Sad News from Morocco

During my time in PC, I became very close with a number of families in the small town where I served. I consider them all to be my Moroccan families and am always welcomed back with open arms on visits.

One of my favorites is the Bouhou's. A family of four, Habiba is one of the most loving moms I know. She is her kids biggest fan and she is practically oozing with love and happiness anytime I see her. She taught me how to make many delicious Moroccan dishes and I secretly told her she is the best cook in town. Her husband Brahim is one of my favorites of the "husbands." He is kind, well-loved by his kids and wife and always makes an effort to chat with me whenever I visit. He treats me like a second daughter and I always feel so relaxed around him.

A few days ago I received a text message from Morocco telling me that Brahim passed away. I was in the middle of class here in Switzerland and I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I couldn't believe it- I'd just seen him in March and didn't know anything was wrong. I struggled to get through class without tears.

Having a husband die young (Brahim was in his upper 40's, I think) is a tragedy for anyone, anywhere in the world. In Morocco, however, it can be especially crippling. Habiba hasn't been educated past the elementary level and has spent the last 20 years taking care of her family. She currently has one daughter in university and a son who is 16. They live in a house paid for by her husband's job and just recently bought another one (using credit) for her daughter to live in while going to school.

Brahim was the sole provider for this family and now that he's gone, I'm so afraid for the family he's left behind. Will they be kicked out of their house? Will their daughter be forced to leave university and get married to support herself? How will they earn money to live? The type of security many people in the United States have in this type of situation just doesn't exist in the same way in Morocco.

Me and Habiba during my last visit

My heart aches for Habiba and her family. If it's the kind of thing you do, please keep them in your prayers.

Happy Anywhere?

For my weekend off this past week, I jumped on the school bus to Zurich. Zurich is Switzerland's business and banking capital and that's about all I knew of the city. In fact, the reason I hopped on the bus at all was because the weather forecast in Lugano was promising rain and cold.

Zurich turned out to be a really great city. Right up my alley if I must say. It's incredibly clean and filled with adorable boutiques, trendy restaurants and outdoor cafes. The streets downtown are cobblestone and narrowly fit through the historic buildings. I toured the city, saw an antiques market and walked through the Kunsthaus art museum.

The whole time I was thinking "I could live here." And I think I could, what wasn't to like? Then I started to think about all of the other cities in the world where I've visited and thought the same thing. In fact, I can hardly think of a city that I wouldn't want to live in. Is this because most cities have good qualities or because I'm really just not that picky when it comes to my location? Hopefully it's a combination of both although I think there's a bit of a "grass is always greener" mentality in there too. Maybe I think I'd be happy anywhere that I'm not currently. Who knows.