Spain and Morocco was awesome thank you guys for all your prayer! On this trip we learned a lot as a couple and as individuals. We were able to interact as a family in a new way as this was our first trip out of the country as a family. Sarah and I both grew individually as leaders through the "ups" and "downs" of leading this team. One of the ways Sarah and I grew together was through learning pair our giftings so that we could function better as a team.
Initially we flew into Spain & had some fellow co-workers with a lot of experience give us some orientation on the muslim religion and the moroccan culture before just heading in! This was necessary due to the fact the Morocco is a Muslim nation and a closed country which means that preaching the Gospel is illegal. The team had the opportunity to get training in language, cultural protocol, and ministry.
When we got to Morocco we started building relationships in the market which happens to be the largest open-air market in the world. Many of the shop keepers spoke English so this was the best service we could do with no language barriers. We were able to make friends quickly with some of the shop keepers and would visit them almost every day.
Shortly after we arrived, we did a 35 mile trek on foot with 40lbs pack for 8 days into the Atlas mountains to minister to the Berber people group who are largely unreached. We did this with more fellow co-workers in Marrakesh who own an expedition business to be servants to this people group. Every night we would stay in a Berber home and share as the spirit lead us. Meanwhile during those 8 days, Sarah stayed back with another leader and the kids and kept up with our friends in the market.
When we returned from the trek we connected with another fellow co-worker in Marrakesh that has an English school which has a program called home stays. Home stays are pretty self explanatory, you stay in Moroccan homes for a certain amount of time the intention is to get ministries to get involved to to show the families that Christians are not bad people and share culture. Our team did this the remainder of our time in Morocco while also continuing our friendships in the market. During this time William picked up on a few arabic words & it is still hilarious to us when he responds to us in arabic. We absolutely love it!
We made life long bonds with the friends we made in Morocco and will always try to keep in contact with them! Some of our friends names that we made were Abdul, Mohammed, Anas, Isai, & Jesus. Please be praying for them with us!
At the close of our trip we returned to Spain and worked locally with the ministry at the Spain base. The team got to take part in their English teaching classes, "tea time" which was centered to draw Muslims/Spanish Moroccans in, and also worship and intercession for the city.
We would like to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for helping us make this trip happen. It was not only amazing for our family, but we really feel like we planted seeds that will blossom into something beautiful. Yeah, Jesus!!!
If you would like to know more or have any specific questions, please feel free to e-mail (ryanandsarahowen@gmail.com) or facebook message us anytime! We would love it!
Here is a slide show of pictures from our trip!
Initially we flew into Spain & had some fellow co-workers with a lot of experience give us some orientation on the muslim religion and the moroccan culture before just heading in! This was necessary due to the fact the Morocco is a Muslim nation and a closed country which means that preaching the Gospel is illegal. The team had the opportunity to get training in language, cultural protocol, and ministry.
When we got to Morocco we started building relationships in the market which happens to be the largest open-air market in the world. Many of the shop keepers spoke English so this was the best service we could do with no language barriers. We were able to make friends quickly with some of the shop keepers and would visit them almost every day.
Shortly after we arrived, we did a 35 mile trek on foot with 40lbs pack for 8 days into the Atlas mountains to minister to the Berber people group who are largely unreached. We did this with more fellow co-workers in Marrakesh who own an expedition business to be servants to this people group. Every night we would stay in a Berber home and share as the spirit lead us. Meanwhile during those 8 days, Sarah stayed back with another leader and the kids and kept up with our friends in the market.
When we returned from the trek we connected with another fellow co-worker in Marrakesh that has an English school which has a program called home stays. Home stays are pretty self explanatory, you stay in Moroccan homes for a certain amount of time the intention is to get ministries to get involved to to show the families that Christians are not bad people and share culture. Our team did this the remainder of our time in Morocco while also continuing our friendships in the market. During this time William picked up on a few arabic words & it is still hilarious to us when he responds to us in arabic. We absolutely love it!
We made life long bonds with the friends we made in Morocco and will always try to keep in contact with them! Some of our friends names that we made were Abdul, Mohammed, Anas, Isai, & Jesus. Please be praying for them with us!
At the close of our trip we returned to Spain and worked locally with the ministry at the Spain base. The team got to take part in their English teaching classes, "tea time" which was centered to draw Muslims/Spanish Moroccans in, and also worship and intercession for the city.
We would like to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for helping us make this trip happen. It was not only amazing for our family, but we really feel like we planted seeds that will blossom into something beautiful. Yeah, Jesus!!!
If you would like to know more or have any specific questions, please feel free to e-mail (ryanandsarahowen@gmail.com) or facebook message us anytime! We would love it!
Here is a slide show of pictures from our trip!
