Emily & Ben in Egypt: January 2010

Children's Sermon Comment

I had the best comment from a child during my children's sermon the other morning. I was talking about god's promises and asking them to name some of the things that god promises us. After a few of them said some things I asked them if god would ever leave us. There was a very small, squirmy girl sitting in the back of the group and she seemed much more interested in her shoe than in me. But, when i asked this question her head shot up with an absolutely baffled expression on it and without raising her hand she opened her mouth and her squeaky four-year-old voice proclaimed "no, no, no, that's not allowed." Her tone along with the look on her face conveyed that I could not have asked a more ridiculous question in her mind. Not only does god choose not to leave us, but it is so inconsistent with her picture of god that it is "not allowed"... it's impossible. I love it when i get a snapshot of the world through a child's eyes.

January Busyness

I have recently realized that I am really busy. I don't know how that snuck up on me, but somehow it did. I also realized that I probably won't have a lot of time in the next few weeks to write any significant updates, so I'll take this chance to update y'all on my life in Egypt (aside from the usual youth group, bible studies, preaching, etc).

*This coming week, St. John's Church (where I work) will be hosting a Caravan of the Arts festival. We will be hosting an interfaith Art show, a lecture on literature, an Oud concert, and an Interfaith film. The Bishop of London, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and Omar Sherif are coming (how is that for a combo). It will be a wonderful event, but it will also mean that I will busy with work for 8 of an upcoming 9 nights.

*In the fall St. John's held a charity auction/catalog that has raised $60,000 for a variety of charities in Egypt. Over the next few weeks I will be visiting some of these 22 charities to drop off donations. It should be really interesting and a great chance to use my arabic.

*I am currently coaching Cross Country at Cairo American College. It's been a wonderful, and challenging experience as I've been in charge of preparing 65+ kids ranging from 6th to 12th grades to run 3 miles as fast as they can. We will be hosting teams from all over the Middle East at our championships next month.

In the midst of these activities, Emily and I are doing well. She is really enjoying her job, as am I. Living in Egypt is a constant series of thrills, disappointments, joys, frustration, and well, confusion. That said, it makes for a really stimulating, fun place to live. We spend our free time hanging out with dear friends, exploring the city, reading and relaxing and cooking. Lately we've been enjoying Egypt's endless supply of strawberries. We usually have a smattering of fun random events (like this morning's run in the desert with the cross country and Monday's cricket game with a bunch of Australians).

So we are busy, but happy. We just updated our email list, so this might be the first time that some of you have seen our blog. If you look around you'll find some photos and links.

Ben

Christmas in Cairo

Hey Friends,

It has been a while since I have written, so I thought I would toss something up here. Yesterday was my birthday, and I got a lot of “Happy Birthday. How is Egypt?” notes, so I thought I would consolidate my responses with a quick update.

Egypt is good, and so are we. I am enjoying working at the church. I spend a bit of my time with High schoolers, but other aspects of my job are picking up. We are starting a regular group for the Young Adults in our church, I am preaching in a few weeks, and I am going to meet with the PCUSA in the next few weeks to look into carving out a small role with Presbyterian Church in Egypt. Oh, I am also coaching Cross-country at the American School. Emily is enjoying working as a nurse at the US Embassy. She is getting great experience and enjoying her co-workers. She works in a clinic in the embassy that provides healthcare for the 500 families that work for the US gov in Cairo. This week is her first week on call, so she is the point person to guide them through the manacles of the Egyptian Healthcare system, should they fall ill when the clinic isn’t open.

We had a very nice Christmas. Our friend Ryan Bonfiglio visited us. Emily and I both had work the week of Christmas, so we spent Christmas day in Cairo, and then went to Jerusalem for a long weekend over the new years break. Well, I think it might actually be easier to just post some photos rather than trying to describe what we did, but thanks for your interest in our lives, your many means of support and friendship, and for the many birthday wishes.

Ben

The Christmas Pageant at St. John's

The Middle School Youth Group organized a service project where we brought Christmas presents to the children of Sudanese refugees. We then visited the school to give the gifts and watch the children's Christmas play.