our first blog post, for an answer to everyone of our points of thought!

We really appreciate all of your support and thoughts and are thinking of you all to. We have also noticed the Aerlingus flights sale and think that you should all come visit & experience it all for yourselves :)

Lots of love, talk soon (please use our gen mail acc or "whatsapp" Rachel!)

N&R

Hard at work during an art class!

Welcome!

Hi folks
Welcome to our blog! We've never done one of these before so hopefully we'll have some interesting things to tell you of our adventures!

It's about 6 weeks until the big move and lots to be done.
Tonight we are speaking with K&R @The House at 8pm.

Our current points for thought are:

• Praise the Lord for our accomodation in Camelot being confirmed!
• For a sub-letter for our home in Donabate
• For our finance raising
• For Noel to be granted a career break
• For Rachel as she prepares to teach
• For a Role-for-Noel!
• For an easy, stress free time as we make our preparations.

Thanks all!