We're here in Cairo! Wow--what a miraculous journey it has been to get to this point--thank you all for your ongoing love, support, and prayers that have carried us and now must continue to sustain us and help us meet the new challenges that are now facing us as we settle into our new home, community, and ministry.
Travel - as you know, we left Huntsville on Friday, January 6 to tearful goodbyes from our families, including Alexis and her mother and sister who also came to see us off. We actually arrived early in Chicago and parked right next to our plane for Germany--but, we had to taxi to another gate and then work really hard to get our carry-on luggage (each of us were with the allowed 2 pieces) across the older O'Hare airport back to where we needed board the flight to Munich. By the time we reached the gate, we were ready to board. The jet to Munich was smaller and newer than the 747 we flew home in last September, and was actually quite comfortable (I forgot to mention that when we checked-in in Huntsville, we were seated all over the plane for this flight and were able to have them rearrange our tickets to allow us to sit together--we were unable to change the seats until that moment due to some silly policy--fortunately, it worked out!). Once we arrived in Germany, it was a long walk to our next outbound gate for a full flight to Cairo -- the flight was delayed due to some mechanical problems, and we were all a little grumpy when it was time to board. We were told by one airline representative to go last and they would help us get our luggage on board so we wouldn't have to carry it down the 3 flights of stairs to the shuttle that took us to our plane. That was a mistake -- that airline representative left and her replacements were not as accommodating; we got to the plane and nearly all the overhead bins were full--Grace and Titus had to sit with their feet resting on 2 of our carry-ons while we had 2 backpacks out between us.
Arrival - we came into the airport a little later than expected; we had to fill out the customs forms upon entry, and once again i was given the Egyptian forms while the rest of the family received the international forms. We went through customs without a problem, got our tourist visas and picked up our additional 8 pieces of luggage--Jamie met us while taking our picture strolling into the general waiting area. We amazingly crammed all of us and all our luggage in a minivan for the long ride through Cairo to Maadi. This was the evening of orthodox Christmas, so we had a lot of traffic to battle on this holiday. We were all exhausted, but we managed to stay up long enough order some pizza to eat (Pappa John's!) and to talk a little with Rhonda and Jamie. Rhonda and Jamie had come in early to help clean up our new home--they had our beds made in each of our new rooms and candles lit throughout the house as we got our first glimpse of home. The garden, even at night, was beautiful, and the kids actually went out with their new flashlights (thanks Uncle Brian) to explore the garden and find the tortoises.
First day, Sunday - We went to bed late Saturday night--but all of us were up before 5 am! We had some breakfast, Zeke played outside, and Titus and Grace attempted to fall back asleep. Keli and I got to work, moving out furniture pieces from storage to determine which bed frames we would use. So much moving and cleaning continued throughout the day--Jamie and Rhonda awoke mid-morning to find the garden lawn covered in furniture! We all worked hard attempting to get everything in order. Tifa, one of the CCF leaders, came over to meet us--we were unable to meet him and his wife in September because they were in the states where their grandson was being born. He took inventory of all the problems we were still having in the home, and then went out to buy us burgers and fries for lunch--he returned with 8 big burgers from Lucille's, a local restaurant which is as close to a Cracker Barrel as you will find in Cairo. We managed to clean ourselves up a bit and then walk to take the train into the city for our first evening worship with the CCF. They had someone else scheduled to speak, so i merely received prayer requests and offered the prayer, while simultaneously sharing the praises that led to our arrival. We were all exhausted by this time and found it difficult to stay awake for the evening's activities and ride home.
Monday - we slept a little better, most of us that is -- Grace still struggled to get on the right schedule through the night. We all got showered and dressed by mid-morning to walk to the school where the kids would attend. We were able to help the boys see their classes and meet their teachers. Titus was thrilled to see that a new boy had started that day (you may remember he was dreading the fact that he was going to be the only boy in his class); the other boy was thrilled to see that Titus was real and would indeed be coming to school as he was promised there would be another boy in his class. We worked a little more on odds and ends at the house before being picked up for a lunch with Tifa and his family; they live between us and the Nile River, along the Corniche in a high rise apartment building there. From their balcony, we saw a beautiful view that included our best glimpse of the pyramids to date -- you can see a picture from their balcony on Keli's Facebook page. We were treated to a great meal that included HAM!! Yes, pork products in Egypt--we were further thrilled to learn that the shop where this was purchased was not far from us on Road 9 and that they also sold bacon and pork chops! If they have ribs and i can find a decent BBQ sauce, we'll be in business! Anyway, Tifa & Christiane's home is a beautiful, double apartment that is ornately decorated with amazing art, sculpture, and artifacts--how their grandkids have learned to live here is beyond me; Rhonda was overwhelmed at how much work it must be to dust the home! The fellowship was wonderful and we were encouraged with wonderful humor and stories. Tifa then took me to get our internet account settled--we had not been able to have it turned on prior to our arrival because they would need a passport and letter documenting that i was an official ChoG Min' employee and able to make decisions on behalf of the property; but when we arrived, the representative that we dealt with seemed to think that the only thing in our way was a past due account, and that we could merely pay that and then put new service in my name. So, hopefully, in 7-10 days, we'll have service here at the villas!
Tuesday - we got up early and out the door to get the kids to their first day of school. We returned to go over some of the paperwork and report information with Jamie--actually, Keli did this while I worked with a new USB modem that I picked up to use in the interim of our internet service as well as to use as we travel through the country. We had a priority of attempting to get online to help the boys be able to see the BCS National Championship game that they missed the night before; the modem set up easily and it was nice to be connected back home. Keli, Jamie, and i hopped in a taxi to go to Carfour, a large shopping mall attached to the Carfour (French chain) store that is like a Walmart. We had several things to buy for the household, most of which we found, and some of which we will purchase later as we get a little more settled. We did buy a new stove/oven as the current oven does not work, a 32 inch flat screen tv, a vacuum, pots, pans, storage containers, shelves, etc -- all of this came out to about $900 US! Along the way, we were able to determine the price of gas to be less than 2 LE (Egyptian pounds) per liter of premium grade (92) gasoline--this means that you could fill up a midsize car for less than $12 US, and this is why everyone drives and why all the internationals drive the giant SUVs! We finished our shopping and needed to get back to pick up the kids -- traffic had begun to get crazy and Keli and I had to actually be dropped off at one part of town so we could run to pick up the kids from school on time while Jamie got our things to the villas. By the time we all got home, the kids attempted a little homework, but they were all beat and hopped in their beds for a nap. Rhonda had been working hard all day, and we contributed to a little work before waking the kids up to go to the Mermaid restaurant on Road 9 for an Italian dinner; yummy! Back to the villas; the boys finished a little more homework and then stayed up to watch the BCS game--they were both thrilled as Bama Rolled once again--3 titles for the state of Alabama in 3 years is pretty impressive!
Wednesday - our last day with Jamie and Rhonda; they will leave late, late this evening and return to Germany; i've returned from dropping the kids off to school to find the villas vacant, which means the girls all went out for coffee this morning with Tifa's daughter and Jamie's childhood friend Nima. Tonight, Grace has youth group at the local community church; the boys' children activities will take place during Worship at their Friday evening service. Several of their classmates, along with many other international students in the community, attend this church. We hope to make some new friends who can assist us with several adjustment issues.
There is still much to do, and we won't have the wonderful support and help of Jamie and Rhonda for the rest of this week. We have an entire work crew of painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians coming Friday morning (which is Saturday here) to work on the villas to repair or correct every flaw that we have discovered, as well as to help us move a lot of the heavy furniture we can not do by ourselves. Saturday, we have a young lady coming to do some final cleaning--by that point, we hope to have internet and to have our family room and guest apartment finished.
As we settle in, I hope to have us ready to be able to take a short film to post here in the next week or so, too. Stay tuned for more updates -- you can always email or post your comments and questions.
As you pray for us, pray for the kids as they continue to get used to new teachers and new ways of doing things. Pray for their patience and success in attempting Arabic (and French for Grace); Pray that they are able to make some new friends and feel increasingly comfortable in their new surroundings.
Travel - as you know, we left Huntsville on Friday, January 6 to tearful goodbyes from our families, including Alexis and her mother and sister who also came to see us off. We actually arrived early in Chicago and parked right next to our plane for Germany--but, we had to taxi to another gate and then work really hard to get our carry-on luggage (each of us were with the allowed 2 pieces) across the older O'Hare airport back to where we needed board the flight to Munich. By the time we reached the gate, we were ready to board. The jet to Munich was smaller and newer than the 747 we flew home in last September, and was actually quite comfortable (I forgot to mention that when we checked-in in Huntsville, we were seated all over the plane for this flight and were able to have them rearrange our tickets to allow us to sit together--we were unable to change the seats until that moment due to some silly policy--fortunately, it worked out!). Once we arrived in Germany, it was a long walk to our next outbound gate for a full flight to Cairo -- the flight was delayed due to some mechanical problems, and we were all a little grumpy when it was time to board. We were told by one airline representative to go last and they would help us get our luggage on board so we wouldn't have to carry it down the 3 flights of stairs to the shuttle that took us to our plane. That was a mistake -- that airline representative left and her replacements were not as accommodating; we got to the plane and nearly all the overhead bins were full--Grace and Titus had to sit with their feet resting on 2 of our carry-ons while we had 2 backpacks out between us.
Arrival - we came into the airport a little later than expected; we had to fill out the customs forms upon entry, and once again i was given the Egyptian forms while the rest of the family received the international forms. We went through customs without a problem, got our tourist visas and picked up our additional 8 pieces of luggage--Jamie met us while taking our picture strolling into the general waiting area. We amazingly crammed all of us and all our luggage in a minivan for the long ride through Cairo to Maadi. This was the evening of orthodox Christmas, so we had a lot of traffic to battle on this holiday. We were all exhausted, but we managed to stay up long enough order some pizza to eat (Pappa John's!) and to talk a little with Rhonda and Jamie. Rhonda and Jamie had come in early to help clean up our new home--they had our beds made in each of our new rooms and candles lit throughout the house as we got our first glimpse of home. The garden, even at night, was beautiful, and the kids actually went out with their new flashlights (thanks Uncle Brian) to explore the garden and find the tortoises.
First day, Sunday - We went to bed late Saturday night--but all of us were up before 5 am! We had some breakfast, Zeke played outside, and Titus and Grace attempted to fall back asleep. Keli and I got to work, moving out furniture pieces from storage to determine which bed frames we would use. So much moving and cleaning continued throughout the day--Jamie and Rhonda awoke mid-morning to find the garden lawn covered in furniture! We all worked hard attempting to get everything in order. Tifa, one of the CCF leaders, came over to meet us--we were unable to meet him and his wife in September because they were in the states where their grandson was being born. He took inventory of all the problems we were still having in the home, and then went out to buy us burgers and fries for lunch--he returned with 8 big burgers from Lucille's, a local restaurant which is as close to a Cracker Barrel as you will find in Cairo. We managed to clean ourselves up a bit and then walk to take the train into the city for our first evening worship with the CCF. They had someone else scheduled to speak, so i merely received prayer requests and offered the prayer, while simultaneously sharing the praises that led to our arrival. We were all exhausted by this time and found it difficult to stay awake for the evening's activities and ride home.
Monday - we slept a little better, most of us that is -- Grace still struggled to get on the right schedule through the night. We all got showered and dressed by mid-morning to walk to the school where the kids would attend. We were able to help the boys see their classes and meet their teachers. Titus was thrilled to see that a new boy had started that day (you may remember he was dreading the fact that he was going to be the only boy in his class); the other boy was thrilled to see that Titus was real and would indeed be coming to school as he was promised there would be another boy in his class. We worked a little more on odds and ends at the house before being picked up for a lunch with Tifa and his family; they live between us and the Nile River, along the Corniche in a high rise apartment building there. From their balcony, we saw a beautiful view that included our best glimpse of the pyramids to date -- you can see a picture from their balcony on Keli's Facebook page. We were treated to a great meal that included HAM!! Yes, pork products in Egypt--we were further thrilled to learn that the shop where this was purchased was not far from us on Road 9 and that they also sold bacon and pork chops! If they have ribs and i can find a decent BBQ sauce, we'll be in business! Anyway, Tifa & Christiane's home is a beautiful, double apartment that is ornately decorated with amazing art, sculpture, and artifacts--how their grandkids have learned to live here is beyond me; Rhonda was overwhelmed at how much work it must be to dust the home! The fellowship was wonderful and we were encouraged with wonderful humor and stories. Tifa then took me to get our internet account settled--we had not been able to have it turned on prior to our arrival because they would need a passport and letter documenting that i was an official ChoG Min' employee and able to make decisions on behalf of the property; but when we arrived, the representative that we dealt with seemed to think that the only thing in our way was a past due account, and that we could merely pay that and then put new service in my name. So, hopefully, in 7-10 days, we'll have service here at the villas!
Tuesday - we got up early and out the door to get the kids to their first day of school. We returned to go over some of the paperwork and report information with Jamie--actually, Keli did this while I worked with a new USB modem that I picked up to use in the interim of our internet service as well as to use as we travel through the country. We had a priority of attempting to get online to help the boys be able to see the BCS National Championship game that they missed the night before; the modem set up easily and it was nice to be connected back home. Keli, Jamie, and i hopped in a taxi to go to Carfour, a large shopping mall attached to the Carfour (French chain) store that is like a Walmart. We had several things to buy for the household, most of which we found, and some of which we will purchase later as we get a little more settled. We did buy a new stove/oven as the current oven does not work, a 32 inch flat screen tv, a vacuum, pots, pans, storage containers, shelves, etc -- all of this came out to about $900 US! Along the way, we were able to determine the price of gas to be less than 2 LE (Egyptian pounds) per liter of premium grade (92) gasoline--this means that you could fill up a midsize car for less than $12 US, and this is why everyone drives and why all the internationals drive the giant SUVs! We finished our shopping and needed to get back to pick up the kids -- traffic had begun to get crazy and Keli and I had to actually be dropped off at one part of town so we could run to pick up the kids from school on time while Jamie got our things to the villas. By the time we all got home, the kids attempted a little homework, but they were all beat and hopped in their beds for a nap. Rhonda had been working hard all day, and we contributed to a little work before waking the kids up to go to the Mermaid restaurant on Road 9 for an Italian dinner; yummy! Back to the villas; the boys finished a little more homework and then stayed up to watch the BCS game--they were both thrilled as Bama Rolled once again--3 titles for the state of Alabama in 3 years is pretty impressive!
Wednesday - our last day with Jamie and Rhonda; they will leave late, late this evening and return to Germany; i've returned from dropping the kids off to school to find the villas vacant, which means the girls all went out for coffee this morning with Tifa's daughter and Jamie's childhood friend Nima. Tonight, Grace has youth group at the local community church; the boys' children activities will take place during Worship at their Friday evening service. Several of their classmates, along with many other international students in the community, attend this church. We hope to make some new friends who can assist us with several adjustment issues.
There is still much to do, and we won't have the wonderful support and help of Jamie and Rhonda for the rest of this week. We have an entire work crew of painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians coming Friday morning (which is Saturday here) to work on the villas to repair or correct every flaw that we have discovered, as well as to help us move a lot of the heavy furniture we can not do by ourselves. Saturday, we have a young lady coming to do some final cleaning--by that point, we hope to have internet and to have our family room and guest apartment finished.
As we settle in, I hope to have us ready to be able to take a short film to post here in the next week or so, too. Stay tuned for more updates -- you can always email or post your comments and questions.
As you pray for us, pray for the kids as they continue to get used to new teachers and new ways of doing things. Pray for their patience and success in attempting Arabic (and French for Grace); Pray that they are able to make some new friends and feel increasingly comfortable in their new surroundings.
Wow, you really jumped into life with both feet! Impressive! We have Carrefour in Colombia too, though it's not all that cheap here. But if yours is like the one here, it's known to be the place where you can get most international products that you might be missing! They apparently had a sale on turkeys around Thanksgiving...I didn't buy one, but I was invited to dinner at some missionary friends' house, and it was fantastic! Praying for you.
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