April - May REWIND

It has been so long since we updated this blog, and it's not because there's nothing's to report, it's just I'm not sure I've sat long enough to think, let alone write what's been happening.

But now it's summer break for the kids, and after the last month of extra school activities and meetings and goodbyes, it feels like a break for us--but, nothing's further from the truth.  We're not on break, but there is a few days of <pause> around here.

And, I'll take it.

So, here's a quick rewind of April and May (followed with how June has begun and will continue)...

April began, coincidentally, with a break: Spring Break.  Our family took time together and escaped the city by the generosity of one of the families we serve to their Red Sea villa.  Just us, the sea, and actually a lot of wind this year.  But you can never complain about paradise.

Above, Keli with our friend David from Portland, preparing
part of the food packages for distribution at the H4L hub;
and Keli with a few of the girls at the Cedar Home
Orphanage.

Immediately, we returned to Orthodox Easter and the Egyptian holiday of Sham el Nissim - a beautiful day in the garden with a few members of the Cairo Christian Fellowship.  But Keli did not get to spend that Monday, April 13 with us--she flew to join a group of our supporters from Oregon in  Beirut as they served with one of our partner ministries, Heart for Lebanon.  They had come too far, and were too close, working with a ministry close to our heart, for us not to try to connect with them. Unfortunately, this was already quite a busy week in an already busy time, so Keli could only spend a few days with this group, as well as a brief check-in of the Cedar Home Orphanage, before she had to come back.

During the ETC, Ken brought Titus on stage to point out
various people in the room whom God had brought
into our lives over the past 12 years.
Below, Titus with Marie and some of the German teens.

Keli rushed back because our son Titus and I took off to Germany on April 16.  We left to participate in the European Theological Conference hosted by the German Church of God.  Several of our teammates were there, as they often participate in such European events together, but this was our first time to participate.  This biennial conference brought leaders together from over 10 countries.  It was really exciting to not only be in the midst of such diversity and unity, but a real honor to be asked to contribute a few times during the event, including sharing the final session on Practical Discipleship (to go along with their theme of "Making Disciples").  It was a real honor to share in this event, and an even greater pleasure to take along Titus and to introduce him to so many leaders in the region whom God had brought into our lives over the last dozen years--it was really cool to see how God had been working through so many relationships over the years, and to have so many of them either present or represented in the same event.  After the event, we joined Pastor and national German ChoG leader Hans-Ulrich at his family's home and community.  I have really enjoyed getting to know them since I met them last October.  Their teenage daughter Marie arranged a day with a few of the youth Titus' age while we visited together.

The next day, I was invited to speak in the Biebesheim congregation, pastored by Hans-Ulrich.  We had a great time with this congregation and with this family.  This made the following week's news all the harder to hear: a day or so after Hans-Ulrich took us to the hospital, he suffered a bad heart-attack.  His recovery has been slowed by multiple blockages that have required additional surgery.  Please for our friend Hans-Ulrich, and his family, and the congregation--pray for his healing, and everyone's peace during his recovery.

Dr. Latif and the Egypt pastors are praying for a great future.

A week later, April 22-23, I made a quick trip to Alexandria to participate with the Egypt national Church of God General Assembly meetings.  It was so exciting to see the vision and the strategic plan presented by new chairman Pastor Latif, and to see it so positively received by the other pastors and leaders.  The Egyptian Church is thinking outwardly with service to their communities, inwardly with an eye on improving leadership structures and responsibilities, upwardly with the intention to grow, and cooperatively with every pastor being assigned responsibilities to contribute to the whole.  We expect some great things ahead in the years to come from the Egypt Church of God.

Most of May was a much slower pace of ministry responsibilities, except for our weekly ministries to

the surprising prom date!

we had a formal, too

the Cairo Christian Fellowship and the CCF Kids program; however, we were very busy with the kids school activities and meetings for various groups we serve within the international school community.  In addition to the conclusion of baseball (Zeke), softball (Grace), and the annual Middle School play (Titus), there were annual events including the PTO gala fund-raiser, PTO end-of-the-year meetings, Health & Safety committee meetings, booster club meetings, end-of-the-year parties/socials, 8th grade graduation, prom, teacher and staff appreciation events, exams, senior graduation parties, ... - there was a lot going on, so much so that several parents like us felt as if we were spending more time at the schools than our kids!  I mentioned prom--it's worth noting that our petite daughter was asked to prom by one of the taller guys in the school, which would make for interesting pictures!  But he's no ordinary guy--he happens to be the great-grandson of the pastors who bought the property in which we live, who also happened to start the ministry we serve (CCF); his grandfather served that same group while his dad lived in these same villas; his grandmother is one of our greatest cheerleaders, and his aunt is one of our supervisors; oh, and his parents and us knew each
other in college!  Now, we're all in (back in) Cairo, and our kids happen to be in the same grade--how weird is it that these two kids wind up going to prom together?!?!

We ended May with a great visit by our dear friend Michele, whom we have known since we first

kids and parents at worship during FOCUS Weekend

Michele helped with crafts (& more),
below, we all enjoyed the time together in Cairo (below,
enjoying tea and stories at the Khan el Khalili
market).

began ministering in Alabama.  She continues serving the ministries of the Riverchase congregation, whom we served from 1999-2003, and where my parents and sister's family now attend.  Michele came out for a visit, and for us to put her to work.  We also had our teammates, friends, and fellow-Alabamians Zach and Audrey come down from their post in the U.K.  Together we provided what we called a FOCUS Weekend--our first, mini-retreat with the families of the CCF Kids program.  Each week, we provide a great program for the kids, and spend most of our energy focused on them.  Keli has the opportunity to meet with and develop relationships with a few of these moms in a weekly Bible study at the international church nearby; but other than that, we don't have the opportunity to speak into the lives and faith of the parents.  After group worship with the kids and parents, Zach, Audrey & Michele helped us by taking the children out to provide special lessons and crafts for the kids while we focused on the parents.  So, this was a "test the waters" type event to see how receptive they would be to the idea of gathering for worship and teaching.  And the result was very positive; two new families actually came to the event, and several are asking if we can do this again, potentially even having a "FOCUS Friday" event each

month.

brothers and sisters - just one family to whom our kids are
having to say "goodbye"

June began by beginning to say good-bye.  The difficulty of living in an international community abroad is that they are so transient--people come and go in two or three year assignments routinely.  For those who have been living like this for awhile, they know how to come in, establish relationships, and then pack-up and go almost too easily.  It really is difficult to develop deeper levels of relationship, friendship and trust with that lack of permanence - technology is supposed to help, but it actually just becomes another way that we have the facade of closeness to others without actually having any real depth of relationship.  It's particularly hard on our kids who spend a couple years developing relationships,
only to say, "goodbye," and have to start over.  This year, Titus watches several close friends move away; Grace has several either graduating or moving away.  While they have tried to maximize the remaining time with these friends to begin June, it is hard to see their sadness, and harder to see their increasing ability to let go.

Last Saturday of the school year with CCF Kids

Before the school year ended, evaluating the future of having a 7th grader, and two high schoolers in the fall--Titus beginning his freshman year (what?!?!), and Grace beginning her senior year (yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), we realized that this was not a summer for Grace to take lightly.  She has too many options for post-high-school, and not a lot of good ways to evaluate and trim those options from this side of the world.  We needed her to not spend her time soaking up the sun, or sitting in her room vegging all summer--we needed her to get out and at the very least, eliminate some options.  So, with the help of family, she took off to the States last week.  She will spend some time volunteering and participating in a couple of summer camps; as well as learning to drive, and visiting some schools and military recruiters (part of her many options right now) to gauge desire and ask questions.  Grace will also spend time with our friend Michele working with some of the special needs students that she teaches; this will be valuable volunteer and perspective experience for Grace, too.  She'll return before August with plenty of time to focus on the start of the school year, and hopefully with enough time reflecting and pondering what will happen at the end of this last school year.  Pray for Grace.

We closed out the school year and ended the spring session of the weekly CCF Kids program with our annual DVD release party, which features slideshows of the kids' pictures from the year--a favorite as they all love seeing themselves on the screen!  And ends with the kids splashing around in the water hose and sprinklers.  On this year's DVD, we added a bonus video compiled of some of the highlights and interviews with a few of the parents.  The "What We Love About CCF Kids" video is a great introduction to this growing weekly ministry--take a look...

Why We Love CCF Kids from Ken Keli Oldham on Vimeo.

Note: song on the video is "My God is Big and He Loves Me"

performed by Yancy 

for the Standard Publishing 2014 VBS program "Jungle Safari"

and audio was taken from YouTube video at this link: youtu.be/NQmMcSYO3Fw

Meanwhile, Keli took off to join our friends and teammates Dan & Christy Kihm in the Netherlands.  There, Keli will learn a bit about their diverse ministry area, try to give and receive some encouragement, and share a bit about the ministries in Egypt and Lebanon with some of the Dutch Church of God.  We'll catch up with Keli next week in Lebanon.

the Kihms are "selfie experts," so it's fitting for Keli to begin
her visit with an arrival selfie :)

So, that's a quick rewind--and a bit of a jump ahead.  A lot is happening by way of ministry.  I will try later this week to update the political/social/judicial/etc facets of life in the Middle East as we approach Ramadan, serious court cases, and some anniversaries of recent pivotal events.

As always, thanks for your prayers, interest, and support of our family and the ministries in the Middle East.  

European Theological Conference

I'm currently sitting in the Rome airport with Titus, preparing to catch a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  We have our first opportunity to attend the biennial European Theological Conference hosted by the German Church of God.  This year's theme, "Go Make Disciples."

We have heard of this wonderful conference that offers fellowship, encouragement and rest to servants from throughout the region.  We are excited to have our first chance to attend, but the honor is heightened further as we have been asked to participate, too.  Many of our 3W Team will be attending, including Kelley Philips (XZ Berlin), the Kihms (Netherlands), the Simpsons (Bulgaria) & the Langford's (U.K.).  Together we will share the leadership of the Friday night session, on the sub theme of "relationships between disciples," allowing us to further share how 3W is here to serve the region and facilitate greater relationship together.

And, I have been asked to share a session on "healthy practices in making disciples."  I am very excited for this theme and opportunity to share these thoughts with leaders from so many countries at one time!

At the conclusion of the conference, we have been invited to worship with the Biebesheim congregation near Frankfurt. This congregation is pastored by German national leader Hans Linke.  Pastor Hans married a Lebanese believer and they have a wonderful family, including a teenage daughter who is organizing a youth gathering so Titus can meet some of the German teens.  Pastor Hans has often travelled to teach and encourage the pastors and leaders in Egypt.  It is another great invitation to preach in their worship service on Sunday.

But the best part is that I have the opportunity to share this experience with my son Titus.  We love our kids and we know that as they head into these teenage years, our time draws shorter with opportunity to appreciate them as children and invest into the adults they are quickly becoming.  We've always hoped to take one of our kids on trips like this, and since both Zeke and Grace have each already had an extra school trip this year, Titus got the opportunity.  He has previously travelled with me to Hungary a few years ago.

Pray for this event and our team opportunities to network, encourage, inspire, rejoice and even mourn with the brothers and sisters we will meet this weekend.

(Catching a 3:00 AM flight does not make us very photogenic!)

Egypt v. ISIL

An Update from Egypt,
and a few things our friends in the West should know...

Once again, Egypt is making headlines and some of our friends may be worried for our safety, and want a little more information than the repetitive soundbites and "expert analyst" commentary that you get on the American "news" networks.

As always, it's important for us to stress that we are NOT experts: three years of living and learning in the Middle East is like completing Pre-K when it comes to this complex, historically & culturally rich part of the world.

Secondly, and equally as important, what we share is not in anyway a critique of any culture, religion, political leader or policy.  We are guests and observers here, and we attempt to pass along the news as we read it through various links and updates to those who may want a personal take and additional information.

What's happened recently:

• sporadic, continuing random acts of violence disrupt daily life, largely targeting police or military, but also transportation infrastructure

as presented by British risk analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft

• January 25, 2011 Revolution anniversary led to some demonstrations and marches in which people were harmed and even killed as police attempted to keep the peace (see excellent photo gallery and captions here)
• February 11, 2015, disgruntled, eager fans attempting to enter a narrow passageway into a football (soccer) match got into verbal and possibly physical altercations with police; the use of teargas and other attempts to keep the fans in order led to disorder and panic.  As people attempted to flee, the steel structure that had been raised to funnel fans into the stadium also collapsed, leading to more than 20 deaths from the stampede and collapse.
• Since January 2015, more than 20 Egyptians working in Libya have been kidnapped.  One group of Christians were kidnapped from where they worked, separated from their Muslim co-workers by ISIL terrorists.  In a similar incident, but not perpetuated by ISIS, a group 21 Egyptian fishermen were kidnapped in Libya and, as I write this, are reportedly to have been released in Libya.

• February 15, 2015, on a video released by ISIL, 21 Christian Egyptians are seen being marched out along a Libyan shore where they were gruesomely executed.  The kidnapped individuals were all from the same community in Upper (southern Egypt), working in Libya because there was little economic opportunity for them here in Egypt.  As many as seven Christian Egyptians may be still held hostage by ISIL (see tweet below).  Within hours of confirming the deaths, the Egyptian military responded with a bombing raid into Libya by their Air Force, as well as making appeals for international intervention into Libya.

• February 17, 2015, the Egypt military deploys throughout Egypt as a precaution to aid police should any retaliatory effort be made by extremists associated to the Libyan group targeted by Egyptian air raids.

Things our friends in the West should keep in mind:

• The difference between ISIS and ISIL - you have likely seen the two sets of acronyms thrown

  

  differing ideas of the "levant" region
  - from Wikipedia

  around synonymously, and may wonder what (if anything) is the difference.  ISIS stands for "Islamic State of Iraq & Syria" and really was the first organized extremist threat we were all watching spring out of the Syrian conflict and into Iraq.  ISIL stands for "Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant" - the "levant" is a much broader territory that can reach (depending on depiction and definition) to include Syria to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, as well as Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.  The switch to this term ISIL from ISIS indicates the recognized political agenda of the extremists to "conquer" and control a much larger region than just Iraq & Syria.
• The Egyptian Christians were NOT kidnapped out of Egypt.  The worry of seeing "Egyptian Christians" in the headlines is that some are assuming these were taken from or even killed in Egypt, which is not the case.  As mentioned above, these individuals had sought opportunity, despite warnings to stay away from Libya.
• Yes, Libya borders Egypt to the west, but both nations are huge - Egypt is closer in land mass to Alaska than Texas--it's so much bigger than our western paradigm of a "little corner" of the continent of Africa.  There is legitimate threat on the border between Egypt and Libya, but it's a long way from the population centers along the Nile which is eastern/central Egypt.
• The vast population of Muslims in the Middle East are appalled at ISIS and ISIL.  Some of you may need to read that again.  Egypt is about 90% Muslim in population, with about 9% Christian; the Muslim community mourned with the Christian community at the executions on the Libyan shore.  Muslim clerics went to share condolences with families of the victims in the village, as well as to Christian leaders there (see photo gallery here).  Muslim political leaders personally went to the Coptic Pope in Cairo to express sympathy and solidarity.  Thousands of friends, co-workers, and neighbors grieved together.  In the same way, Jordan, which has a higher percentage of Muslim population to Christian population (about 93% 6% respectively), was appalled at the execution of their pilot--a Muslim pilot--by ISIL, a group identifying themselves under the same religious name.  Both of these nations have millions of citizens living, working, studying, and even playing on teams together--Muslim and Christian, side by side.  The idea of universal hatred and ill-intent of Muslims toward Christians is a farce, often sensationalized to sell some story or agenda.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sit down and have one of our regular dialogues with Dr. Latif, a pastor who serves as the national leader of the Church of God in Egypt.  Despite the difficulties in the country today, there was no worry, no apprehension for the future, no gloom and doom over the conflicts east, west, and internally.  There was peace.  Church of God congregations stretch from the population centers of Alexandria and Cairo down into villages in Upper (southern) Egypt, villages like those mourning the loss of 21 of their own.  All of them are reporting that things are well.  We filmed this brief video update as a way to encourage our friends and supporters in the West to see and hear that peace, and to know how to pray for the opportunity in witnessing the peace and hope of Jesus Christ our Savior, in in a time like this.

Egypt Update 2015_02_16 from Ken Keli Oldham on Vimeo.

As always, if you have specific questions about the ministries we are serving here in the Middle East, feel free to contact us.  We are blessed to be among such strong, wonderful believers and to learn from them, as well as to live in this land of history and centrality to the Biblical narrative; our faith continues to grow here, and we count it a blessing to call Egypt home.

Thanks for your continuing interest, thoughts, prayers, and encouragement.

#PrayForEgypt