An international year of prayer for
Morocco
| WEEK 31 |
AgadirThe gateway to the desert, Agadir was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. Located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, it has since been rebuilt and become a large modern town of about 300,000 and a popular resort for European, Middle Eastern and Moroccan tourists. Agadir is a place people come on holiday to openly do things they would not do at home. Drunkenness and homosexuality are common among visitors and are often associated in the minds of locals as norms of decadent Western "Christian" culture. Large expensive hotels line the coast, restaurants are numerous and casinos are springing up. The broad sandy beach stretches for miles and attracts a host of people including topless bathers. This immodesty and flaunted foreign affluence fuels materialism as well as envy and resentment among the locals.Ishilhayn (Souss) Berbers make up a majority of the city and their Tashilhayt language is spoken widely. Many older residents of Agadir remember the earthquake and few families were untouched by its devastating impact. As a result substantial fear remains. At present, Agadir and the rest of southern Morocco are experiencing a serious drought. Some blame immoral lifestyles, greed and self-seeking attitudes for this calamity. Whatever the reason, Agadir badly needs rain. The believers in Agadir gather together regularly to pray and intercede on behalf of their town and country. They invite you to join them in praying. "He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:8 "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. " Ezekiel 18:31 "He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills." Psalm 147:8
|
