Hello everyone!!
This summer is nearly over and its hard to believe that fall is around the corner. The past month has been a whirlwind of activity for me as I have been in Morocco, leading one of our short-term missions trip called a GO Team. We traveled to three major cities in Morocco: Agadir, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. It was quite an intense time of experiencing a completely Muslim influenced society and learning to love a people group in deep spiritual darkness.
Morocco -
As Morocco is a "closed country" (we could have been arrested for any type of public preaching or handing out Christian materials), we had to ask the Lord for some creative ideas to reach people with the truth of Jesus. We spent lots of time in prayer, walking around mosques and businesses, fighting against the spiritual strongholds that enslaved the people. We also handed out bottles of water to the homeless and thirsty in heat that sometimes reached 120 degrees. One of our team members felt that she was supposed to buy roses and give them to people passing by on the streets, especially women. If anyone asked why we were giving things away, we told them that "Isa" (Jesus' name in Arabic) told us to and that we wanted to bless them and show them that we loved them. People's reactions varied; many were surprised but gladly received our gifts, while some thought we were trying to trick them into buying something, others wanted to hear more of why we were doing this.
There were also some sad reactions. When passing out flowers, almost everytime we would offer one to a married women with her husband, the husband would refuse to let his wife have a flower. It became quite obvious to us that though Islam claims to be a religion of peace, it clearly has no value for love. The thing that saddened me the most in Morocco was how the women were oppressed. God created Eve as the most beautiful being on earth but Satan has deceived Muslims into believing that a women is only an object to be manipulated and concealed. A good Muslim women who is obedient to her husband and family will wear clothing in public that covers her entire body, even at the risk of heat exhaustion. What a culture to live in!
Satan also did his best to discourage us from doing what the Lord had asked us to do. For our last day in the city of Marrakesh, we had planned to split into 3 groups and do a "community picnic" where we go to a public area and invite anyone who wanted to join us for a meal of sandwiches, chips, and water. The idea was that it would be a way for us to meet people and bless people in the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, the day didn't go quite as planned. Early that morning, my co-leader, Kristen, asked me to walk with her so she could take pictures of the sunrise. I agreed and we headed toward the large mosque in the area where she could get some good photos. We were walking down a main road and noticed 2 men following us. We sped up our pace but before we knew it, they attacked us and grabbed Kristen's camera bag. Thankfully, we were not hurt and they managed only to take her bag. This presented a huge problem however as the bag contained her wallet, most of her camera equipment, and most importantly, her passport. Amazingly though, Kristen's reaction was that we could not cancel our plans for the day and regardless of what would happen with her things our group had to walk in obedience to what God asked us to do with the picnic.
So after a visit to the police station and then sending Kristen and 2 other staff to the American embassy in Casablanca, the remainder of us proceeded to buy lunch supplies and headed out to bless the community. One of our groups actually went to a park area near the mosque that Kristen and I had been attacked and started passing out food to people, literally only a few feet from the spot of the robbery earlier that day. They were able to feed about 60 people and speak with several about the love of "Isa". What Satan meant for evil, God turned for good, not only for those who loved Him but also for many who didn't. As for Kristen, she ended up getting a replacement passport and was able to leave the country, but we were unable to recover anything else. We all returned to Orlando safe and sound with a great testimony of God's protection.
What's next -
I now turn my focus to working with YWAM Orlando as we pursue our new property. Our closing date is August 31 so please pray that God will provide $500,000 for us by then. I will be staying in Florida for the next several months and hopefully will be helping with construction projects for the new base. Thanks for all your support and prayers and know that I appreciate your partnership so much.
Be blessed,
SAM BLOMMEL
This summer is nearly over and its hard to believe that fall is around the corner. The past month has been a whirlwind of activity for me as I have been in Morocco, leading one of our short-term missions trip called a GO Team. We traveled to three major cities in Morocco: Agadir, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. It was quite an intense time of experiencing a completely Muslim influenced society and learning to love a people group in deep spiritual darkness.
Morocco -
As Morocco is a "closed country" (we could have been arrested for any type of public preaching or handing out Christian materials), we had to ask the Lord for some creative ideas to reach people with the truth of Jesus. We spent lots of time in prayer, walking around mosques and businesses, fighting against the spiritual strongholds that enslaved the people. We also handed out bottles of water to the homeless and thirsty in heat that sometimes reached 120 degrees. One of our team members felt that she was supposed to buy roses and give them to people passing by on the streets, especially women. If anyone asked why we were giving things away, we told them that "Isa" (Jesus' name in Arabic) told us to and that we wanted to bless them and show them that we loved them. People's reactions varied; many were surprised but gladly received our gifts, while some thought we were trying to trick them into buying something, others wanted to hear more of why we were doing this.
There were also some sad reactions. When passing out flowers, almost everytime we would offer one to a married women with her husband, the husband would refuse to let his wife have a flower. It became quite obvious to us that though Islam claims to be a religion of peace, it clearly has no value for love. The thing that saddened me the most in Morocco was how the women were oppressed. God created Eve as the most beautiful being on earth but Satan has deceived Muslims into believing that a women is only an object to be manipulated and concealed. A good Muslim women who is obedient to her husband and family will wear clothing in public that covers her entire body, even at the risk of heat exhaustion. What a culture to live in!
Satan also did his best to discourage us from doing what the Lord had asked us to do. For our last day in the city of Marrakesh, we had planned to split into 3 groups and do a "community picnic" where we go to a public area and invite anyone who wanted to join us for a meal of sandwiches, chips, and water. The idea was that it would be a way for us to meet people and bless people in the name of Jesus. Unfortunately, the day didn't go quite as planned. Early that morning, my co-leader, Kristen, asked me to walk with her so she could take pictures of the sunrise. I agreed and we headed toward the large mosque in the area where she could get some good photos. We were walking down a main road and noticed 2 men following us. We sped up our pace but before we knew it, they attacked us and grabbed Kristen's camera bag. Thankfully, we were not hurt and they managed only to take her bag. This presented a huge problem however as the bag contained her wallet, most of her camera equipment, and most importantly, her passport. Amazingly though, Kristen's reaction was that we could not cancel our plans for the day and regardless of what would happen with her things our group had to walk in obedience to what God asked us to do with the picnic.
So after a visit to the police station and then sending Kristen and 2 other staff to the American embassy in Casablanca, the remainder of us proceeded to buy lunch supplies and headed out to bless the community. One of our groups actually went to a park area near the mosque that Kristen and I had been attacked and started passing out food to people, literally only a few feet from the spot of the robbery earlier that day. They were able to feed about 60 people and speak with several about the love of "Isa". What Satan meant for evil, God turned for good, not only for those who loved Him but also for many who didn't. As for Kristen, she ended up getting a replacement passport and was able to leave the country, but we were unable to recover anything else. We all returned to Orlando safe and sound with a great testimony of God's protection.
What's next -
I now turn my focus to working with YWAM Orlando as we pursue our new property. Our closing date is August 31 so please pray that God will provide $500,000 for us by then. I will be staying in Florida for the next several months and hopefully will be helping with construction projects for the new base. Thanks for all your support and prayers and know that I appreciate your partnership so much.
Be blessed,
SAM BLOMMEL
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