After such a beautiful, long day, we had another surprise.....a picnic at the Rocks.........You all remember the Rocks from your childhood......that high rocky cliff overlooking the Bobo fields and villages....right outside the city.....The path in there is rocky as ever......but it was worth the rough ride to experience another experience from our years in Burkina........the place has not changed......we sat up on the high hill overlooking the peaceful Bobo villages...........smoke rising into the air from the fires where women cooked the evening meal........the church president, Pastor Job and his wife joined us.........Esther had prepared her usual banquet......Peggy and Jetty brought special chairs for us........and Peggy even served me my coffee in a china cup!.........As it got dark someone built a bonfire, and we sat around in the glow of the flames from the fire in the dark night aorund us........Various ones took the words and told of how they had come to know us....... and we did the same with them........Job gave a testimony of how Dad had encouraged him as a young, single Maranatha grad, who had no church.......everything was done in French and English so all could understand.....We went to bed that night - tired - but happy with all that day had held.......and we were all up before dawn the next morning to return to Ouaga........this time we were in two cars to accomodate the mission as a car needed to be returned to Ouaga.......and it was back to the big city again....with more visits from friends........and then the goodbyes as one by one some of you departed.......and John and we finally took that late night flight for Paris.......and beyond that Tunisia for us.
Tunisia - what an experience!.....It started when we arrived from the Paris flight........we had been served lunch on the plane, most of which we could not recognize or eat!........but the sights were beautiful as we flew over snow capped mountains of Europe and finally down into the Mediterranean area and over to Tunis airport.........the walk from the plane to baggage claim was long, and as we neared our destination, someone stopped us........were we Mr. and Mrs. Pierce??? ....and then we saw the sign on a board to our left: "Welcome to Tunisia, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce!".......We wondered what was going on, but allowed ourselves to be led into an office and greeted by two men in uniform!......... they took our passports to have us stamped in while we were plied with water and local television.........Finally we were led out toward the baggage claim - and there was Cheryl!!.......One of the men comes to English class at the Family Place, and Darrell had asked him to meet us and make sure we were taken care of!.....So thus the VIP treatment.
.......Soon we were on our way into the city, with Darrell and Cheryl in the van.......our major suitcase was missing....but we were assured it would be there the next day........and borrowed clothes from C and D in the meantime.........What an amazing drive through the city - it is such a beautiful city!.....Stark white buildings everywhere......tall dark green cyprus trees are interspersed among the buildings.....horrendous traffic with everyone claiming space at every traffic circle.....and there are many.......We enjoyed Phenicies' comfortable (but cold!) home, with its space heaters in each room.......it had been a long trip from Ouaga via Paris, spending hours in the Paris airport....so the good meal and the hot bath felt great!.....Paticipating a bit in the Family Place was great........meeting many international workers as well as Tunisians was a delight.....I got to share a bit with the international women at their weekly Bible study.....we were treated to beautiful restaurants of various kinds - Indian out by the sea, fancy pizza restaurant in the uppeer crust part of town, indigenous Tunisian upstairs overlooking their local Champs EliysÊes.......we were treated royally.....and met interesting people, not the least the few who come to a Bible study in the Phenicies' home.....many Tunisians talked to us - they are a friendly people .....and we were treated to dental care and barber shop and hair salon........Sunday the Family Place was closed so we travelled south to Sousse.....what a beautiful Mediterranean town.....like something in Europe....we sat on the boardwalk and had coffee.....then went to the big Catholic church where Protestants share the building with Catholics and we worshipped with the handful of Christians, most of them not locals.......then to an upstairs restaurant.....and home again driving through the Tunisian countryside.......a trip to Carthage was a highlight, visiting places where the early church fathers ministered in the early years of Christianity.....visiting the site of the now crumbled collesseum where Christians were martyred, thrown to hungry lions......what a sobering trip....There were also the temples of Baal where thousands of babies were killed to honor Baal......both a bloody and beautiful past!
We were sobered by the dark Islamic side of Tunisian society and the open friendliness of its people....we can now pray for Tunisia and its people with better understanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment