Back to School...Mostly

"You gotta fight . .
for your right . .
to Parteeeeeee!"
 - Beastie Boys, 1986

I couldn't figure out why that song has been in my head all morning -- back in the day, I didn't listen to Beastie Boys all that much -- so why now??

Because Titus begins grade 7, and those obscene guys entered the music scene back when I was in 7th

grade.

Titus in 7th grade -- weird!  He went from new kid to "big man on campus" by the time his 6th grade year was completed.  He found a niche in drama, which was no surprise to us, and he did well in his new academic environment, with the help of some pretty amazing teachers, one of which he gets again this year due to some creative faculty shuffling due to delayed return of some teachers.  He's looking forward to all the school activities, including the flag football league--and he's drafted his fantasy football team and ready for all things American Football to begin.  We're proud of Titus and we're excited to see how much he continues to grow this year.


Grace begins her Sophomore year of High School (10th) - how is that possible??  Oh yeah, we're old!

Grace has been in nonstop service mode since we returned from Berlin.  She busted her tail every day

al the stylists watched to learn how
to achieve Grace's new,  shorter style
(her hair's also dyed black)

for the local international church's VBS program as a counselor--earning "volunteer-of-the-day" honors on one day.  No body "mothers" a group of kids like Grace--she has her backpack filled with everything from first aid, sunscreen, extra water and snacks, to who knows what -- and then she gets them in line and keeps them there.  Must be some pretty strict parenting she has suffered from :(  After that, and with the delay of school by one week due to renewed protests, she worked to host other teens who were bored with nothing to do and no where to go; and when a couple of friends from her former school found out they had to leave the country suddenly, she organized and hosted a farewell party.  In the midst of this, she has been serving on the "Buddy Squad", a group of students who help new students feel welcome and included by their peers--sending emails, sharing info, giving tours, etc.  In the absence of several of this Squad, she took on an extra shift yesterday to continue to help -- and, of course, she was also involved in helping us host new families, too.  Though she is easily the smallest teen in High School, her awesomeness knows no limit.  We're praying she gets off to a strong academic start so that she can enjoy all the extracurricular activities ;)

4th grade pic here, until
we can get a first day of
5th grade pic

And Zeke - well, he's at home with us today because his application is still in process (making a school change).  We hope his previous teacher recommendation will get processed today, along with school records, and we hope he can get his physical completed.  Then it's a matter of taking assessments to properly gauge his academic levels in reading, Math and Arabic (which he'll take 4 times a week).  He's eager to begin, as are we, but there's still paperwork and process to follow.  If any of our kids can handle this, it's Zeke--he's easily our most resilient and willing to face change and difficulty--Grace and Titus do a good job, but often need a lot more coaching. We'll have to have our parenting in overdrive with the start of the new school year, and making sure that he's adjusting well once he does start.


and then there's my awesome wife - she gets to shoulder a lot of the PTO "welcome wagon" stuff without me* over the next couple of weeks!  She will be helping the kids get into and out of school each day, and she'll be attempting to organize for a New Parent Coffee on one morning, and a New Parent Felluca lunch a week later -- both events are designed to help new families meet and network as a part of their own adjustment to life in Cairo.  We were busy with orientations yesterday and had the opportunity to greet families we hosted the last week, and meet several new families as well.

*I'm leaving soon to go to Lebanon.  While Keli focuses on our kids, I will have new "kids" to focus on as I take Donald, John, Shady, Christine, and Nermeen from Egypt to participate in the annual Ana Terzo young adult camp.  I'm excited to return, and excited to introduce these 5 to their amazing, Lebanese peers.  This will be a huge step in our hopes of building bridges and young leader development in the region, and each country's churches are cooperating to make the planning a success!  I will also stay and participate in the Heart for Lebanon (H4L) annual staff retreat -- this is a great opportunity to encourage some amazing believers in their service.  The Ana Terzo camp will also have a service day with H4L, participating in one of their refugee service projects.


So much of the blog has been political and social in the midst of all the current upheaval and uncertainty in Egypt.  In the midst of all of that, we're trying to raise a family and do ministry -- sometimes, those details get lost in the midst of all the headlines.  As you #PrayforEgypt, please continue to pray for each of our amazing kids and the challenges they face--some routine teen/pre-teen stuff, and others unique to becoming a Third-Culture Kid.  Pray for each of us, and our marriage, our parenting wisdom, and our role as Pastors in the Middle East.

Thank you for your continuing interest, encouragement, prayers, and support!

Egyptian Pastor Encourages Your Prayers

We continue to do well here in Cairo, and we hope with the easing of the national curfew (now beginning at 9pm except for Fridays, which remains at 7pm), that all parties are moving forward.  There is much to heal after the past several months, and there are many lingering questions and anxieties as it pertains not only to the future, but the present circumstances.

On Thursday morning, we were able to meet briefly with Dr. Latif, who pastors one of the Church of God congregations in Alexandria, and who serves on the Executive Committee for the churches in Egypt.  Each day throughout the past couple months, pastors check in with Dr. Latif to give us a status update on their families, the families in the church, and on the church property.  Dr. Latif passes along any concerning reports to us, and then we share them with the international church.  Two of the Church of God congregations were damaged by vandalism in the sectarian violence that resulted in the last month: the congregation in Minya, and in Assiut both suffered broken windows when groups threw rocks -- Pastor Zechariah of Minya was struck in the head by one of those rocks, but he recovered quickly from the wound (Praise God!).  And Praise God that these are the only incidents and the only extent of damages--thankfully, security officers were able to disperse such crowds before any further damage and the buildings each received a guard.

Even in the midst of such praise, there is still much need for prayer.  I asked Dr. Latif to share personally via video with you about the situation and he went further to share how you could be in prayer.


Thank you for your continuing interest, support, encouragement and prayers in the midst of this time.

#PrayforEgypt

All Quiet on the Eastern Bank (of the Nile)

48 hours of relative calm and peaceful routines (with the exception of the curfew and military presence)

post-protest, Cairo has more than just the streets to
clean and repair
(image via Google image search)

has been a welcome addition to our lives.  There have been arrests of leading Muslim Brotherhood figures; and former President Mubarak may be released from the prison he currently shares with newly ousted President Morsi, but other than that, compared to the pace of news and events since June 27, it has been quiet.

Some countries have directed their citizens to leave Egypt; others, like the USA, have encouraged it.  Some companies have all their personnel and families out of Egypt, others only have their employees' families out of the country while their employees continue to work.

Work does continue in Egypt--except tourism.  As noted in this video report which aired on NBC Nightly News last night, August 20, the pyramids and other sites are closed while tourism, Egypt's 2nd largest revenue source, is in standstill.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We also share the video clip because we know the Skaggs family well--seen briefly at the end--in fact, we were in that very apartment with them a few nights ago sharing dessert and conversation with them.  Byron's parents and grandparents are a part of the long history of great leaders that have preceded us.  We have enjoyed having their family back here in Egypt (Jen began teaching at the American University in Cairo last fall).  Unfortunately, all of their important and relative comments regarding their assessment of life in Maadi are on the editing room floor - but such is the era of soundbites.

School was delayed for Grace and Titus by one week.  They were originally scheduled to begin last Monday after an orientation day for new students last Sunday -- all of that is set to begin this Sunday and Monday barring any major flare up.

The community in which we live is really like a strange bubble of near-normalcy. Unfortunately, with much less people here, the stores and restaurants are not as full.  The owners of businesses in the area are happy and thankful to see us and other international patrons.  Compare that with stores, restaurants and businesses that are closed or even boarded up, and you have reinforcement of the old adage, "location, location, location."

Further, in the past week, we have not heard any additional negative report from any of the pastors or Christians whom we serve throughout Egypt.

All of this positive reporting is not intended to minimize the situation in Egypt.  We are not attempting to be cavalier about what is and has happened.  We still are cautious, reading news stories, tracking local events and possibilities through Twitter, sharing security information with others, and observing curfews.

The road ahead remains long and difficult.  We pray for peace, we work in faith, and we encourage with hope.

Thank you for your continued interest, prayers, concern and encouragement.

#PrayforEgypt

In the Shadow of Heartache

As shared via Twitter from @FouadMD with this caption,
"In reaction to the church attacks, a girl in Upper Egypt drew this to show solidarity"

Yes, trouble and tragedy still rage in certain sections of Cairo, north of us.

Yes, government buildings, check points, and churches are still guarded against the threat of attack.

Yes, the interim government is unhappy with the international response, as iterated by the President's office in the international press conference today.  Yes, the Muslim Brotherhood and other supporters blame the US and other countries for contributing to the state of the country today.

Yes, the state of emergency and curfew continue, and there is no conceivable end in sight to all that has been transpiring over the past few days.

But...
Through it all, we remain safe.

We remain busy.

We remain committed to what we are doing here and looking forward to renewing regular activity of service and daily routines.

Tonight, we hosted at least a dozen families who have just arrived to Cairo in anticipation of the start of school in a couple of days.  One or both of the parents work for companies or nonprofits attempting to work alongside of Egyptians even at such a time as this.  We have become a designated "welcome wagon" because we have the location, the resources, and the openness to host dozens of people at a time in such events.  We originally scheduled to host three events this summer, including two in the past week--that got reduced into one event today.  We originally received RSVP's from over 100 people--all  preparing or have moved to Cairo.  Business and government restrictions kept several away today, while some have been prevented from entering the country in the past couple days due to the unrest; so, we ended up with 50+.

Actually, several of these families were also Egyptians who were enrolling their children in the same international school.  Some remarked at how Maadi (the community in Egypt in which we live) is just a different place than the rest of Cairo.  They said that many other areas have closed stores and restaurants--even some boarded up to prevent looters.  (We actually have seen a local McDonald's pull in all their delivery mopeds and hang up sheets of black plastic for fear of being targeted as a western restaurant--but it wasn't long before they were back to delivering Big Macs and McFlurries.)

The community has been safe--but there is a sadness.

No one likes living under a curfew.  No one likes to hear of citizens of their city continuing to threaten harm and daily marches that disrupt daily life.  No one likes press conferences announcing rising death and injury tolls.  No one likes to see Mosques turned into morgues, or worse, turning minarets intended for calls to prayer into sniper positions to fire upon security forces.  No one likes the smell of tear gas.  No one likes uncertainty, wondering if their company or government will pull them from their home and routines to live in a hotel in Dubai or Jordan or wherever until who knows when.

And so, for even those of use who are safe, we are sad, too.

So, why do we stay?

Because this is our home; this has become our community.  The people we serve cannot just exit for the sake of secure, "greener pastures"--and what good is our service if only in the good times and not also the bad?  It is difficult for many people to understand what some Christians refer to as "a calling", but we strongly feel this is not only where we are supposed to be, but the people with whom we are supposed to be with--this is not just what we do, it is who we are.  We are servants--serving is not always convenient, nor safe, nor pleasant, nor rewarding in the sense of what we can measure or hold on to in the here and now.  We love to serve, we love those whom we are here to serve, and those that we get to serve along the way.

Egyptian Christians hold dearly to the prophecy in Isaiah 19, which concludes with, "Blessed be Egypt,  My People."  What a marvelous thing to be given the opportunity, even in tragic uncertainty, to stand beside and encourage those whom God has called His.

#PrayforEgypt

Dispersing Protestors

(Updates below this introduction)

Early this morning, August 14, military and security forces arrived to surround the demonstration sites

Map of Cairo gives some perspective of where different events are
taking place.  The smaller sit-in at Al Nahda Square is near
Cairo University on the west side of the Nile in Giza.
Rabaa Mosque is east of city center and
where the largest sit-in of Pro-Morsi groups have been stationed
for more than 40 days; leaders from the stage have said that even if they
are moved they will simply gather again in different locations.

in Cairo.  These moves have been expected for several days, if not weeks, as negotiations have continued to be fruitless and the government has expressly stated that this would happen unless protestors moved on their own.  For weeks, military have been dropping leaflets urging individuals to leave--especially families with children; early broadcast reports indicate that loudspeakers and additional leaflets were used to warn the "camps" that this would take place this morning.

We remain safe and all is calm on our end of Cairo.  Across the river at Cairo University and north toward the sit-ins, the scenes are bloody, smoke and tear gas fill skies, and there has to be a great deal of panic.

A couple of notes about these  events:

First, this "sit-in" is well-over 40 days.  The communities where thousands have been gathering have felt like they are under siege.  There have been reports of continual harassment of residents, and businesses in the areas have suffered; many residents have left the area for safety, better sanitation, and their own peace of mind.  There is the right to assemble that I totally support, but when that assembly creates a hostile even "hostage" type environment, then your right has impeded the rights of others - as a result, there have been reports of clashes of residents and store owners with protestors.

These are not just people gathered and sitting in the streets.  They have not only put in tents, they have built two-story makeshift housing units complete with wash areas, linoleum floors, and more with lumber.  There are credible reports of generator and fuel storage sites with guards, fully developed kitchen areas for cooking and preparing food, and there were plans to deal with the sanitation issues by building a toilet facilities, even possibly breaking into sewage lines to do it.  This of course creates a serious safety concern as water and electricity lines and housing units are continually added on to accommodate the crowds--what happens in case of a fire, or even a propane explosion?  Not only does this pose issues of how would you get in to correct the danger, but also, how difficult would it be to contain, and how well could people flee?

These are not like peaceful, non-resistant sit-ins that you may remember from Civil Rights Movement in the 60's in America.  These demonstrators in Cairo are not sitting peacefully and waiting for police or security forces to drag them away one by one.  These protestors are arming themselves with sticks, rocks, and putting on hard-hats, motorcycle helmets, and any kind of protective "armor" they can to beat and inflict harm on anyone not in their group attempting to come in.   Reports of weapons and firearms among the demonstrators have been made in the past.  As a result, among the early reports of the growing number of dead and injured are at least 2 military/police officers.

PRAY FOR EGYPT!
We are monitoring all of this and we'll post any story links here with continual updates here as this story unfolds.

UPDATES

newest on top

Thursday, 9:30 pm Update
The morning began slowly and with a somber stillness here in Maadi.  There was a bit of an overcast sky actually, a strange gray from the west in the early morning hours that burned off quickly with the rising sun to create one of the most humid days here that I can remember in awhile.

Few were stirring early, that is before 8 am, and those I saw had a tired look upon their face, and no one seemed to be saying much.  Contemplation and mortification of 100's dead within hours and the morning after questions of "what have we done?", "where do we go from here?", and "will there be more today?"

We actually moved to and fro throughout Maadi quite a bit today.  There is much to do for us as we

image appears on this Ahram Online article with caption:
Damages at St George Coptic Orthodox Church
in Assiut (Photo: nilerevolt.wordpress.com)

anticipate hosting dozens in welcoming them to Cairo--that's right, people like us are still crazy enough to arrive and start new jobs in this uncertain city in an even more uncertain time.  We spent some of the morning responding to phone calls and questions of some new and nervous expats.  We compared notes with more seasoned expats, and we checked various news reports.

The list of churches and Christian businesses or families attacked was provided through this link - I cannot verify the truth of every incident, but I can say that several of these on that linked list have appeared in various reports we have read in the past 36 hours.  I have been in touch with one of the families of the Church of God national leaders, and he confirms that none of the pastors, Christians, or buildings of the Church of God throughout Egypt have been harmed or targeted.  This is good news as the situation in Upper (southern) Egypt is more severe and there are several churches in that area.

This was an important read, and not just because it echoes some of our points on this blog, but because it states that a "massacre is not combat", bringing an important point of clarity to western media stories over this tragedy.  He further points out this is not a "military verses MB" situation - it is much bigger, and more complicated, than that.

And later this evening, Al Jazeera English reported on the events in Cairo today in the aftermath of yesterdays sad events, and their story includes a statement of clashes spreading into Maadi - where we live and where the kids go to school.  This was curious to us because, as I said, we were out and about in Maadi yesterday afternoon and today.  We did not witness any clashes.  We heard yesterday of an attempt, and saw a picture, of a group trying to build a stage for a new sit-in not too far from the school - police forces quickly showed up and put an end to that.  We also almost ran into our first march--MB protestors were directed to have marches throughout the city--and one of them were moving against traffic down one of the flyovers we needed to take home.  We saw it, adjusted our route, and came back a different way.  We heard that things got heated there--mostly because angry motorists were getting into it with the marchers--the police had to come in response to the marchers damaging cars and angry motorists.  We have also heard that situation is now cleared up; though there were reports of injuries, some even to gunfire, but we cannot confirm this.  We can confirm that it messed up a lot of traffic as people were trying to get home ahead of curfew.

By the way, everyone seems to be obeying curfew for the most part; though there was a funny tweet of a lady out past curfew who told the police officer that shisha (the Middle Eastern smoking past time) was more important than curfew--the police officer agreed and allowed her to get to the cafe!

All kidding aside, no one is laughing over the events of yesterday.  Even angry motorists sympathize with the frustration and anger that the protestors are experiencing today.  No one is making light of the loss of life--a number that continues to rise.  Yet, sympathy runs short when churches are attacked, when government buildings in new, peaceful neighborhoods become the new target of frustration -- residents in different areas are saying, "enough is enough."

Whether or not it will be enough remains to be seen.  Tomorrow is Friday and that begins the weekend, which has usually been high time for demonstration and frustration for the past couple years in Egypt.  We will see if it has been enough, or whether more blood will needlessly be spilled this weekend.


7:00 pm Update
So, we now have a State of Emergency in Egypt - essentially, the interim President has said the police can not get a handle on this by themselves and he has directed the military to officially help.  It was earlier assumed that the military had been a part of helping all along, but apparently they only helped in dropping leaflets.  This may sound like a terrible thing to those on the outside -- but to those of us on the ground here in Cairo, this is good in that, yes, the Police are having a hard time keeping up with all that is happening in every governorate.  Having the military assist will hopefully end what would otherwise turn into a long, bloody game of cat and mouse.  This Ahram Online article outlines what the state of emergency edict implies.

In addition, we now have a curfew :(  This only makes sense -- if you want to round up the trouble makers, try to get the law abiding citizens out of the way and work through the night arresting anyone out where they shouldn't be.  Unfortunately, this really interrupts a lot of business in the process - not to mention church and school schedules as this is supposed to continue for the next month!!!  We were scheduled to host 90+ people between Thursday and Saturday welcome events in the evening -- we've creatively altered plans into one daytime event that will be a good challenge to our hospitality skills ;)

Check out the picture below left, tweeted and retweeted.  I first saw it on a retweet of @BuzzFeedAndrew with this caption, "Egyptian woman stands between a wounded youth and bulldozer during clashes today" -- the picture on the right, less circulated so far but increasing shows what happened after the woman got the bulldozer's attention. 

Many are extremely disappointed at the news of Vice President Mohamed El-Baradei resigning over today's events, stating that he did not agree with this decision of clearing out the protestors.  We will see if other interim government leaders follow suit.

Some of those in the Rabaa protest have decided to take the offer of safe exits according to this brief Ahram Online report--we hope that many more will follow and lay down any weapons in the process--for good.

So - a lot is still happening and we'll be re-tweeting through the night.  If there are any other major developments, we'll post it here in an update.  I'm hopeful that we'll be able to just rest, and pray for Egypt.  We pray that order and security can be restored quickly, without any further loss of life; we pray that those attempting to be heard by violence and vandalism will be stopped, and for leaders to have wisdom and humility to bring various sides together.



4:00 pm Update:

Fighting continues at the Rabaa sit-in, degenerating into a battle-like standoff between armed protestors

This photo by Mostafa Hussein accompanies an Al Arabiya article
reporting on the burning of 3 Coptic churches in Egypt.

and military/security forces.  Joining the military are the residents in around the sit-in site, and caught in the middle are other residents, a few reporters, and countless families who came for the peaceful protest and now find themselves in the line of fire.

In the continuing Ahram Online blog on today's events, it is reported (and seen on other news sites) that the Egypt Presidency has directed military to support the police in this ongoing situation, and that a "state of emergency" has been declared for the next month.  It is unclear what this state of emergency will mean (curfews? military's ability to arrest citizens?) and how this will be received and potential impacts across the diverse city.

Muslim Brotherhood is calling this a massacre -- and the loss of life should not be diminished, even if the MB spokespersons are exaggerating the numbers killed.  Twitter reports, including several journalist in or near the fray, have referenced that the chants of the protestors and the statements of those interviewed uplift this as "God's cause", making this a religious statement not a political one.

As we read reports from various sources, it is shameful to report that while some are fighting back against military and security forces, others have taken their attack to church buildings and homes or business owned by Christians.  There are multiple reports of church burnings throughout Egypt--all official reports seem to indicate targeting Coptic church buildings; we do not have any confirmation of other type of Christian churches being attacked.

I'm a little amazed at the various governments and groups denouncing the "excessive use of force" by the military and security forces.  There seems to be little regard for how such force may or may not have been provoked as military/security forces positioned themselves and made appeals for people to use provided exits of safe passage.  How can military/security forces move to peacefully remove protestors who are throwing stones, beating with sticks, and shooting everything from homemade firearms to automatic rifles??

Again, one of the impressive things about the 1960's era Civil Rights "peaceful resistance" campaigns

3h

@Kemety tweeted this photo with this caption 

"Peaceful pro-Morsi protestors with a peacfeful 

machine gun that shoots flowers!!!"

is watching video of them being picked up one by one and carried to police vehicles to be transported for booking.  This is not peaceful protesting and resistance--bringing in and using guns, erecting barricades to hide behind and keep the police away, creating a "field hospital" in advance to treat wounds that you know you will incur, checking identification cards of people before they can enter your protest and beating/robbing those who don't pass your criteria, holding interrogations inside your protest and encouraging the gathered to martyrdom--this is not the Civil Rights movement.

AND the interim government, despite continual rebuffed overtures for "negotiations", is there not a better way to handle this?  Perimeters, an embargo, arrests -- could there not have been another plan of action, even if it took months longer to fully implement?  And why was there no thought of protecting the Christian communities who had already seen some targeting in Upper Egypt since the ouster of Morsi on July 3?

We are but guests and observers of this continuing tragedy as it unfolds.  We want to believe the best and love the least, while encouraging all of Egypt to the greatest possible outcomes and future.  All of this scares away tourists and potential investments; existing businesses get anxious, and creative leaders look for other opportunities.  It's hard to rebuild when so much more effort is given to destroying one another week after week.  While hundreds die and thousands fight, millions suffer today and for months ahead.

We pray for peace and a quick, miraculous resolution.

More updates to come...

10:15am Update:

Fears of what a forced-removal of demonstrators would like are being actualized this morning in Cairo. Reports of dozens dead are confirmed -- while Muslim Brotherhood spokespersons have said as many as 250 have been killed.  It is difficult to trust early Muslim Brotherhood reports when they have quickly posted (on multiple occasions) pictures of dead Syrian children as casualties of local events in order to spark outrage and sympathy through the media in the past couple months.

A couple notes from this Al Arabiya report

- According to broadcast reports, Al Nahda square near Cairo Univeristy and the zoo has been cleared.  Security forces are continuing to search the area for weapons and anyone attempting to impede the efforts to clear out the area.

- This is likely going to wage for hours--potentially even days.  While the Muslim Brotherhood and "legitimacy alliance" spokespersons are telling the media about the crimes against humanity, there are also reports circulating that they are simultaneously encouraging their supporters to take to the street and even join the fight at Rabaa to prevent this massacre.  Yet, it seems that this will only increase the massacre as a few fight with single fire weapons and most fight with throwing rocks at armed military forces.

The events at the larger Rabaa sit-in are an all out battle -- not just between security forces and demonstrators, but also likely residents in the area.  Demonstrators have constructed barricades of cars, fires, and paving stones to keep out security forces; demonstrators or residents (unclear which) have been seen on rooftops throwing rocks and large stones down toward the street level.  

There clearly is the sound of gunfire throughout this video report from CNN - the reporter is not near the frontline of what is happening, but he shows that the street that he came in on is already blocked as demonstrators have parked cars to further block access into (and out of) the area of confrontation.  

  

Hello Again Egypt

We left Germany last Thursday evening, and I'll post a few pictures on our "Amazing Sights" page (see tabs at top) as soon as I can.

So, we have been back in Egypt for several days now, and we have been busy coming out of the

(image of pyramids rising over Giza - from Google image search)

vacation mindset, getting our kids on a new schedule, preparing for several big activities, and wondering where the summer went--while sweating under the Egyptian heat!

The kids' summer schedule of late nights and sleeping in has gone by the wayside until Christmas break.  The kids came back ready to participate in the Maadi Community Church's annual kids day camp called "One Wild Week".  Grace and Titus are junior counselors helping the program, while Zeke has another couple years to participate.  Grace and Titus help with skits, music (with motions), encouraging kids, helping kids, and getting exhausted every day.  We're proud of how they throw themselves into this service.  Several of the CCF Kids families also participate, so it has been nice to see several of them after summer travels--they're all eager to get back to our weekly program, but that will have to wait a little longer...

First up, back to school -- well, at least for Titus and Grace (Zeke doesn't return until September).  Their school resumes next Monday, so by the time they recover from this week, they'll be back in class.  They have mixed emotions about this as they are eager to get back into the routine and see friends--but, at the same time, there are many of their friends who have moved (some due to relocations in the last month), and many more who are delayed in their return to Egypt to their company's fears of political unrest--so, some of these friends won't return until October or as late as December.  This obviously puts unique strains on the school as well.  I'll be serving on a parental advisory group for the Middle School, so it will be a great opportunity to see how an international organization is dealing with these issues.

Though many families are delayed or relocated, there are still several new families who have arrived or are arriving in the next few days as the school year begins.  Last year, we were a new family to Titus and Grace's school, though we had lived in the community for eight months.  In the process of communications with the school, one new family "replied all" to an email from the school office, and we all saw the answers to questions about their kids--then another family did it.  Pretty soon, several parents were corresponding, asking questions, sharing experiences and looking for a way to introduce their children ahead of the ever-anxious first day.  We, having a great location and property, offered to host such an event -- and we hosted more than 50 heading into the school year!  We ourselves made good friends through the events, and we saw many of the kids spending time with each other through the school year.  The PTO asked us to duplicate the success of that event, and so we're preparing to host more than 60 in two different dinners Thursday and Saturday.  We'll also be involved in many other "welcome" activities in the coming weeks, too.

Meanwhile, I've also been emailing, Facebook messaging, and otherwise preparing to take 5 Egyptian young adults from northern Egypt cities to Beirut, Lebanon in a few weeks for the annual Lebanese young adult camp called Ana Terzo.  Last year, I was the main speaker for this event and Zeke and I had a great time connecting with many there.  This year, I get to help connect some Egyptian young adults to the experience (a part of the networking/bridge-buidling part of our role here), and I'll teach a little bit for the camp.  I'm really excited for the opportunities this presents for the future.  We're grateful to North Modesto ChoG (CA) Salem ChoG (OH) for financial scholarships on airfare and camp registrations to make this possible.

"So, is it safe in Egypt?"

With all the continuing news of unrest, divisions, marches, protests, clashes, persecution, failed diplomacy, and on and on -- everyone wants to know if it was a good idea to even come back to Egypt right now.

Here's what we know - it's pretty much been the same thing since we left--yes, there have been a lot of headlines, largely around conflicting statements from John Kerry and John McCain (big surprise), and the on-again/off-again reports of clearing the demonstration sites of the Pro-Morsi supporters.  Everyone has been expecting the government to begin clearing those demonstration sites today, but so far, there hasn't been anything happening.  We're watching carefully, but we are unaffected by all of this in our local community of Maadi - and we have a big military deployment between us and the Nile to protect this community.

We have been continuing to be cautious when it comes to going downtown on Sunday night -- CCF services have been perpetually postponed due to the difficulty of many to come in or running the risk of being stuck after a service.  We hope we can see some stability soon and resume the weekly worship services.  I have, however, been preaching on Sunday mornings at the St. Andrews United Church (same location) as their meeting time rarely has any interference.

Yes, there has been some increasing violence and vandalism toward Christians and church buildings--particularly in Upper (southern) Egypt.  This Wahington Post article highlights some of this.

Again, comedian/satirical-talk-show-host Dr. Bassem Youssef seems to be the leading voice of reason in Egypt.  His essays have been popular reads and positive points of discussion in a divisive, emotionally strained state.  His latest essay "The 'Sparking' Muslim Brotherhood"is excellent.



Thank you for your continued interest and prayers on our behalf.  There's no shortage of interesting news and developments here, though nothing seems to develop very quickly -- if it does, we'll comment and share here...