24/7 Thank you!

We have never pursued ministry as a 9 to 5 job -- we believe that it's not even really a job, it's who we are: we represent God in every activity, in every interaction, in every minute of every day.  

Relocating to Egypt hasn't been a 9 to 5 activity either--we are surrounded by the sights, sounds, smells, and people of the city ever day, and simultaneously separated from the familiar, the family/friends, and all we once called home.

That's exciting and challenging all at the same time.  We know that there are many praying for us, reading these posts, sending us encouragement, and cheering us on even from a distance each day--maybe even each hour--and we're very grateful for that type of support.

Last night, sometime while we slept, someone read one of the posts on this blog -- could have been you, could be someone we know or someone we don't -- they may have been from Egypt, England, US, Canada, Colombia, Germany or the half-dozen other countries that frequently read here.   We don't know who they were or where they were from or even which post they read; but when they read last night, that did something we never expected in the creation of this blog:

We have now averaged a reader per hour for the past 3 months!

We created this site as a way to share pictures, video, and stories with those who have committed to pray for us and those who have had an interest in what we have been called to do here.  It's been encouraging and humbling to know that each hour of each day, someone in some way has been thinking of us while we are serving here--even though not all the readers are reading out of support for us, they are nonetheless made aware of who we are and the calling we are attempting to fulfill.

readers and searches for
the Beatles' George
gave way to searches for
Egypt political news.

Through the political troubles in the past several months, our reports and updates have been read by people referred by search engines such as Google--our new, most read post has been "The Outcast of My Rival is My Candidate" from April 29, which recently surpassed the George Harrison driven post from last fall.  That April 29 post has been read more than twice a day since its posting!  The recent "Call Me Maybe" Cover Idea post is the fast growing, tracking nearly 5 readers per day.

Readers are predominantly from the US, as not only our friends and family follow up on us, but our wonderful support base.  We have a growing readership in Egypt, followed by the U.K., Russia, and then Germany--someone from at least 16 different countries has visited the blog.

So what, what does it all mean?  Not much on a newsworthy scale; but it is encouraging to us, for whatever reason all these people are reading, it encourages us to know that someone is aware of us.  Every hour of every day.  We may know that subconsciously, and our supporters and family may tell us that from time to time; but in the hectic, day-to-day, trying to live/think/minister as strangers in a strange land, it can get lost in the subconscious--we can forget, we can feel lost or alone or even insignificant.  We can type away and wonder if the words will just float through cyberspace, or whether anyone will notice the pics of the kids, or the video of the pastors.  And so, even though the stats may seem superfluous to most, they significantly represent some care to us.

So, we say thank you--to you, right now as you read these words, Thank You!  You're not just another number in the data--you have encouraged us by lingering here for a moment, whether you know us, agree with us or pray for us--even if by accident--you have encouraged us.  Thank You.

And, we want to encourage you to consider following the journey of our new teammates and their beginning blogs--they too will write and post and wonder if anyone knows they are there--we hope that you will encourage them as you have encouraged us:

• Holland Bound! Daniel and Christy Kihm as they prepare to serve in the Netherlands.
• And Away We Go!, our dear friends Zach and Audrey Langford as they prepare to return in service to the United Kingdom.

Thank You!

Morsy's Palm Sunday?

We sat through an hour long, defensive presentation by the chair of the Presidential Election Commission while simultaneously watching a scenes from a subdued and anxious Tahrir Square.  The first to react to the eventual calculations of the presentation were not those in the Square, but the "impartial" journalists gathered in the assembly hall to hear the report first hand.   The journalists had to be brought back to order so that the report could be completed officially--by that time, the streets were filled with thunderous cheers, fireworks, and even a few gunshots.

The revolution that toppled Mubarak 500 days ago sees a "non-remnant" elected to the Presidency.

Celebration fills the streets, horns were honking and people cheering even here in our neighborhood--i just heard the third and fourth gunshots in our neighborhood fired into the air.

For the moment, this is better than the feared alternative; churches in the area, including the Cairo Christian Fellowship, cancelled services tonight in fear that the crowds that turned to celebration may have turned to rioting and violence.  Of course, getting into and out of the now party atmosphere that surrounds Tahrir Square could be just as chaotic, so the cautious cancellations may have been prudent.

The Presidential Election Commission began their report on quite a defensive tone--it made us a little apprehensive, wondering if they were setting the public up for an unpopular decision.  The PEC chair read through various reported violations and their findings, including whole ballot boxes nullified as they contained more ballots than signatures at the poll's location.  There were also reports of pre-marked ballots in several locations that had various results, as well as even reported violations of groups of Christians barred from their polling place--this latter case had not merit according to the PEC.  When all was said and done, Morsy and Shafiq each lost and gained votes, but the final tally was approximately 13+ million to 12+ million in favor of Morsy.

This victory is a win for the Muslim Brotherhood, after several legal losses this past half year and throughout their embattled history.  Once again, their organization and mobilization of the democratic process was ahead of any other group in Egypt; however, many political organizations have learned a lot from this process and the MB's example.  Any future victory by the MB will not come as easily.

And this was not easy.

Yes, Morsy secured the majority of these votes--but that "majority" needs a big, bold asterisk.  In comparison to eligible voters, they claimed 26% of the votes -- 74% of eligible voters in Egypt either voted for someone else or could not be motivated/persuaded to vote for the MB, American educated, "spare tire" candidate.

The celebrations today turn to work quickly tomorrow as Morsy will have to try to regain power from the SCAF who have limited Presidential power in the absence of a Constitution and a Parliament.  There will be an even greater amount of work required in appeasing the socialist and revolutionary groups who supported this victory rather than see the "remnant" elected--the concessions that may or may have not been made officially will now have to be actualized or risk these revolutionary groups to begin gathering in Tahrir against the newly elected President.  The crowds that have been impatient for the election results have been impatient for change for longer--millions are still living in severe poverty, economic conditions are well past declining, tourism is non-existent, and the world watches with skepticism at this budding-democracy.

It's much like Palm Sunday in that sense--the cheering, chanting crowds today may be crying out "crucify" within weeks.

The election's over, but the politicking is just beginning.

Continue to pray for Egypt...

PRAY: 3:00 PM Cairo / 9:00 AM EST

500 days after Mubarak's ouster by revolutionary demonstrations, an announcement on the next leader of Egypt is to be made today at 3:00 pm local time.

As you've seen from various news reports, Tahrir Square has been full nearly all week in anticipation of the election results.  The news reports have been implying that all that are gathering are pro-Muslim Brotherhood candidate OR simply anti-military rule, but as you can see from the Al Jazeera video above, there are a few brave Shafiq and pro-military supporters showing up in Tahrir Square to share their opinions.

"Tensions are high" may be the grandest understatement.

Though there have been statements about respecting the electoral process and not responding with violence, but there have been an equal number of statements of force and aggression to retake the country from the military if the announcement goes Shafiq's way.

There are many who have expressed that the delay in the announcement is only to give time to the Presidential Election Commission to recount the votes in a way that makes Shafiq the winner.  Though neither candidate has reclaimed victory since the PEC began hearing appeals and recounting the votes, the legal counsel for the Muslim Brotherhood (who was present at the recount) has reported that Morsy was still the victor.

Such statements have the crowds in Tahrir ready to burst into celebration if Morsy is announced as President (keeping in mind that many do not favor the MB candidate, they just voted for the guy not associated with Mubarak); however, if Shafiq is named president, then all this emotion could erupt violently.

Police, according to this CNN report, have been given a "shoot to kill" order if necessary to protect themselves, police stations, courthouses, and government buildings.  Such an order, coupled with the (Supreme Council of Armed Forces) SCAF's earlier statement about meeting any opposition with an "iron fist" could be the fuel for a violent day.

Pray for Egypt...

"Call Me Maybe" Cover Idea

According to the Mashable Entertainment article, the insanely-catchy, pop summer song sensation, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen has past 100 million video views on YouTube.  I will only link to the video, because you have likely heard it if you are near a radio, tv, or internet program.  We first heard the song watching our friend Michele Murray's Camp Chula Vista camp videos as the campers were making a funny parody; we heard it the next night watching a replay of America's Got Talent from NBC.com -- that's all it took as it hooked into our subconscious.

To make matters worse, while looking through some Linked-In story links, I came across the Mashable article linked above, and that led to the discovery of the gazillion covers of the catchy-little tune.  At first, we watched a few of these in disbelief that this song could spawn so many different versions.  Several were straight covers, even just lip sinking, but there were a few that put their own stylistic spin, even "mashing" other pop songs within their cover.  Here are a couple of the more interesting versions attempting to win the "Call Me Maybe Cover Contest"...

Toronto's big talent--great voice, unique arrangement

the guy Max is talented and provides unique arrangement

he has dubbed and layered this arrangement on his own cpu/keyboard

straight cover, but talented teens sing and play their own instruments

straight acoustic cover -- by a 10 year old!

a much more rocking', guy-friendly twist

goofy guys creatively merge the Cover with another of Maroon 5's hits

As we continued to watch, we were once again amazed at how much young talent there is out there, all trying to breakthrough to their own music stardom.  As mentioned before, our kids are huge "America's Got Talent" fans, and each year we watch as children, teens, and young adults come on stage singing and playing their hearts out, in a chance for a million dollar prize or to be noticed.

Youth and young adults since the 1950's have pursued superstardom by way of a garage band.  I once came across a business card of an "English-style-rock band" that my dad was in during his high school years!  But today, the opportunity of these reality show competitions (Idol, AGT, X-factor, etc.), as well as YouTube and internet competitions, have led to an explosion of this young pursuit to fame.  And, nobody can underestimate the influence of the "Mickey Mouse Club", and the resultantly spawned "Disney Channel", in creating the pipeline of teen and now pre-teen pop superstars.  Not only has this led to the likes of Justin Timberlake to Selena Gomez, they have inadvertently inspired and given similar hope to children all over to raise their voice, pursue their talent, and take a risk.

As we watched videos like the ones above, I thought, we need to encourage our church movement's national youth ministry to do something similar.  We've seen first hand the hundreds of amazingly talented youth and young adults in the Church around the world.  And, our church movement has always been known as a "singing church" with a rich musical heritage.

Why not encourage some creative "covers" of some of our most beloved songs by our youth?

Right now, the North American Convention is kicking off in Anderson, IN, and next month the biannual International Youth Convention convenes.  That gives two years to work out the details and make this work before the next IYC.  Here's the idea:

• Pick 2 or 3 of the Church's favorite songs.  
• Encourage youth groups to cover one of these songs, bringing new life, beats, arrangements, and voice to the lyrics and melodies.  
• Post the videos on YouTube and link to the IYC website for voting--allow votes to only be cast by a corresponding IYC registration number that can only be used a certain number of times; further, to prevent large churches from dominating the competition, block the registration codes from voting for their church's Cover-entry.
• The prize: Up to 5 paid (reimbursed) IYC registrations, and, the chance to perform their version of the Covered song during an IYC service.  Post winning performances on the ChoG website.

Come on ChoG & IYC, figure out a way to tap into all the youth and young adult talent that we have waiting and watching others apply their talents to secular pursuits.

Success

Summer Break is here.  We are as excited as the kids as we are looking forward to more time just hanging out a bit.  They've had to work very hard through a very difficult transition in the past 6 months and so much of our time has been just "go, go, go" that we haven't had time just to relax together; consider:
 - December, farewell to friends, as well as to their teachers and
 - brief holiday events with our families, saying goodbye to several family members
 - packing, packing, packing, and a brief new year's time with family
 - finishing packing, running errands, final farewells and hopping on an airplane to Africa
 - Cairo culture shock, metropolis culture shock, British education culture shock, Christian school culture shock, small school culture shock, new church culture shock
 - new home, new people, new places, new foods, new schedules -- new everything

And with all of that, they made it through the school year, each doing well academically.  We are extremely proud of not only their typical academic success, but with the acculturation and the miracle of  the "new normal" they have had to seek in the past 6 months.

As they completed this semester, their school had a "Celebration of Success" banquet and program last night in the school's courtyard.  Each student received an award and each class contributed to the program.  Perhaps a highlight of the night was Zeke's class' Prayer Parable, a contemporary retelling of the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) -- when you see this video, keep in mind that Zeke and his friend Nicholas choreographed this part of the skit:

It was a great time for all.  We have much to be thankful for by way of this school, and though it has presented its share of challenges to our kids adjustment, it has been a blessing of a first step for a transition to their new lives in Cairo.  We are, as always, very proud of our children and we know that of all the leaders God has sent us to the Middle East to train and raise up, they are the first.

Not So Fast

Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) declared their candidate Morsy to be the winner of this past weekend's Presidential Election.  The margin they claimed was nearly 52% in their candidates favor.

Not so fast...

Rival candidate Shafiq, the former Air Force General who had a brief stint as Mubarak's last Prime Minister during last year's revolution, now claims that it is actually he who has won the election by the same percentages.

Not so fast...

The Presidential Election Commission (PEC), formerly under fire for disqualifying many leading candidates before the first round of elections, now says that the official results will not be known on Thursday as originally planned.  At least three officials from important polling stations have been detained for questioning regarding vote tampering.  The PEC also has to review many of the claims of foul-play as presented by each candidate and any citizen who has made a report; Morsy's camp has already submitted 125 accusation (the number of Shafiq's complaints are not yet known).  There were also many reports of ballots pre-marked and now stories circulating that FJP supporters marked ballots while they were still in the print shops.

A new day with democracy in Egypt?

Not so fast.

You've likely seen images like this one posted on Al Jazeera's website of the hundreds of thousands who marched from various points of the city to Tahrir Square last night.  Former presidential candidates and revolutionary groups who could not find consensus before the elections now have found the common ground in wanting to prevent Shafiq's presidency and removing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) from leadership of the country.That, however, may be where the common ground ends--but for now, it's enough to make quite a statement.

There were several reported chants and statements against the military for dissolving Parliament; yet, it was not the decision of the SCAF to dissolve Parliament but the Supreme Constitutional Court.

There were several reported chants and statements against the supplemental amendment subsequently passed and announced by SCAF--many want the full powers of the President to remain and do not want to see any limitations.

Perhaps (as some legal, political and social experts around the world have recently noted) the SCC and the SCAF feel a sense of responsibility for the present & future safety, stability, and well-being of this nation--without a Parliament, without a Constitution, where is the limit to power, the checks-and-balances, and the plurality of opinion that would allow for a democracy to work well?  Not only are their serious questions about how much power an elected President without checks-and-balances could wield, the question of how long can that President wield that power is another question that should be addressed by a new Constitution.

So, the SCAF have attempted to insert themselves in as the legislative branch for checks-and-balances until a new Constitution can be formed.  This "power play", now coupled with the announcement by Shafiq that he has won the election and the inconvenient delay in announcing the official election results, are not satisfying the fears of a military conspiracy to retain power.

When will the revolution and controversy end in Egypt?

Not so fast.

Pray for Egypt.

And the Winner is?

Seriously--that's the question, not the introduction to the results of the Presidential runoff election this past weekend.  At first, it didn't appear if anyone was going to vote in the election--turnout on the Saturday was dismal, with estimates of only 15-20% turnout; however, the Sunday voting picked up drastically and the election ended with a surprising 49% participating, which was 3% higher than the first round.  Not bad, but still less than half of the country voted to decide on their leader.

The most reliable polls have Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party candidate Mohamed Morsy defeating former Mubarak-appointed Prime Minister Amir Shafiq with a 51% to 49% advantage.  Morsy, and many, have claimed this as a victory of the revolution over the "feoul" (remnant) of the Mubarak-era.

Shafiq feels that Morsy is prematurely declaring victory while the margin appears to be so close and the final decision has not yet been announced as vote counting is confirmed and grievances are heard.  He may be right--Morsy needs to demonstrate 50%+1 to win, so he doesn't have a lot of room for error to be claiming victory.

But, the Morsy and MB victory does seem rather certain at this point.  But what did they win?

They didn't necessarily win the heart of the people.  If this poll is correct, then Morsy won the election, but based on voter participation mentioned above, he only appealed to just over 1/4 of the eligible voters.  And that appeal may have merely been what many at the polls, voting for either candidate, were quoted as "choosing the lesser of two evils", depending upon their definition of "evil".  One of the leading revolutionary voices posted on his Twitter account immediately after the decisive and disputed poll was announced,

"I am not happy about Morsy's victory, 

although I voted for him. 

I will join the opposition starting now" 

(Wael Ghonim).

They didn't necessarily win any power.  Prior to the completion of voting, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took greater control of the country's legislative powers.  How?  After last week's Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the Parliament was improperly elected and thereby dissolved that branch of government, the legislative power swung back to the military in this interim time.  With no President, no Parliament, and no Constitution, the military preemptively acted to prevent a new President entering an office with what could be abused as dictator type power.  So, SCAF reduced the powers of President and added their own "checks-and-balances" to the new President's power until a Constitution can be written and approved and a new Parliament can be properly elected.  Included in the amendment, SCAF can appoint a new Constituent Assembly if the current one (the 2nd attempt in the past few months) is not able to complete the process.  There were some reports about a challenge to complete the Constitution within 3 months.  There is no word yet on when or how new Parliamentary elections will take place.  SCAF vowed to have a ceremony to induct the new President at the end of the month.

Freedom and Justice Party, as well as many revolutionaries, are not happy.  They count this as another step in a long line of orchestrated efforts to create a military coup of the government.  


So, what's next?  Protest, of course.


The Freedom and Justice Party will send their members to Parliament to meet this morning --rejecting the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court-- if they are refused entry, they claim they will meet in Tahrir Square.  Several editorials and legal experts are rebuking FJP for this plan as it is not only a rejection of the rule of law, but it undermines the only remaining and legitimate branch of government in the country at a critical time.


FJP and other revolutionary groups are also gathering in Tahrir today to reject and protest the reduction of Presidential powers.  That may be an interesting mix of protest as several of the young revolutionaries now want to begin protesting FJP and Morsy as suggested by the above Twitter quote.


Labor Unions are protesting today, too, and they're protesting SCAF, but not about the "coup of Parliamentary power" but upon their renewed ability to arrest and detain citizens.  SCAF put this into effect after the dissolution of Parliament until a proper government is established.


There are reports today that the French and US government have spoken to the military and urged them to return power to the government.  Has the military taken power, or have they provided safeguards so as to prevent the abuse of power by a President without a Parliament?


The election is over, but outcome is still yet to be determined.


Continue to pray for Egypt.

Video: Egypt-Greece Connection

Al Jazeera English has a YouTube Channel with some interesting documentaries under their Al Jazeera World link.  I previously linked to the Al Jazeera website a documentary on Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood a few days ago in the post "The Calm Before...", but discovering this YouTube channel allows me now the option of embedding the videos.

The above video, Egypt: The Other Homeland, helps the viewer to historically connect the strong relationship with Egypt and Greece.  This is a fascinating connection for us for several reasons:

1. We are a part of the Three-Worlds Team that serves the Church in the Europe and Middle East Region, which of course includes Greece.  Three-Worlds have been actively engaged in recent months with the Church in Greece to help serve their needs, and we look forward to seeing Greece host some unique Three Worlds events.
2. Historically, the Church of God began connecting with believers and existing churches in Egypt as early as 1898--several of the connections and relational developments in the first couple decades involved Egyptian Christians as well as Christians with Armenian, Greek, and Cyprus roots.  
3. The Cairo Christian Fellowship that we serve weekly has a unique, international background, including many Greek believers who were a part of the Fellowship's early days.

The video above helps the viewer not only to understand this strong Egyptian-Greek relationship, but also to get a glimpse of Egypt in the early 1900's through wonderful pictures and film.  The documentary proceeds to chronicle this relational history into the 1960's, the same time that the Cairo Youth Fellowship was beginning with many of the ones we serve now, as well as believers who are now scattered across the globe but who were here during this amazing time of international and cultural connection.  As we watched the video, we could better understand the heart of many CCF members who remember and are heavy in heart for the Egypt of these days.

The beginning of Egyptian nationalism and independence from French and English interests under the rule of Nasser is highlighted during the last 15 minutes in this documentary.  This provided control of the Suez Canal to Egypt and a good independence from foreign rule, but all of this came at the cost of the amazing international and cultural atmosphere that had been in place for about 50 years previous.  

Nasser's nationalizing of private business and industry led to many internationals leaving; the documentary poignantly reveals that though Greeks thought they would be exempt from these nationalizing efforts, they were not.  As a result 80% of the Greek population within Egypt left during those years.  

Sabbahi (in white jacket) and Fotouh
leading a march recently to Tahrir Square.
(Egypt Independent, Photographed by Virginie Nguyen)

And this is of contemporary relevance.  One of the individuals at the forefront of the Revolutionary voices at Tahrir today is former Presidential candidate Namdeen Sabbahi, who finished third in the first round of voting, missing the runoff election narrowly to controversial candidate Shafiq.  Sabbahi has been describing himself as a "Nasserist" and his campaign has only been growing, even after defeat in the first round.  Revolutionary Socialists in Egypt had worked hard until this past week to eliminate Shafiq so that he could run against Muslim Brotherhood candidate and first round winner Morsy; Morsy even recognized Sabbahi's growing popularity and attempted to bring him into his camp by offering him a vice-presidential role, but Sabbahi declined.  Instead, Sabbahi has been out front of each march, continuing to make speeches and holding press conferences.  

Abouel Fotouh, another defeated secular candidate, has been with Sabbahi in making several statements as well as working with Sabbahi to present conditions of support to Morsy.  Fotouh's campaign recently endorsed Morsy, but Sabbahi has been mum, probably because his "Nasserist" ideals were a bit more far reaching than Fotouh's.

If Sabbahi is becoming the people's choice, then a return to revolution may be a return to Nasser's policies--this makes the above video all the more interesting and reflective.

Shafiq vs. Morsy is ON; Parliament is OFF

That's the simplified summary of Egypt's high court in two highly controversial, but unappealable cases. 

First, the "political isolation law", rammed through Parliament some same by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, was ruled unconstitutional.  The law was aimed at forbidding former Mubarak regime officials from seeking political office in the new democracy; some say it was aimed directly at keeping Shafiq from running for the Presidency.  Shafiq finished second in the first round of the balloting, propelling him to the runoff this weekend, but today's decision by the highest court in Egypt is a "victory" for his supporters.

However, the second and accompanying decision by the court fed the revolutionary "conspiracy theorists" who believe the courts are now in the hands of Mubarak-era-sympathizers who are pro-military rule.  The second ruling overturned the election results of the Parliament, who have been in session for 4 months; this less than a week after the judicial system gave Mubarak a life sentence rather than the death penalty for his role in the nearly 850 killed during last year's revolution.   These two decisions, according to the "conspiracy theorists", demonstrate that Mubarak is still very much in control, or at least his military officers are in control.

This is not necessarily a good ruling for Shafiq; had he been allowed to run and Parliament remained in tact, then perhaps the people would just take their arguments to the polls and allow the votes to decide.  But now, people are in an uproar saying that even the once admired judicial system may also be compromised.  The election begins in 2 days and the crowds have gathered and are already talking about a "second revolution."

This is definitely not good for the Muslim Brotherhood and their Freedom and Justice Party.  Morsy, particularly on the strength of international absentee ballots that have already been counted, is clearly the frontrunner for this Presidential election; but the MB have not won over support since their sweeping Parliamentary victories 4 months ago--in fact, they've lost favor as they also attempted to win the Presidency even after they said they would not pursue that office.  A Morsy win for the Presidency with an unhappy populace and a second waive of Parliament elections will likely predispose the populace to be less favorable of giving the MB complete control of the country through the Presidency and the Parliament.  In the time that MB has lost favor politically, the young revolutionary socialists have organized and rival candidates have begun to work together; they will not be so easily swept out of the elections in a new round of voting.

With the decision against Parliament's election process, the military (SCAF=Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) seized legislative power.  This effectively not only dissolves the Parliament, but also dissolves the second and newly appointed Constituent Assembly charged with drafting the new Constitution.  The new Constituent Assembly had already been experiencing discord and accusation of an Islamist agenda leading to walkouts and protests by appointed members--same song, second verse for the draft of the Constitution.  But now, with military control, that assembly is also out and the SCAF will be announcing their 100 person Constituent Assembly as early as Friday.

This has led to additional cries of "foul" by the protestors; some have said the the military has probably already written a constitution and will just use this group to have it approved prior to the election of a new Parliament and the installation of a new President.  This, again according to the "conspiracy theorists", is nothing short of a military coup.  Based on the crowds and the chants in Tahrir and other population centers, there are a growing number of "conspiracy theorists" these days in Egypt.

What is not growing are the number of tourists and the economy.  A CNN.com video showed the crowds gathering in Tahrir while shop keeps and vendors attempted to stay busy a couple streets north on 26 July Street -- this busy, Broadway-like strip is home to several stores and business who have all been hit hard in these post-revolution times.

A new day in Egypt is off to a rocky start, and we haven't even had the election yet.  Pray for Egypt this weekend, and we'll keep you posted on the demonstrations and election news.

The Calm Before...

We are days away from the Presidential Runoff Election scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday, June 16-17, between Shafiq and Morsy.

Protestors continue to gather in Tahrir Square awaiting the two legal challenge to Shafiq's candidacy.  The Political Isolation Law is pending before the Egyptian Supreme Court on the ground of Constitutionality; the law stated that those former leaders of the Mubarak regime were to be forbidden from seeking political office in the future.  If rejected, Shafiq will remain in the election, but the outcry will likely be quite demonstrative.  If the law is upheld, Shafiq's supporters may not be as demonstrative because they know they are a minority compared to the Islamists and the revolutionary groups who will be cheering for what will be another perceived victory in the ongoing revolution.

The second case against Shafiq relates to his brief tenure as Prime Minister in the final days of the Mubarak regime during last year's revolution.  During that time, men riding camels charged through the crowds gathered in Tahrir causing injury and stirring up other trouble.  The argument has been that these men acted on government orders, and therefore Shafiq is responsible for this.  The criminal charges are before a court that is preparing to rule on this evidence as well.  Either case have the potential of removing Shafiq from the runoff election and both cases are expecting decisions within the next couple days.

Meanwhile, Morsy is still not exactly the "people's favorite" heading into the election.  There have been demands made by secular and revolutionary candidates that will not agree to vote for him as the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, regardless of their hatred for Shafiq and the old regime, until he and the MB agree to their demands.  Fearing low voter turn out and another potential revolutionary uprising, the MB has formed a special committee to examine the demands and their leaders are attempting to appeal to Egyptians to please vote.  The MB has recently attempted to appeal to Copts to vote for Morsy instead of the old regime's candidate (Shafiq) and the history of sectarian division that the MB say Shafiq represents.

Al Jazeera World offers an interesting documentary on the history of the Muslim Brotherhood and their opposition to the Mubarak regime through the past several decades.  I cannot embed the video, but we can offer this link: The Brotherhood and Mubarak - Al Jazeera World - Al Jazeera English.  The Brotherhood may have Morsy defeat the former regime candidate in the upcoming election, but their popularity appears to be waning.  The main Islamist party in the Parliament continues to find objection by their peers among the most recently appointed Constituent assembly charged with drafting a new constitution.  Many secular delegates walked out again, accusing of a dominating Islamist agenda, reminiscent of the strife that led to the failed first attempt in drafting a new Constitution.

And Shafiq is not the only one awaiting judgments on constitutionality; the Parliament, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, is awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court on whether or not to agree with the ruling of a lower court that found the Parliamentary elections were unconstitutional.  The offense is based on political parties running directly against independent candidates; whatever the reasoning, if the Supreme Court agrees, then the Parliament would be dissolved and a new election process for Parliament would be scheduled.

The troubles with the Constituent Assembly and the potential dissolving of the Parliament are not good signs for the Muslim Brotherhood and their Freedom and Justice Party.  They were clearly the most organized and prepared in the first round of elections while independents, secularists, and revolutionary candidates battled among themselves for a share of the votes.  But now that the MB candidate and Shafiq have benefited from the vote splitting, the secularists and revolutionary candidates are talking, forming alliances, and are not likely to be swept away so easily if new elections were to be held.

This would be a large hurdle to repeatedly reported "Islamist agenda"; but the alternative may be a "Socialist agenda" as different revolutionary groups are spouting various social ideals of various extremes.  These same groups have offered the demands to Morsy and the Freedom and Justice Party.  Evaluating whether or not to accept the demands is the ultimate "catch-22": rejecting risks potential continued revolution, while accepting yields political direction to an outside group.

As for now, things are calm.  For how long and how will that calm be maintained?  We'll know in the next few days.

Continue to pray for Egypt.

and, as you do, continue to pray for Lebanon and Syria, too.

Avengers and the Avenging; Syria Spills Over Into Lebanon

Saturday morning, the courts announced the verdict on Mubarak and his officials relating to the 840 killed during last year's revolution.  As previously reported, and as we're sure you've read by now, Mubarak got a life sentence while the rest were exonerated from wrong doing.

Meanwhile, Saturday afternoon, I took the boys into downtown Cairo to watch "The Avengers".  The family had been wanting to go see the movie that has been playing here for several weeks, but it wasn't nearby, and movies can still be expensive here.  We found several cheaper theaters, and so we took a chance on one that should be near the metro stop we were familiar with--no problem finding the theater, but I didn't realize just how close we were to the action.

We were attempting to avoid downtown, but we were actually just 2 blocks from Tahrir Square.  While watched fictional superheroes battle intergalactic/interdimensional invaders, thousands of Egyptians outraged by the verdict were invading Tahrir Square.  Along the way, they damaged property, hurling stones at courthouses.  The movie provided enough digital surround sound that we wouldn't know just how close the angry mobs were until we left the theater!

Mobs of outraged people are still gathering, and are planning to gather all week, demanding justice for the martyrs--seeking to avenge their blood by getting a little blood from Mubarak.  Leading the charge, the charges, and the chants are a few of the defeated Presidential candidates: Sabahy and Abouel Fotouh; the Muslim Brotherhood are there as well, and apparently a part of organizing and promoting rioting in the square until "justice" is accomplished.  CNN has a good report here with a slide show from Tahrir.

Sunday, during the Worship's Q&A time, one believer talked about how difficult it is to even admit that you are at peace with the verdict in her workplace.  To be outraged and to seek greater punishment is being labeled as patriotic.

We are two weeks from the controversial election, and the angry mob is already present in the heart of the capital.

Continue to Pray for Egypt.

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Not far away, in a place that we're also called to serve the Church and leadership, Lebanon is seeing things escalate out of control.  We posted last week that we were keeping an eye on this situation, while also attempting to encourage and listen to our brothers and sisters there.

Lebanese citizens have begun taking sides, as either pro-Syrian regime or against the regime that is facing their on atrocities.  This duality has bred controversy, which has led to arguments, which have become altercations, and now blatant violence with 13 killed and 50 wounded just on Saturday.

This is only a fraction of the violence suffered in Syria, where we also have brothers and sisters caught in the middle of violence and bloodshed.

As you pray for Egypt, pray for Lebanon & Syria -- as you see the images on the TV screen, while you shake your head at the news reporters commentaries, bow your knees and remember that you have brothers and sisters in Christ in these places, that their homes and their communities are suffering division, discord, and trouble--pray for them as you would your own family trapped in the middle.  Then, pray also for those around them who do not yet know the transformative love and peace of Jesus Christ--pray that the Church would be bold and courageous to serve and demonstrate His love and peace in the midst of the chaos and trouble.

Continue to remember those in prison 

as if you were together with them in prison, 

and those who are mistreated 

as if you yourselves were suffering. 

~ Hebrews 13:13

The Elephant in Tahrir Square

Continuing protests over the Presidential candidates Morsy and Shafiq get the added bonus of Mubarak's verdict today.  Though we continue to experience peace in our immediate surroundings, things are bit more tense in other parts of the city.

Even the "Silent Majority Movement" are making noise.  On Friday, at what was planned to be a rally for Shafiq in New Cairo, Shafiq protestors arrived and began arguments and altercations with supporters.  Eventually, the police had to step in to separate the groups.  Enough trouble was brewing that Shafiq cancelled his plans to attend, but not before members of the "Silent Majority" took Shafiq's stage and began shouting at the Shafiq supporters to go home.  Not so silent, huh?

Mubarak gets life term for protester murders - Middle East - Al Jazeera English.  This recently announced verdict is the culmination of a trial for the 900 protestors killed during last year's uprising that led to his removal from office.  There are other officers, including Mubarak's sons, who are facing similar trials as well as charges of corruption.  While many are living without in Egypt due to the struggling economy, many are unhappy by the relatively comfortable living arrangements of the "hospitalized" former leader.  Many wanted to see him wait in prison, but the prison lacked the medical facilities "needed" for his care.  Many more may be crying out for Mubarak's life sentence to be converted to a death penalty, wanting his blood for the blood of the revolution's martyrs.  This line of thinking is perhaps best revealed through the Metro "subway" line in Cairo.   The main line formerly had a stop named after Mubarak--the stop was scratched out on Metro maps on train cars, at stops, and on information signs during last year's revolution. The stop was quickly renamed, "Al Shohadad", "the Martyrs".  "Scratching out" Mubarak has been an ongoing drive for many since January 25.

Yet, as you can see in the video posted above during the interview with the t-shirt vendor, there are many who wonder out loud whether or not the Mubarak era was all that bad--many of whom (like the vendor) cite greater security, more food, and a better economy in the past than in the present.  Is that nostalgia?  Is that fear of the unknown in this budding democracy?

It is not likely that this mornings decision will provide any closure to the ouster of Mubarak era--not when he lives out his life in comfort and certainly not while Shafiq runs for the Presidency.

Yet again, there are thousands equally dissatisfied with the candidacy of Morsy and offended at the argument that the Muslim Brotherhood candidate is the only choice to save the revolution.

Many are beginning to agree with the perspective of this young ladies' editorial, which says she will boycott the upcoming runoff election.  I've asked this question before: if only 46% participated in the first round of elections, and if far less participate in the runoff election, will either candidate be accepted as the legitimate President by winning a "majority" of the minority vote?

Will the June 16-17 elections just provide the motivation for a sequel to January 25?  That question is the elephant in Tahrir Square.

Continue to Pray for Egypt...

More Than 2 in the Runoff Election

Shafiq and Morsy
(picture from Egypt Independent)

The runoff election scheduled for June 16-17 is supposed to be between Ahmed Shafiq and Mohamed Morsy; yet each of these candidates, from the moment of their victories over the other 9 candidates in the first round, have received a negative response from the Egyptian populace.  Each have been trying to gain the endorsement of their former political rivals, yet they have not been able to get their support.  Protestors have taken to Tahrir and other city centers to protest each candidate, some even moving to raid and burn the downtown offices of Shafiq.  The revolution, the protestors say, has been hijacked by two unlikely candidates for the Presidency.  Less than 50% of the population voted in the first round (46%)--with a decision between two candidates that few support, voter turn out is expected to be far less, which would lead to a President elected by the minority of the people--not the recipe for peace and stability.

So though the election is supposed to be Shafiq versus Morsy, everyone else is trying to get back in the race.  Here's what we're reading and watching as we move toward the next election...

A socialist group in Egypt has presented 12 "conditions" for the polarizing Presidential candidates to agree to prior to the runoff election scheduled for June 16 - 17.  You can read the Egypt Independent article to see the details here.

For the most part, it's a fair idea presented to 2 unique candidates attempting to build bridges of trust and rapport with a majority of citizens who are not necessarily favorable of either.  The proposal includes commitments to creating a diverse government that would include youth, women and Coptics -- and that this same pattern of diversity would be represented the Constituent Assembly that needs to write the new Constitution.

Freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press are also all in there.  (The freedom of the press is interesting because there have been several statements among protestors that the press is what has contributed to the rise of Shafiq and the defeat of the revolutionary candidates; as well as several previous Muslim Brotherhood leadership statements against the press for their role in trying to hinder the revolution.)

So far the proposed conditions sound good; but then, as you read through the article, you come to the following 2 requirements,  "They would also be obligated to adopt policies that achieve social justice, narrow income differences and meet the basic needs of citizens in a dignified manner."  and, "...the candidates to acknowledge the right of the Egyptian people to revolt in case they fail to implement those conditions or violate the constitution and public freedoms." 


(Highlight mine; this could be a poor translation from Arabic to English, but "revolt" does seem to imply peaceful assembly or protest, but rather permission to overthrow in a potentially violent manner.)  Now we've moved from a good idea, to the mother of all "catch-22's" for these candidates; and, keep in mind, each of these candidates are desperate for a resounding victory or risk riots instead of a joyful inauguration.  Either candidate that agrees to this may gain enough favor to win the election--but at the same time, they may also empower a rival political agenda that will be a constant thorn in their leadership policies now and into the foreseeable future.  It appears that this overture is now being extended only to Morsy and not to Shafiq as Shafiq represents the former regime and the military; the Revolutionary Socialists say that they want to bring down the state and "the best solution for Egypt is to bring down the military's state and build a new one."



Meanwhile, there are continuing attempts to disqualify Shafiq.  This is not an attempt to hand the election to Morsy; on the contrary, by the thoughts of the protestors, a disqualified Shafiq would pit Morsy versus the Nasserist candidate Sabbahi in the runoff election as he finished a close third in the May 22-23 elections.  Sabbahi's rocketing popularity, perhaps now more than prior to the election, through his participation in the January 25 revolution and socialist appeal to the lower, working classes would make him the immediate favorite.  Such disqualification is now considered impossible according to this article, but it has not stopped the protestors from gathering and trying.



5th place finisher Abouel Fotouh is not finished trying to be a player in the Presidency.  He has met with Morsy to present his ideas for a national consensus.  It is unlikely that he is making the same overtures to Shafiq.



Islamic clerics have been preaching and promoting Morsy as the only choice in the upcoming election.  Religion is clearly at the forefront of this election and democratic process as leaders have "banned voting for Shafiq" saying that voting for Morsy "means supporting the Islamic project".

There were many accusations of a "Christian agenda" in voting for Shafiq in the previous election, setting Coptics on edge against not only Muslims but the young revolutionaries that are appalled at Shafiq's participation and now runoff candidacy.  Copts were quickly defended though in the media as journalists pointed out that Copts voted for Moussa, Shafiq, Fotouh, and Sabbahi, and that Shafiq won votes in regions that are typical Islamic strongholds.

(Note: We have been learning a lot through conversation and observation of the unique coexistence and tension between the Islamic majority and the Christian minority here in Egypt and will have future posts concerning different aspects of this cultural trait.)

There is so much more related to this upcoming runoff election.  I don't have the time or the references to offer regarding what former military members see at stake in this election, the conspiracy theories (not just within the country, but also among international interests), and so much more -- all of these demonstrate that this more than a 2 man race for the Presidency of the new democracy in Egypt.  Everyone and anyone seems to be jumping in here; the next few weeks will really be interesting.

Continue to pray for Egypt...