Having just returned from a visit to our beloved Morocco, we realize how much we have missed the people there. We left for Casablanca in a whirlwind as we both had just barely finished our jobs here in Portland before heading off to the airport. We frantically got our boarding passes and headed off to Casablanca via London via Seattle. Of course, the trip was ridiculously long, but entirely worth it.
Just over one year ago, when Kattie and I told our students that we were leaving Morocco, we made a commitment to them to come back the following year for graduation, which serves as a reunion of sorts for former students and teachers of the school. So, in order to ease their hearts, we kept our commitment all year long, despite the ridiculous risen prices of airfare and the new luggage fees. So we arrived a day before graduation.
Graduations are a great celebration for so many people and a rite of passage for those to whom it means the most: the students. It was especially meaningful to a lot of those students that we would make such a long trip to see them celebrate such a great accomplishment in their young lives. But in Morocco, receiving a top-notch trilingual education is even more profound, since the literacy rate in the country is less than half. So seeing these young people take such a gigantic step in this way is incredibly special for us and for them. Words cannot express how proud we are of them. I miss seeing all those flags hanging up, representing all of the countries from which the students in the graduating class hail. This particular class boasted graduates from ten different countries! Quite a sight.
Zouheir is headed off to college in New York City, a dream come true for many foreigners aspiring to attain higher education. He was the valedictorian of his class, received the citizenship award, and was one of my former basketball players. This, my friends, is a special young man. And he's not the only one. So many of these young people, if given the opportunity, have the potential to significantly impact their own native countries in so many ways. For this reason, Kattie and I are supremely thankful to have been influential in some small measure in their lives. Now, as we are all in the United States, we hope to stay in contact with many of the alumni of our school in order to help them in whatever way we can.
And of course, there's our home church. Oh, how we've missed them! The freedom to sing as many songs as we like, with no real agenda most days, except to share about the goodness of God in our lives on a weekly basis. We were able to share with these friends about how faithful God has been to us this year in Portland. It was an inexpressible pleasure to be with these folks while worshiping our God and eating some great food afterward.
Ah, and here's our good friend Jojo. We had such great times with him, whether it be playing basketball, hanging out and being amused by his amazingly loud entertainment system, or having deep conversation over chocolate crepes. He is such an amazing man and hopefully we'll be a bit closer when he finally receives his VISA to live in Canada.
Here are the ladies that pour so much of themselves out to other people. We have learned so much from these mentors of ours, Kattie in particular. They are such great examples of godly women who are faithful in their respective callings in Morocco.
Last but certainly not least, our other family: the Bonillas. Karine instantly became our friend as she and Kattie spoke French together during their daily breaks at school, and since they are from France, Kattie learned a lot from this great friend. We also enjoyed Romain (who recently graduated and is now headed to university in Minnesota) in class and Bastien's (an upcoming 9th grader) humor and frequent injuries. It was always good to receive the hospitality that Philippe and his wonderful family gave us. We will miss our French friends.
All in all, this return trip to Morocco was an incredibly enjoyable one. We were able to enjoy all the things that made us fall in love with Morocco, while not having to deal with all the stress and difficulties of being there long-term. Also, Kattie was able to give so many friends a proper goodbye since she wasn't able to last year due to some severe sickness upon her departure. Bottom line: we've missed Morocco and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.
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