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...