Africa Part II

So...the rest of my adventures in Tunisia. The day after camel riding in the desert we got a nice change up and got to go for buggy rides thorugh the oasis. We saw a dude climb a palm tree, and we saw lots of different flowers (my favorite looked like a pink hibiscus), and of course there were tons of palm trees. It was crazy to ride through the oasis knowing all around it is lifeless desert. The contrast is crazy. We got some more time in the market (but by then I was getting sick of it...haggling is only fun for so long...).

The best part of the day was riding in the 4x4 (in French it sounds like they're saying cat-cat). All 7 of us got in the off roading SUV and we headed back out to the desert. We flew over sand dunes while listening to random pop songs our driver had on a mixed tape. Christina was a bit scared, and I think Bhavana got the biggest kick out of watching her. Car dancing followed, as did bobble heads. It was chaos. The highlight of the trip, if I could name one.

We took the 4x4 towards Algeria- about as close as you can get without actually being in it. We stopped at some old ruins and a place that was kinda like the grand canyon (or so I'm told), among other things.

Later that day we made friends with this little French boy, David, who is 8 1/2. He ate the rest of his meals at our table. I'd like to think it's because we were the cool Americans... No actually I think he felt cool knowing more French than us. So he chatted it up at meals and on the bus with us, and occasionally corrected our French. He was a cool kid. Oh and we taught him how to play paper football, that was sweet.

The next day we started with some old roman ruins. Little known by most people was that Tunisia was once a part of the Roman Empire. So we saw some old temples (I forget for which deities), an amphitheater, and an old bath house. The mosaic files on the floor were remarkably preserved. Now the coolest thing that I caught (among a mile long list of facts speedily thrown at us by our French tour guide) was an old baptism pool from the first Christians. I don’t think anyone else paid it much notice. It was really cool to see, though, for me anyways. It looked like the one at Elmbrook (bathtub sizeish), only decked out in cool tiles. More importantly is its significance for that time period. You may or may not recall that a good chunk of the New Testament documents the first growth of the church in the Roman Empire. That means that even remote places like Tunisia heard the good news of Christ, and they followed Him. Not only did they follow Him, but right next to the 3 temples to Mars and company they set-up a radical statement of their faith to baptize new believers. Sweet stuff. I would give anything to have been there. I mean just imagine it. A place where roman gods reign supreme and these crazy people come through with this whole new message. One that requires a complete turn from anything they’d ever grown up with. Only God could be behind that. The sad part, though, is that this place that once was a testament to Christ is now only in ruins, like the temples to the roman gods. The country is now dominated by Islam, and you’d be hard pressed to find practicing followers of Christ in that land. So don’t think that all because places like America are supposedly “Christian” now, it doesn’t mean it will last. In fact, for years the US has been moving quite far from God because we’d rather be a country of selfish demi-gods. We all want to be our own rulers, our own gods. Living in worlds biggest super power country only adds to our ever growing egos. So just remember that complacency is dangerous. Places that once followed God aren’t exempt from temptation to follow other “gods.”

Going into the mosques was hard, because it brought me face to face with a system that is missing the whole point- Christ. They get some of it right, but the important part isn’t there, and that’s the grace of God and his gift of salvation. Their religion is dominated by rules, like the Jews under the Mosaic Law. Some believe the same to be true of Christianity, but it’s not at all. Christ came to tell us that we can’t ever live perfectly on our own. But if we believe in Him then we are made perfect by his sacrifice. No amount of daily prayer or dress code or eating restrictions can ever add up to his gift…anyways though…Their worship of God is based in fear, trying to earn redemption. We are told that we should fear God, for that is the beginning of wisdom. However, we should also feel deeply loved by God, a personal, close enough to touch God. His grace, which we believe by faith, is our salvation. No rules or works will earn it. We need a Savior. That joy is missing. This isn’t to say that the people I saw seemed unhappy, not at all. But temporary happiness and eternal joy are not the same. My heart could feel the weight of the burden they carry. A burden only lifted with Christ. They too are God’s people, carefully and wonderfully made. But there rests a veil, like the ones that cover the heads of devout women, a veil keeping them from the truth. Pray that God will soon tear that veil and reveal himself in a big way to them.

Well after all that trekking it was time we returned to the island for a few more days of sun and then head home. It was sad to leave, and I’m rushing the end because I don’t like writing goodbyes. This one was to Tunisia. We miss you already.