Hello all...
We are so blessed to be celebrating Christmas this year in such an amazing place--a place we could only dream about a couple years ago, and a place we never could have dreamed 5 years ago! We are here because many of you agreed with us that this is where we're supposed to be to serve--in your agreement, you prayed with us, encouraged us, sacrificed and gave for us--your continuing interest and prayers bless us. And, because you have given, you give to others through us--whether in word or deed, your gift continues in the service that we're beginning to offer into this region, one life at a time.
We finished the school year with soccer tournaments, and impromptu school Christmas parties. Grace finished her first round of High School exams, and then had a girls night to celebrate before all her friends scattered through the planet to visit their families. Zeke and some friends made a silly "Christmas Style" dance for their school's last chapel before Christmas; Keli caught it on camera and uploaded to YouTube (Zeke's in the back middle in the Santa hat):
We are celebrating Christmas morning with carols played through our iPods. There's not the over-commercialization of Christmas here and so it's easy to keep it quite simple--but in doing so, it's easy to miss the little things that you kind of take for granted back home. Titus missed Grandma's cookies; though we got recipes and made our own cookies (as we do every year), we couldn't find food coloring for decorating with different colors of frosting, nor could we find any red or green sprinkles.
We didn't decorate as much as in years past, simply because we don't have all the decorations we used to have--we didn't bring many with us--and this is a huge house and property to attempt to decorate inside and out. Perhaps we can collect more and more through the years to increase the decorations inside and outside the property. There was a fake-tree in storage, and we managed to find a few stores with decorations and lights. We filled our door with Christmas cards received from Liberty Street Church in West Virginia, and we hung the stockings we brought from home.
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| CCF Bazaar (lunch and vendors--proceeds benefit multiple benevolence projects in Cairo) |
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| CCF & St. Andrews combined Candlelight Service |
Grace and I attended the Maadi Community Church Christmas Eve service last night; I will return to St. Andrews United Church to share their meditation on December 28 as a part of ongoing service to their congregation while they are still without a pastor. The CCF have an upcoming Christmas Choral Cantata on the 30th--that may sound a bit late for a Christmas program, but it's actually right between Western Christmas on the 25th and Eastern/Orthodox Christmas on January 7.
Shopping is much more of a chore without all those Christmas sales at the super-stores like Walmart and Target where you can get nearly everything in one place. We didn't place a lot of gifts under the tree this year, but continued to have a main gift and a loaded stocking (this year full of US snacks that don't get to regularly enjoy here). The kids were disappointed that they didn't have a chance to shop for each other, and since we still wanted to find some new Christmas pajamas (another of our family's traditions), we drove out to City Stars mall on Christmas Eve to make the attempt.
Grace complained that she had not been able to sleep in since Christmas break had begun, so we said that we would wait till waking her up until 8:42 -- but Zeke couldn't wake up either, so we waited until 9:30. In my family of origin, no one could get to the presents until mom had her coffee--a tradition I have gladly continued. But this year, we began this morning not just with coffee, but with a special prayer for the families in Newton, Connecticut. Grace asked why are we praying now since the event was so "long ago"--we reminded the kids that today will be a painful Christmas morning for parents, brothers, and sisters; they won't be eager and waking up with smiles, but there will be a deep sadness felt, and so we pray for their comfort and count our blessings at the same time.
Christmas breakfast for us in the States usually involved oven-baked cinnamon rolls--despite all the baking we've been doing these past few weeks, we turned to Cinnabon to help with that :), and a side of bacon (which is a huge rarity and delicacy due to price and Muslim restrictions on eating pork here).
We, of course, miss our family and will attempt to Skype with both sets of them later this evening/their morning. While each of our families gather together, we were especially glad to hear that our parents got together in Alabama Saturday--it's such a blessing to see our parents developing a growing friendship with each other while we are away.
As we get to January 7 (Coptic Christmas), we will also be celebrating 1 year in Cairo!
Wow--what a year!
The kids have done amazingly in their adjustment to metropolitan and Middle Eastern life. They are daily challenged by their international peers and all the cultural diversity--they may not see it, but we can tell that they are growing so much in their expanded world-views and appreciation for diversity. This whole experience has been a test of their faith and strength--we believe that they're going to amazing for it as the years continue.
By way of health, we're all blessed with good health. Occasional colds for each of us; Keli's feet have recovered from the bad burns suffered in November.
By way of safety, we've been kept safe through all the continual ups and downs that is Egypt these days. The most hazardous activity may be in driving; I've now had 2 accidents in the past month--I backed into a taxi's fender on a crowded street, and I had the front corner of the bumper taken off while trying to squeeze into a busy street. The former cost us about $40 to repair (no insurance, just pay to the driver and settle things on the street); the latter is apparently a repeat issue for this bumper and I think I actually reattached it better than it had been before--though it shows the scars of the accident. Such is life...
The political situation throughout Egypt is still an uncertainty. While Christianity faces decline and persecution throughout the Middle East, we are reminded again and again of just how unique Egypt is as a nation with an Islamic majority. The first person to wish us a "Merry Christmas" this month was our favorite taxi driver--who is Muslim; and, he even called us last night just to extend that greeting to us again. Christianity and Islam have survived side-by-side here in Egypt for centuries--a fact that has often led to disdain from other Muslim nations in years past. The current political crisis and deepening divide between "secular or moderate" Muslims and the "Islamist" groups in "majority" threaten that coexistence and the possibilities for dialogue within this country and beyond. We continue to believe that these are critical times, not just for a country attempting to develop a democracy, but for the Hope of the Gospel that first came to this land within the first century--a land that received and provided refuge for the Christ-child and Holy Family within His first years.
As we roll into 2013, Keli and I will celebrate our 19th Anniversary! To celebrate, I'm sending Keli to Lebanon ;) She will go in the beginning of January to meet with a pastor's wife there and see some of the Lebanese ministries for herself. We look forward to posting some good pictures and reflections from that trip.
Well, we're thankful for all of you who regularly read or occasionally check-in to see what's new. Thank you for your interest and your continuing prayers on our behalf, as well as for the churches, believers, and nations we're attempting to serve.
May the Lord bless you all with His perfect peace and abounding joy.
Immanuel, Hallelujah!
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