The Outcast of My Rival is My Candidate

In an unexpected announcement, the Nour (political) Party endorsed a new candidate this weekend for Egypt's Presidency.  The surprise was not in the timing of the announcement, but in the who--Presidential candidate Aboul Fotouh.

The populace has been awaiting an announcement for more than a week sense their previous candidate Abu Ismail (whose campaign posters comically began covering the country) was disqualified by the Presidential Election Commission.  Abu Ismail has continued to lead supporters in demonstrations, but he is quickly declining in importance in the papers and in conversation.  Other parties, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, quickly nominated a replacement to get back in to the race.

The Nour Party, representing the fundamental Islamists, had lost their candidate and were losing momentum.  They turned to the Muslim Brotherhood and proposed a joint announcement of an Islamist candidate, so as not to split the vote.  The Brotherhood rejected this Salafi proposal -- this New York Times article seems to indicate that the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood has a tendency to look down upon the Salafi.

In Aboul Fotouh, the Nour Party has found someone who also may have an "ax to grind" with the Muslim Brotherhood.  Aboul Fotouh had been a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood through the revolution last year, despite his tendency to being more liberal than his party.  Aboul Fotouh was kicked out of the party when he publicly declared that he would run for the Presidency shortly after the revolution; at this point, the Muslim Brotherhood had said that they would not field a candidate, and since he separated himself, they separated from him.

When the Brotherhood decided to field a candidate, they declined to embrace Aboul Fotouh again.  Instead, they picked a more conservative and charismatic leader from their own ranks, al-Shater.  When al-Shater was also disqualified by the Presidential Election Commission, the press asked Brotherhood leaders if they would now endorse Aboul Fotouh--the answer was a quick and harsh "no".  Instead, they fielded another leader, equally respected but less charismatic.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Election Commission's recent decisions created what a local paper said was "a two, possibly one, candidate race" -- Aboul Fotouh was one of those candidates, but he was behind the more popular Amr Mousa.  But now, with the Salafi endorsement, Aboul Fotouh may have jumped in front--potentially, way in front.

One has to wonder how this partnership from the endorsement will turn out, though.  The Salafis are the ultra-conservatives; Aboul Fotouh has been the picture of liberal, beyond moderate.  Only time and the election will tell whether or not it can last, and how it will work out.

For now, these strange bedfellows have secured the headlines and the momentum from the Muslim Brotherhood who previously wanted nothing to do with either of them--will they also secure the election?

*Note: There are conspiracy theories.  The conspiracists say that the kicking out of Aboul Fotouh was all a ploy to gain a different support base and that the Muslim Brotherhood have been orchestrating all of this all along so that one of their own ends up the President, yet maintaining distance from involvement.  Yet, even with their sweeping victories in the Parliamentary elections, most are not sure the Muslim Brotherhood are that well organized or have that much foresight for such an elaborate plan.


UPDATES:
additional Salafi political group endorses Aboul Fotouh, see this article "another blow to brotherhood"

according to latest political poll of voters, Amr Mousa led candidates all candidates with 41.1% and the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsy, was last at 3.6%.  Aboul Fotouh was second at 27.3%--this poll was conducted BEFORE the Nour Party endorsement.  The article with poll results infers that Amr Mousa and Aboul Fotouh may win high percentages, but not necessarily a majority since there are so many candidates; in that case, a runoff election between the two would be scheduled. 

Apple in Egypt: Reflecting on Influence and Relevance

Bill Gates reportedly had this fantastical, sci-fi dream that every desk in every home would have a personal computer; yet, we now live in a world where there are already more cell phones than people in the US.  An increasing number of those cell phones are "smart phones", which able to access internet, email, and process multiple applications--like, the iPhone.  Forget a computer on every desktop--there's a computer in nearly everyone's pocket.

You have likely seen the news headlines of Apples insane sales in the first quarter of 2012, as in this CNN report.  Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones worldwide between January 1 and March 31, which (as the headlines compute) is 16,000 cell phones per hour.

PER HOUR!

And that's not counting iPads, which came in at a measly 5,400 per hour.  And, it would be difficult (if not impossible) to try to compute the 2nd hand sales on Ebay, Craig's List, and other classifieds as Apple devotees unload one model in a tireless attempt to upgrade to get what's next.

Not many companies could compare with these latest stats in Apple's quarterly report.  As Apple has just released their "resolutionary" new iPad, and (according to rumors) prepares to launch iPhone 5 in the fall, one has to wonder, is this just a foreshadow of a larger report to be released by the end of the year?

Our family likes Apple products and so we notice their headlines, but I also like stats and quarterly reporting.  We just compiled an in-depth quarterly report for our Living Link donors (you can contact us for a copy), and we track our blog page views.  But the interesting aspect of these Apple headlines, and why i blog about it here, is in the word "worldwide".

The aforementioned CNN article references the growth of Apple in emerging markets, which was unexpected due to the higher prices of their merchandise.  How well could such pricey, techie, brand-driven, extras fare in societies where economies are weak?  Apparently, quite well.  Apple did far better than expected in the midst of multiple competitors in China; even though they are not yet on the largest cellular carrier there, China provided 20% of this monster quarterly revenue to Apple.

And, Apple is very much alive in Egypt.  iPhones have been here for years, and it is not just the large expatriate population carrying around iPads, MacBooks, and iPhones.  As with all brands, the familiar Apple logo is popular here, on clothing and backpacks or luggage (black-market usage), taxis and microbuses as well as personal vehicles, store displays (even if they don't carry any Apple products), and more.  You regularly see the Apple logo on any walk through the streets of Cairo--here are a couple examples:

many taxis include an Apple logo along with a multitude of other brand names; unlike NASCAR, these are not officially licensed logos and the drivers don't get an endorsement deal.  As opposed to the small, white stickers included in your iPod purchase, the Apple logos on vehicles here come in a variety of sizes, face in opposite directions, and a variety of colors; we've seen black, red, blue, green, and purple.

if there's not an iPhone display in a mobile shop window,  then they have a similar, competitors model up instead.

The high-tide of Apple products is not only filling the pockets of the guys in Cupertino, California; competitors also benefit from the market craze that new Apple products produce.  Nokia, Blackberry and other local brands here in Egypt offer cell phones with touch screens, MP3 players, and apps along with similar styling to attempt to cut into the market share.  Duke psychology and behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely notes in his book Predictably Irrational that these cross-culturally "hip" brands have a tendency to help competitors; using the example of Starbucks, Ariely notes that doughnut shops and fast food chains started offering at least improved blends, and then their own specialty coffees while offering them at significantly higher prices than the previous cup-of-joe that used to be offered at these establishments.  Why?  Because if Starbucks could make a profit doing it, then surely they could do so as well.  And, translating to cell phones, Apple's competitors are doing quite well here, too.

Again, all of this is within the struggling economy of this developing nation.  Cell phones are in the hands or pockets of the kids who also have a handout begging; while looking for their next fare, taxi drivers (competing for fewer fares due to the drop in tourism) talk into bluetooth devices; and increasing restaurants around us offer free wifi in hopes of enticing the next patron to stay a little longer and perhaps buy a bit more food or drink.  

Obviously, not all of this is due to Apple; but when you're selling 16,000 units per hour worldwide, you're not only driving the market, you may be driving global culture.

i don't write that to boast Apple or their products (and, please keep in mind that the views and opinions of the writer are not necessarily the views and opinions of Church of God Ministries, Three-Worlds, or even his family.)

"driving the global culture"?!?!

Perhaps you think that is too outlandish a statement.  Consider, though, that imitation may be the one of the greatest indicators of influence.  Now stop and consider how many features of the technology you currently have are in some way imitating (or improving) upon a previous Apple product design or feature.  Now expand that to their advertisement campaigns and verbiage, or to their store layouts and service strategies--copying Apple's financial success has begun by simply copying Apple.

Christendom is not immune from this influence.  A quick Google search of "iChurch" yields 75,400 references; "iJesus" has 192,000 references; and "iChristian" has 8,280,000 references--and now, thanks to this post, you can add "1" to each of those searches.  Churches and para-church ministries are striving to create mobile friendly web-pages, iTunes accounts, and even apps.  My elder friend Ms. Jane would classify this in the "greater [different/diverse] things" that Jesus said his believers would do after Him (see John 14:12).

But in the effort to imitate these things from the global markets, is the Church just struggling to keep up with the latest thing?  is the Church falling behind other influences and failing to be the influencer in the world?

Competitors are attempting to get a part of the market share and appeal to the consumer; other companies are attempting to work with what works and what the consumer will recognize.  Perhaps even the taxi drivers here in Egypt hope that the Apple logo may cause some tourist to favor or gravitate to that driver over another without the logo.  But the Church--what is their motive for imitation?

Relevance.

Ministries, pastors, and congregations are seeking for any way to be relevant.  i get that; as a pastor and Christian mentor, using phrases, images, and even the technology of the day is par for the course in ministry.  The problem is when we over use whatever we are attempting to imitate.

In that case, we may be overused ourselves; not finding relevance to the world, but just demonstrating the greater influence of whatever it is we're imitating.

The question then becomes this: when are we using, and when are we getting used?  When have we transitioned from promoting Christ to instead promoting some brand or product?

as always, we welcome your comments, questions or observations...
  

Arabic Level 1 Report Card

That's an "alef +" -- not sure if that's a grade they give in Egyptian schools, but the transliteration implies "A+".  Keli and I finished our Level 1 (48 hours) of Arabic today with an exam covering what we learned throughout the course--it was all in Arabic (even the directions) and we were only given 2 hints--1) whether or not the names in the sentences were male or female, and 2) one of the fruits on the test had a different spelling than we learned.  Everything from adding currency, writing our address, writing out numbers in the thousands, identifying vocabulary terms, to "she is from Pakistan, she is Pakistani".  With so little direction, it took us awhile to get going, but we started to figure it out; and, though our spelling was not perfect, our comprehension and application of what we learned was perfect.  Our teacher was very pleased.  Hooray and Hallelujah!  Now, the Level 1 perfect score really means very little in our day to day interactions, but it sets a good foundation to begin Level 2 immediately--another 48 hours--that we aim to complete before summer.  Level 2 offers learning more verbs and greater conversational application, which will be really helpful.  

In other good news, our shipment was picked up from Decatur, Alabama yesterday--we hope by this time next week we will be hip deep in our stuff.  Of course, by that time, we will wonder why we ever thought we needed most of it?!?  Living off what we could bring with us on the airplane has had its ups and downs; one negative is it is getting much warmer and we have very little of our warmer weather clothing.  I'm not looking forward to unpacking--except for the espresso machine :)  Thanks to Keli's family, particularly to Scott who finalized the cartons for shipping, and Pat who made several extra trips to the store to find all the things we realized we needed!

Powerful, Wonderful Must-Read

Patrick, Jamie and Marco -- a few years ago :)

As many of you know, our Regional Coordinators are Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall.  They are not just our supervisors but we're growing in friendship, too.  Both are a wealth of knowledge and experience in international ministry and it is an honor to learn from them and serve with them.

Patrick recently wrote a great piece highlighting not only our mourning of the tragic passing of colleague Julie (Beam) Kurrle, but the equally tragic passing of his uncle, and Voice of the Martyrs Executive Director, Tom White.  While describing the paradox of mounting, Patrick also writes of the larger paradoxes of the Christian faith.

It is powerful, wonderful, and a must-read for any believer or one struggling with belief.  I encourage anyone to read it, reflect on it, and discuss it with others:

"What It Means to Mourn"

In Tahrir Square Today...

Thousands began marching from different parts of Cairo this morning to converge in Tahrir Square in time for prayer; in the CNN video clip above, you can see many rising and kneeling in sync according to Muslim tradition.

The protestors have all converged at the famous square at the hub of the city at the same time, but not necessarily for the same reasons.  As many as 7 stages were constructed early this morning, but reports are that many were taken down to preserve unity within the square and not present multiple, conflicting voices with so many gathered.

The square has been the site of continual protests nearly weekly for one group or another; this date was chosen for several reasons by several groups:

• The rejection of particular candidates such as Abu Ismail (a Salafi priest and lawyer) and al-Shater (the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate) -- Abu Ismail's supporters have been zealously protesting this ruling of the Presidential Election Commission and some fear they are on the verge of riotous action.
• Some gathered to protest the candidacy of former (Mubarak) regime members, like 'spy-chief' Sulieman -- however, he was one of the 10 candidates rejected by the Election Commission for other reasons.
• Some have gathered to protest the ruling military's council statement that a president should not be elected until a constitution has been drafted; this has been viewed as a desire by the military to hold on to power as the presidential election has been scheduled for next month.  Meanwhile, the constitution's draft committee was disbanded by a federal court after it could not work well together, with dozens leaving the process while claiming domination by the Islamists.
• Some just show up to see what's going to happen and to be "where the action" is on the weekend.

As for us, we're safe in sound like a typical weekend morning, taking it easy.  No sounds of protests are echoing this far south, and we're at peace.  Continue to pray for Egypt and this ongoing process of sorting out new government. 

More Demonstrations Expected, and odds & ends...

Dust / Sand Storm on Wednesday had us seeing orange rather than our beautiful green garden
(this picture is not filtered and taken from outside the villa)

The recent decision by the Presidential Election Commission to reject the candidacy of 10 Presidential hopefuls, including 3 frontrunners, has left a bitter taste in the mouth of their zealous support bases.  Several political parties are planning "Determining Our Fate" demonstrations in Tahrir Square and other city centers this weekend.  The appeals by the candidates were rejected and the decision is binding under the current constitution.  This may have created 2 new leading candidates, "Abouel Fotouh, who is popular among revolutionaries and the educated classes but lacks Moussa’s popularity among the masses".  The Muslim Brotherhood announced their "plan B" candidate, but not even they feel confident he will be able to gain enough attention as he is not nearly as charismatic as the previous candidate.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to focus on Arabic lessons as we only have 3 classes left in level 1 (9 hours).  It has been something new everyday, so now we're attempting to review and put all this together to demonstrate a good foundation of understanding and our preparedness to begin level 2.  Arabic is continually confounding in so many ways; for example, if you have two of something it is said differently as it is spelled with a different ending--makes sense, it's just plural right? -- WRONG; if you have 3 to 10 of the same thing, it has a completely different spelling than the one or two, maybe even changing the root word entirely!  But then, if you have 11 or more, it is just said as the singular.  We finished the alphabet and it just got more confusing; there are not only 2 different letters for "s"-sound, there's another for the and "sh"-sound; add to that 2 different letters for the "t"-sound and 2  more different letters for "th"-sound!  But, there's no official "v" or "p" (though modern constructs have been created from existing letters to help transliteration of English to Arabic).  Oh, and keep in mind there are usually 3 different forms to each letter depending on whether or not it comes at the beginning, end or middle of a word.  We are working hard at all of it though, and we really are doing pretty well.

We are extremely saddened by yesterday's report of the accidental death of our colleagues in Paraguay, Julie Kurrle and her son Timmy; her husband and their daughter survived the auto accident.  Funeral services were just a few hours ago, sped up due to no embalming in Paraguay.  Norberto Kurrle was a classmate of ours at Anderson University, and we believe his wife was, as well.  Our hearts go out to them, and our prayers go up to our Heavenly Father for their comfort in facing such a sudden and tragic loss.  Join us in praying for them; you can learn more of their ministry at their blog.

Attempting to get a bank account today has proven to be a bit more challenging than in the states.  Question number 1 is to see your passport, to make sure that you are not only legally in the country, but to insure that you are here on more than just a tourist visa.  Then you have to show all your proof of residency and occupation.  Then you sign several papers, assuring that you will maintain a balance of at least $1000 USD or EGP equivalent.  Now, I wait for a call back to make the initial deposit, pending account approval in a couple days.  Fees are much less than in the US; monthly 15 EGP, annual debit card fee after the first year is only 35 EGP, and use of another ATM is a whopping 3EGP (about 50c).

Thanks for your continuing support...

Sham el Nissim

Sham el Nissim is an Egyptian national holiday that has origins in Ancient Egypt; though a Pharonic festival of spring, its date was secured to the Monday after Eastern Easter after Egypt was largely evangelized by Christians at the end of the first century.  It  continues to be widely celebrated by all peoples of Egypt, regardless of religion, on this day.

Sham el Nissim means, literally to "smell the breeze" and is derived from the older Coptic language from a phrase that meant "green garden".  For Egyptians, this day is the start (and perhaps the end!) of Spring as summer temperatures begin to rise quickly; traditionally, you are not supposed to wear short sleeves until after Sham el Nissim!  One other tradition, that is equally loved and hated by Egyptians, is a "pickled/stinky fish" -- I was all prepared to try this "delicacy", but in my service to all the guests, I missed out as it was eaten before I got to the table.  Not to worry, many of the CCF promised me that they would bring me some soon.

For the CCF, they celebrate this holiday by gathering together in the Maadi garden, which has been in bloom since our arrival--the sanctuary of green and beauty that we are spoiled by each day is a wonderful retreat for those surrounded by dry and dusty concrete roads and buildings.  This year was our first Sham el Nissim, and we also invited many whom we have met to participate with us and the CCF.

This turned out to be quite an international gathering!  We had our classmate and her visiting friend from her native Denmark; a Korean pastor and his family, whose son is Titus' friend; a family from Tennessee that includes a mother from Poland; a visiting friend from France joined one of the ladies from the CCF, and another American family.  Wonderfully, everyone seemed to share a previous connection together, which just added to the serendipitous enjoyment of the beautiful day.

For example, we invited our Arabic teacher and her family to join us; they graciously accepted our invitation, though they really didn't know anything about us.  As they arrived, they helped an older gentleman into the garden with the food he was contributing -- they knew him.  As it turns out, our teacher's husband used to manage the food service for the conference center the CCF uses annually for a retreat; through that role, he became well acquainted with nearly all of the CCF members.  He now serves an evangelical church in Heliopolis--the same church that had the choir that sang at the CCF Easter cantata, which is directed by and has a few CCF participants.  He is also preparing to lead a week long event for teens and young adult Christians that he wants to inspire to greater service--and, he asked if we would be willing or had any ideas about how to contribute!

There were connections all like that throughout the garden as the children played, adults talked, and we all stuffed ourselves with more dessert than is good for our systems--it was quite a celebration.  Here's some pictures of the garden and the interactions; by the way, Grace took many of the pictures you have seen this month...

Top Candidates Among Rejected for Egypt's Presidential Election

(Photo by Reuters)
L-to-R: al-Shater, Suleiman, and Abu Ismail

In a dramatic, controversial, and potentially explosive decision on Saturday, the following candidates were disqualified to run for Egypt's Presidency by the Presidential Election Commission:

1. Khairat al-Shater
2. Hazem Salah Abu Ismail
3. Omar Suleiman
4. Ayman Nour
5. Ahmed Saidi
6. Mamdouh Qutb
7. Ashraf Baroma
8. Ibrahim al-Ghareeb
9. Mortada Mansour
10. Ahmed Awad Al-Saidi

The top three names on that list have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, and two were projected top candidates to be Egypt's next President.   

Al-Shater was the Muslim Brotherhood's surprise candidate--previously, MB had said they would not field a candidate; then, al-Shater controversially made statements that Sharia law was the goal of their campaign.  The MB has been the most outspoken against the proposed candidacy of Suleiman (see below), calling for million man protests in Tahrir to object to his or any other former Mubarak staff member's candidacy for president.

Suleiman previously served in the Mubarak-led government as "spy-chief".  Given the revolution and general distaste for all things Mubarak, Suleiman was a bit of a surprise announcement for President and the media was a buzz with outrage toward his candidacy.  The Parliament actually voted on a bill to reject any such former Mubarak regime officer from running for President (see previous link); but, the Parliament is Islamists-dominated, the bill would have pended approval by the new constitution, and that the new constitution committee has been disbanded due to all their ongoing lack of agreement and strife.  Though a surprise candidate, Suleiman may have been trying to capitalize on a growing sentiment that the days with Mubarak may not have been "that bad", and may actually "be better" than the current state of Egypt and the course Egypt seemed destined to take.  The candidacy actually created unique discussion on far into a free, democratic society does Egypt actually want if it is seeking to censor candidates that may have a different opinion and ideals for leadership.

Finally, Abu Ismail has been the literal face of the Salafi political hope--the Salafis are a branch fundamental Islam that many consider extreme.  Abu Ismail has proven to be a savvy politician, getting his face in front of the population to comedic proportions--reportedly trying to get a poster, sticker or banner with his face for every person in Egypt.  His Facebook page recorded outrage and potential ramifications of his disqualification.  Based on the number and zeal of his supporters, this is not likely to be an idle statement.

Al-Shater was disqualified because of recent crimes; Suleiman was disqualified because he did not have the right representative sampling of signatures for his candidacy; and Abu Ismail was disqualified because his mother allegedly holds dual citizenship.  All three have made statements that they are appealing the decision by the Presidential Election Commission according to their processes.  If the decision holds, the short-term consequences could be riotous; the long-term consequences may be hopeful for the moderate Egyptian population that includes the young revolutionaries and older, well-educated Egyptians, representing both the religious backgrounds of moderate/progressive Muslims and Christians.

Book Review: SWITCH, How to Change Things When Change is Hard

We could not pack too many books in our luggage, but I did manage to bring a couple.  Keli and kids are often reading on the Kindles, and though I have started to do a little e-reading through iBooks, I prefer to have a book in my hands that I can mark up and dog-ear.  One of the books that I managed to squeeze in the luggage was "SWITCH: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard".  That link goes to Amazon, but if you go to the authors website, Chip and Dan Heath, you can read the first chapter and see additional resources for free.

I've mentioned before that I read a lot regarding organization leadership, marketing, and cultural/business transitions.  I tend to define leadership as "the ability to facilitate positive change"; and, I'm a big fan of the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple/Stupid).  All of these factors led me to and made me love the book SWITCH.

The Heaths begin their book with "Three Surprises About Change":

1. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
2. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
3. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

Already they have struck gold because most "leaders", pastors or managers fail to comprehend why no one wants to follow.  Then, they continue to outline over the next three sections of the book a practical, simple, and connected 3-part strategy to help you facilitate change:

1. Direct the Rider
2. Motivate the Elephant
3. Shape the Path

I won't sit here and reiterate all of their writings in this blog,  but I will tell you this is well written.  As I said, the principles are really simple and interconnected so you can see their application reinforced in multiple examples throughout the book.  In addition, there is an appendix with the top excuses heard relating to change and then redirects based on the principles from the book; and, the Heath's website provides additional resources such as podcasts that are helpful for the ongoing application of these principles in different sectors.

We have been a part of leading change from the role of assistant pastors and from the lead pastor position.  Nothing is more exciting, challenging and downright frustrating.  We have seen countless leaders have great ideas and then watch them fall into despair as few fail to grasp their idea fully.  We were blessed with good role models that helped to intuitively shape several of these ideas in us, but we never had the training in such a simplified and connected strategy as presented by the Heath's book.  I read this book with appreciation of how the information was presented, but also with thanksgiving for the leaders who helped lay a foundation of these things in our leadership without such a book.  

I would encourage the following to read this book:

First, any young adult preparing to enter ministry or a leadership role within an established organization.  Many young adults have a lot of really positive ideas and are ready to help make the world a better place, but can't seem to communicate their ideas in a way that doesn't come off as arrogance or youthful idealism.  As a result, older more established systems and audiences often seem resistant and therefore lead to the young leaders frustration and possible burnout or cynicism.  

Secondly, Pastor staffs and their Board, particularly if you are contemplating or attempting to initiate new vision or strategies.  This is a simple read and really could be discussed together over the course of three to four meetings.  The discussions from such a group reading could help breathe new life into the presentation of vision, which could be the difference in acceptance and resistance.

If you have read SWITCH, and you have additional or different feelings about the book, feel free to comment below...

Easter Declaration and Demonstration

The Cairo Christian Fellowship held a special Choral Cantata and Benevolence Offering at their regular meeting location, the St. Andrews Church's Guild Hall, on Sunday evening, April 8.

This service marked the first time the CCF had been back in the Hall for worship in many months after an extensive renovation of bathrooms, floors, electrical, woodwork, new chairs, piano repair, curtains and more.  Though the CCF do not own this building, they have been meeting there since their inception in the late 1950's, and therefore have a great deal of ownership and pride even though the facility is shared with UN projects for refugees and other congregations.  The CCF spent 46,000 LE (nearly $8,000 USD); they lack another 12-15,000 LE to add the desired air conditioners to complete the renovations they have been working toward.

Many of the CCF members are involved in various churches and groups; several of them used to sing in the Heliopolis Evangelical Community Church choir through the years.  The choir still has a couple current CCF members in participation, including Soad who is the director.  This choir that performed the Easter Cantata, "The Journey", for us last night.  Soad arranged the music and wrote the narration for this production, and another CCF member, Zizet, was the narrator.  What makes this choir even more impressive is that they learn all of this in English and in Arabic--they have an upcoming Arabic production on Saturday, April 14.

The Hall was further decorated with Palm leaves (it was Orthodox Palm Sunday), red rugs (that we're tempted to keep), banners, and a variety of other flowers.  The Cantata was attended by at least 100 individuals in addition to the choir; not just members of the CCF, but also several from the St. Andrews Church, at least one from a local French speaking congregation, and many members of the Heliopolis Church also made the trip to participate.

Ken gave a brief meditation about going beyond faith in the resurrection of Christ, to also living out a resurrection faith that brings hope to the world.  The distinction between declaration and demonstration was given application in a special offering to provide a financial gift for the local Fowler orphanage.  Fowler provides shelter, clothing, food and help for 90 girls; 42 of those also attend a special Christian school where they find education and affirmation.  The school previously provided scholarships for these orphan girls; but in these difficult financial times, the scholarships were ceased.  As a result, Fowler now has to raise an additional 12,000 LE per month to pay for the tuition for these 42 girls.  The CCF have twice met that monthly need in recent months.  Those in the attendance at last nights Cantata were challenged to not only give a financial gift, but to also consider volunteering with some of the CCF--to be the physical presence of love, kindness and hope to these girls.  Last night's offering raised 2,000 LE for the orphanage, and more may be given by others at a later date.

The CCF takes off next Sunday as it is Orthodox Easter and many will be participating in Coptic or Catholic churches before spending the day in family gatherings.  The CCF next meets for Sham el-Nissim (the smell of the breeze), on Monday, April 15--everyone comes to the garden at the villas for sharing food, laughter, and just enjoying everyone's company.  [This is a Pharonic celebration of Spring--we've been told that this day is the spring of the year, and marks the day when you exchange your long sleeve shirts for your short sleeves!  We broke with tradition on that as we have had several days in the mid to high 90 degree (F) in the past week; it's cooling off this week, back to the upper 70's to mid 80's.]

Here's some pictures from last night's Easter Cantata and Benevolence...

Easter in the Garden

Each year, on Western Easter, the Cairo Christian Fellowship come into the Garden at the Villas in Maadi for their Sunrise Easter Worship.  (They all celebrate Orthodox or Eastern Easter the following week with their home churches, whether Coptic or Catholic).

The Garden is the ideal atmosphere for a sunrise service--it's shaded, serene, and beautiful.  We began by singing, "In the Garden" (Click here to have Mahalia Jackson sing it for you) -- and you could hear the birds singing, there was still dew on the grass and flowers.  We continued with several other Easter favorites, and then I shared a brief meditation from John 20:11-18 focusing on Mary's private time with the risen Savior in the garden.  Then, we allowed everyone to just separate throughout the garden to take their time to just to pray, reflect, or read Scripture on their own for as long as they needed.

After awhile, one by one, they crossed the garden to the grape arbor where we had brunch set up for everyone to enjoy--and everyone stayed to enjoy the meal and the fellowship together.  There was a lot of laughing, story-telling, and calorie consumption :)  It was a good morning.

Now, it's a few hours rest before we head downtown for the Easter Cantata and Benevolence Offering--we'll post details and pics from that soon, as well.

Here are a few pictures from our Easter morning...

Titus and Zeke are learning from Hoda how to make crosses and donkeys and other Easter ornaments from weaving palm leaves.

A Good Friday

Western Good Friday, April 6, we traveled by train to Alexandria from Cairo.  There, we were greeted by  Dr. Latif and taken to his home.  We were privileged to meet his wife Gehan, and their three sons: Donald (17), Justin (12) and Kelvin (11).  Then we were honored by a big lunch--unfortunately, this had to be a quick lunch, because we had to hurry out the door to drive about 30 minutes to Kafr el-Dawwar.

The congregation in Kafr el-Dawwar was celebrating the rededication of their church building.  The building had been renewed from entry way to rooftop.  We joined many of the national pastors, and members from churches throughout Egypt, as well as the Secretary of all the Evangelical Protestant Churches in Egypt.  When Pastor Amir told local city officials that so many guests were coming, they were impressed; when he told them that a new American and his family would be a part of those attending, they sent a Police wagon and a Fire truck to sit on the street to make sure there would be no problems!

The church building is narrow, but it was beautifully well done with excellent craftsmanship.  One sad characteristic that we have noticed in Egyptian buildings recently, and has been sadly admitted and despised among the Egyptians we have been serving, is that there appears to be a "good enough" mentality when it comes to construction.  (For example, mortar isn't smoothed, bricks may not be layered in even parallel lines, grout is spotty or discolored between tiles, etc.)  However, the work at Kafr el-Dawarr was top notch, from doorway to roof top--everything was beautiful, well done, and created a wonderful place to worship.

As for furnishings, new pews were made, and the old ones were shared with the new church plant in King Maruit (Pastor Raffat's congregation that meets at the Conference Center there).  The sanctuary had video, audio, and technical upgrades for the use of multimedia.  The walls were lined with thick granite--not just in the sanctuary, but throughout the entry way and central stairwell--this was the work of one of the lay-men in the church.  The second floor is the Pastor's family flat--newly furnished and beautiful.  The third floor is a converted rooftop, now with a tin roof that allows for a wonderful fellowship space--this also had closed-circuit televisions so that those who couldn't fit in the sanctuary could still participate in worship.

Greater than the building, is the actual Church (the people) and ministry.  Pastor Amir told testimonies of the good relationships they have been able to develop with the predominantly Muslim neighborhood as they have served single mothers and helped to provide for their children, as well as making the way to have the street repaired when all other streets had been serviced but their neglected.  The neighbors did not put up a fuss with all the commotion on their street on this evening--in fact, many of the neighbors, the Muslim neighbors, contributed with food and drinks for the reception!

Sadly, this was a quick trip.  We rode back to Alexandria for a late dinner (11:30 pm) at the McDonald's overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  We then went to sleep in a guest flat at about 1:00am, before waking early to catch the 8:00 am train back to Cairo.  We needed to get back early to plan for all the Easter events with the CCF.  Unfortunately, the train which usually takes a little over 2 hours took 4 hours at a snails pace for unclear reasons.  We were frustrated to return to the villas by 1 pm instead of by 11 am.  We were exhausted, but blessed by the experience.

We have just finished our Easter morning event, and I will follow this with another post soon about that; but first, here are several pictures from our time in Kafr el-Dawarr...

Dr Latif was determined to make Grace his friend :)

 Above and Below are pictures from the new Pastor's Flat

Pastor Amir and Dr. Latif

Pastor Amir with his family in the new sanctuary