We've Been Busy...

The RT guys discussing aspects
of our new life in Egypt.

Contrary to the norm, it's been over a week since we last posted to the blog--that's not been because we're lazy and nothing's happening!  On the contrary, things have been busy and there's been a lot happening here in Cairo, Egypt and the Middle East.

Over the past week, we've been hosts to the Three Worlds Roundtable.  The Roundtable is an "added layer of accountability" for Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall's leadership of this new mission paradigm for the Church of God in Europe and the Middle East.  Patrick and Jamie invite a select group of pastoral and missional strategists (who have also demonstrated a desire for deep partnership in 3W) to act like a Board of Directors: hearing and reviewing reports of personnel, decisions, transitions, finances, hurdles, and successes.  They also speak into current events/initiatives, as well as potential future events (through hypothetical case study discussions) to help Patrick and Jamie effectively lead a diverse team, across a diverse set of countries and cultures.

Nathan gets a few extra days in Cairo.

This year's participants included Pastor Rod Stafford and Pastor Alan MacDonald (Rod is the Lead, and Alan directs Global Engagement) both from Fairfax Community Church outside of Washington, D.C.  Also attending was Pastor Andrew Gale, who similarly directs mission engagement at the Church at the Crossing in Indianapolis, Indiana (the congregation in which Ken grew up).  And Nathan Tatman, Outreach Pastor for Countyline Church of God in Auburn, Indiana.  (Bob Moss, Senior Pastor of Salem Church of God outside of Dayton, OH also contributed via a Skype conference).  All but Nathan have returned home as of this morning; Nathan will stick around to learn more about our family before heading to Greece to partner in some work with other 3W leadership.

A potential, large part of our role in the Middle East is to connect outside groups and leaders from North America and Europe to the Christians in the Middle East, and to help them better understand the challenges and cultures in which their faith is experienced and expressed.  So, hosting a group like this within our first year gave us a good trial run at understanding the preparation, organization, and the work that hosting requires.  We think we did a pretty good job--but these guys were easy--all they did was sit around and work all day ;)  Future groups will require more transportation logistics as well as potential project supervision.  This was a good experience for us and we're eager to begin making preparations for the next group.

We were also just really blessed by their presence and fellowship over the past week.  They didn't just come in and act like we were hotel management; they were sincerely interested in knowing and interacting with the kids--and that was great for them.


During the week, we also had a visit from Dr. Latif, pastor in Alexandria and Secretary for the Egyptian National Church of God's Executive Committee.  This visit was long overdue, and we were able to catch up and make plans for future meetings to work through additional issues.  We are blessed by the sincere friendship we have experienced with Dr. Latif and we look forward to all the potential plans of service we can offer the Egyptian church.


The Cairo Christian Fellowship, whom we serve weekly, is preparing for their annual Fall Retreat in a couple weeks, and their Christmas programs next month.  CCF at Christmas is sure to be a delight--why don't you make plans to join us? ;)  We're also discussing how to launch a children's program for the CCF--pray for these developments.


Meanwhile, in Egypt, there are many interesting headlines:

• Salafi Islamists are pushing for Sharia law to be emphasized in a new Egyptian constitution; however, Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and other liberal parties are rejecting that any such change to the previous constitution is necessary.  This ideological divide has led to demonstrations and intense discussions between groups.

• one Islamist extremist was broadcast calling for the destruction of the Pyramids and Sphinx on the grounds of idolatry; many, many oppose such rhetoric claiming that no one actually worships the Pyramids.

• Two Christian females have had their hair assaulted along the Metro subway line in Cairo in as many weeks; each had their long, exposed hair cut by Muslim girls according to reports.

• An Egyptian citizen died in Lebanese clashes this past week--but not in the northern part of the country where ongoing skirmishes exist among pro & anti Syrian regime; the Egyptian died in a southern skirmish between Hezbollah and Sunnis.  We are used to getting State Department warnings from the US government cautioning us to avoid crowded areas where trouble may exist; now Egyptian citizens are receiving similar warnings.

Oh--there's so much more that's going on.  It would be difficult to catch you up on all our coming-and-goings, headlines, and possibilities.  We will write more in the next couple days to keep you better informed; thank you for your continuing interest, prayers, and encouragement...