One week in Cairo

I arrived in Cairo a week ago following 32 hours of traveling...none of it sleeping. I slept my first day away-at least 16 hours of it!  I think I am over the jet lag now-the household help woke me up at 7am when they came in to clean the apartment! I arrived for the last few days of Ramedan, the muslim holy month, so Sam had 4 days off work from Thurs. to Sun. We got a wonderful surprise in that our shipment arrived Thursday night about 8:30pm to our apartment. We were not even expecting it to be in the port until yesterday! Since trucks are not allowed in Maadi for all the cars here, it came in 4 pickup loads piled higher than the  Beverly Hill Billys! Just imagine: a shipping container 12'x10'x10' full of stuff ... on 4 pickups! It was too dark to get a photo so you will have to imagine it.  They unloaded and were out of here by midnight or so.      The kitchen required a lot of de-greasing-especially the stove. We spent all the next day cleaning and unpacking the kitchen.     Fridays are days off here...compare to our Sunday. We visited Maadi Community Church just a couple of blocks from our temporary apartment. There are about 1200 members from all over the globe. Every shade of skin color, from every continent, many many languages and yet all in one place for one purpose: to worship God. It must be a little bit of what Heaven will look like with believers from every tongue and tribe and nation. The worship was great, not unlike the church we attend at home. A bit more physical action on the drums from time to time--but then, I do believe the drummer is African!  We meet under a humongous tent on the grounds of an Episcopal church; there are large fans, and we are reminded to bring our own water. The preaching was good-they are doing a series of sermons that may be familiar to you--called Living Beyond Myself. This includes a First Serve campaign to encourage church volunteerism. Sam has been working with the Middle School kids on Wednesday night. I went last Wed. to check it out and had a lot of fun. Our youth minister is quite a good preacher herself and kept the kids attention the entire time!  They have recently hired a Moody Graduate to lead the children's ministry.  As a church they are organized into Life Groups for Bible study and fellowship. They do this with the teens as well. Wednesday nights they have several choices for classes at the tent site.  They have a women's Bible study that will begin in October. They will be studying Ester by Beth Moore. They also have a moms/toddlers study once a week.      We have small grocers in Maadi. They are stacked to the ceiling with all sorts of groceries, some imported. I helped Sam sift through shelves of soda cans to find 3 caffeine-free Dr. Peppers. They are not available from local bottlers. Coke and Diet Coke are bottled in Cairo. Whew!  I have not shopped for more than basics because we have been eating out most of the time. You can have anything delivered here. We buy a case of bottled water and they deliver it about 10 minutes after we get home. We walk most everywhere...at least I will. I am sure the roads will be safer if I stay off of them . It is a matter of who gets there first as to who has the right of way...and only then if you don't make eye contact with the other driver.       We picked out appliances for our apartment that should be delivered this week. Then we will be moving into our permanent apartment.  I will send photos once we get moved in.         There are so many great ways to keep in touch. I think our experiences may be interesting to you, but please remember we want to keep up with  you too, so please let us know how and what you are doing! I  Love you all! Kim and Sam

Egypt At Last!

Today is Wednesday, September 16th. I have been awake in Egypt for 4 hours now. I left Tulsa, OK at 10:35 Monday, September 14th and somewhere in between I lost a lot of hours high above the world. It is as though TuesDAY never happened. Somewhere between Monday Tuesday Night I watched two movies, two tv episodes, ate wonderful meals and listened to music. I never slept. :)

Sam met me with roses upon my arrival in

Egypt! We took a fairly calm ride to the staff apartment where another bouquet of flowers-Birds of Paradise greeted me. I think Sam had lots of fun at the flower shop. After a refreshing shower and catching up, we headed out for an evening walk. The sidewalks are about as treacherous as the streets so we picked our way among broken sidewalks and littered gutters in search of a place for dinner. It is still Ramedan here...a day of fasting followed by an evening of dining and family gatherings...so the restaurants were pretty full. We found a Deli that could seat us-my first dinner as a resident of Egypt was a hamburger!!! and it was tasty at that!

One thing to note when walking around after dark...they don't drive with their lights on after dark...it is considered rude to shine lights in another's face...Sam and I decided that taking our flashlights with us would be prudent next time we head out. OR...In Minshall Park, our old neighborhood in Tulsa, there was a man who always walked in the dark...He work a vest like crossing guards wear and a flashing light on a headband. Actually, the headband had several flashing lights! That would be a good thing to have here!

While walking we found a shop that sells Italian food imports. Lots of goodies there! Also went to a bakery and bough fresh bread and cinnamon rolls.

There is a song we sing at Highland Park Christian Church. It is about God being Lord of the city. That is my prayer for Cairo, for my little part of Cairo known as Maadi. My friend Connie sent me a verse to remember and this is also my prayer: Colossians 4:5 and then 4:3,4 "Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk you should always be kind and pleasant, so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should. vs. 3 also pray for us that God will give us the opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret that God has made known about Christ."