It's Already June?!

The countdown has officially begun... In T-minus 1 day, I will be finished with my internship (although we're heading to Sharm el Sheikh on Sunday for a few days of rest and relaxation on the Red Sea). It is hard to believe that the year is already over- but what a life-changing year it has been. Like the Israelites long ago, I believe that the Lord brought me to Egypt in order to free me. In a place heavy with spiritual oppression, it didn't take long for me to come face-to-face with my sin and weaknesses; thus, forcing me to recognize my insatiable need for Christ and to cry out for deliverance. God had to break me; refine me with hardships, in order to mold me into the person He created me to be. Through it all, the Lord was right there with me, pouring out His love and mercy and grace on me. It has been such an incredible year, and I feel beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to serve at MCC- and as it turns out, though I will be taking on a new job in a couple of weeks, I will thankfully be able to continue to volunteer with the youth in the coming years.

One of the highlights of my year is definitely when my parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago- It was so refreshing to have them here and show them my life in Cairo- to see them experience a third-world country was just a bonus :) Here are a few of the highlights from their time here:

Sunset in Ain el Sokhna- a little resort on the Red Sea!

On a completely different note... I have had the privilege of being the assistant track and field coach for JV and Varsity at the american school here (Cairo American College). Last week, we packed up and hopped on a plane with 24 of our athletes to go to Paris to compete in an International Schools track meet (ISST conference). There were schools from all over Europe- Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels, Vienna, etc... And believe it or not, WE WON!!!! I was SO proud of our team- they competed so hard and I was blown away by their strength and determination. Here are a few pictures from our time in Paris:

CAC Screaming Eagles Track & Field Team- 2009 ISST CHAMPIONS!

Weekend Getaway: Aswan

Recently our youth team had the privilege to fly down to Aswan and Luxor for a short little getaway. I have to say, it was a much needed break from the 2 P's of Cairo- Pollution and Population- which can be more overwhelming than I thought. So we hopped on a plane and took a short hour and a half flight from Cairo to Aswan. Once there, we took a motor-boat across the Nile to this little Nubian restaurant that served traditional bedouin-Egyptian food. The next day we went to the Aswan High Dam (slightly over-rated) It looks pretty much like every other bridge/dam in the world:


After the dam, we got on another motor boat that took us to this little Island in the middle of the Nile where the Temple of Isis is located. It was pretty amazing-
Naturally if there's a statue of a lion that's thousands of years old, you have to ride it...
I was constantly amazed at their art work... the engravings and Higroglyphics everywhere...
After the temple, we had lunch on a big sail boat and then went to the Nubian village... the Nubian people are natives to Aswan- their ancestors come from Sudan. Their village was immaculately clean- this is their farm land in the middle of the village- they grow their own food:

It's Not About Me

It seems that the more comfortable I become with my life in Egypt, the more I find myself becoming overwhelmingly busy. Sometimes a good kind of busy, and sometimes not... I've realized that it is all about perspective- there are going to be ups and downs and busy times and slow times throughout my life, but the one constant is always God. I think I tend to 'forget' that sometimes. So when I get stressed out or utterly exhausted or just plain grumpy, I always need to be reminded that IT'S NOT ABOUT ME! It is so easy for me to become selfish with my time- getting annoyed when people 'inconvenience' me. And then stressed when I have too many demands on my time- basically when I spread myself too thin by over-committing. I find myself 'running to stand still' with all of the hats that I wear: I am a daughter, a sister, and a friend, a mentor, an intern, and a nurse, a coach, a coordinator, and a house-guest... Trying to fill all these roles in my life can become a daunting task. It is all too often exhausting to think about all that I need to get done in a day.
Yet! When I stop for a minute and look beyond myself to what God has called me to, it is no longer daunting or exhausting, but exciting and joyful! I'm reminded of Paul when he says "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your sake" (2 Cor. 12:15). When I change my perspective away from being self-centered, I realize what a privilege it is to be spent for the sake of the gospel- to come to the end of my day utterly exhausted because I am "about my Father's business" (Luke 2:49). But there are still so many days where I do not make the most of the opportunities given me, because I'm "just too tired", and it is then that I must cry out "Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). I want to know what it means to suffer for the sake of the gospel- to say with Paul that "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). Because, at the end of the day, I know that this world is not my home and that His grace is sufficient for me wherever He calls me to go and whatever He calls me to do.
And so that is where the Lord has brought me over the past few months- learning more and more every day what it means to be a follower of Christ. During that time, I've had some really neat opportunities to minister to the girls here- we had a Middle School in-town retreat in February, called Impact, where we talked about the need to reach out to people in our own community. We also recently had a "Princess Night" with the Middle School girls, and the high school girls came and served them, and just spent time with them. It was absolutely amazing! Here are a few pictures from those events-

This is my group on our scavenger hunt for the Middle School Retreat:

Brenna, Kelly, and Me at Princess Night at the Stewarts:

All of the little Princesses in their amazing tiaras!

Me and Micaela getting ready for the "Beauty Pageant"

Patricia (who's in my small group), Courtney, and Marissa

A Busy Start to the Year

Like all of my past New Year's resolutions, my ambition to update my blog weekly has crashed and burned. I don't even have a good excuse :( So I will try and give as good of a recap as possible on the last couple of months... January was spent planning for our High School Retreat. We took around 35 students out to this little resort place on the Red Sea- It was one of the most relaxing and encouraging retreats ever. We talked about being disciples of Christ, and what Scripture says about it all.
The only part that was not fun about the retreat is that the week before I came down with Bronchitis...again...and had to go on an antibiotic (the Z-pak, aka zithromax)- which you can conveniently buy over-the-counter here for about $1- crazy, I know. So after taking that, I was feeling better, but then while on the retreat, I caught some sort of cold/flu virus on top of having the bronchitis. I was out of commission for a good 2 weeks when all was said and done. But now I am feeling back to normal. Here are a few of the pictures from the retreat:

Me and my sister Courtney :)

Of course no youth retreat would be complete without an 80's dance party!
Me and Abby getting ready to go to the party
A group photo after the dance party on the last night
Marie and Petra- two of the girls in my High School small group (Marie is from the Philippines and Petra is from Holland/Germany)

So after the retreat, things died down a bit. And this past weekend, I was invited to go with one of the families and a few friends to Dahab- a little resort town on the Red Sea!!! It was absolutely beautiful; the perfect getaway! All we did was lay out, do a little snorkeling, and play scrabble :) Although the others who were certified also did some scuba diving.

Here's a map, so you can have a better idea of where we were (Cairo is in the upper left corner), we drove there- it took us about 6 hours...Here are a few pictures:

A group photo at one of the scuba diving sites (The Blue Hole)
Tamara, Micaela, Nathan, Hans, and Brandy

This is the view from where we were laying out-- not everyday you get to see camel caravans going by as you're laying out on the beach :)

Another view from where we were laying out.

The week before we went to Dahab, Amy's parents came for a visit, so we went on private dinner boat one night with a bunch of families- one of my favorite nights in Cairo thus far. Here are some pictures from that:

Two of my favorite Cairo moms, Tamara and Sheryl

The ROCK group
(the AMAZING people I'll be working with next year!)
My two bestest friends: Brandy and Amy
(they are the reason I'm still somewhat sane :)

Brandy and Micaela (she's in my 8th grade small group, and pretty much the most amazing person ever!)

What an amazing blessing to be surrounded by such a wonderful community of believers! God has been so incredibly faithful to remind me daily of His provision for my life... and that He has called me here for such a time as this; and Lord willing, I will be spending many years to come serving Him in this place :) Thanks for all of your prayers and support! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the incredibly supportive community back home!

It's About Time!

Well, despite the craziness at the JFK airport, I did make it back to Cairo safe and sound, and just in time to ring in the New year! And, much to everyone's delight, I FINALLY made it out to the Pyramids!!! On Friday after church, Tony, Courtney, Justin, Clemente and I all piled in the car with Mustafa to drive out to the Camel Market (kind of like a 'Farmer's Market' except with Camels). On the way, it came up that Clemente and I had never been to the Pyramids, so Tony decided it was about time! First we stopped by the Camel Market, it was quite the adventure...

"You lookin at me?"

One of the Egyptian men working there...taking his picture with the American girl...

THE PYRAMIDS!
I have to say, they are pretty spectacular!

Oh the fun you can have with a Camera...

This is one of the Queen's pyramids with the city of Cairo in the background
(In my opinion, the Queen's got totally jipped!)

Me and Courtney sitting on the Pyramid...just to give you an idea of how incredibly HUMONGOUS they are!

The Sunset over the desert:

Clemente, Justin, Courtney and I:

And no trip to the Pyramids would be complete without seeing the amazing Sphinx!

And on the way home, we got stuck in a traffic jam...behind some Camels!

And Here's an example of "Curbside Camel Parking"

Needless to say, it's been a fun and adventurous few days back! But then again, pretty much every day in Cairo proves to hold some sort of adventure!

Adventures n Traveling

I'm now 2 hours into my 5 hour layover in New York, and it's been eventful to say the least... When I arrived from Atlanta, I thought it would be fun to check out the other terminals, you know, scope out the food options. So naturally I look for the little AirTrain that goes from terminal to terminal...little did I know that in order to get to the AirTrain, you have to actually leave the 'secured' area- I found out about 2 steps after going through 'the door of no return'- as I've no termed it, since I tried to talk to security person into letting me go back after I realized what I'd done. Apparently it wasn't gonna happen, so I just decided to check out the airtrain...which had no instructions or markings to tell you where it actually goes...so I flipped a coin to decide whether to take "Track 1" or "Track 2". Luckily I decided on Track 2, cause it turns out Track 1 ends up downtown somewhere. But then I got nervous about going to a different terminal, so I just rode the train in a circle around the airport...twice. I finally made it back to the right terminal, and LUCKY ME! I get to go through security AGAIN! As if it wasn't enough fun going through the first time in Atlanta. However, the good news is that while in line, I got to see an entire family wearing matching christmas turtlenecks and courdoroy pants, as well as a precious little Korean grandmother instructing her family on how to carry their bags.
Needless to say, it was an eventful 2 hours! And in about 3 more, I'll be on the plane headed back to Cairo! It was such a blessing to get to spend time at home and see everyone! It was overwhelming for me to hear of so many people who are praying for me. I definitely cherish those prayers and know that the Lord has been so faithful in bringing me to Cairo for a purpose, and being home definitely confirmed that longing in my heart to fulfill His purpose for my life. I cannot wait to get back and see what this new semester has in store! Thanks again for your prayers!

Until Then...

It is officially 2 days until I get on a plane and head back to Birmingham... It's hard to believe that I've been here for over 4 months now. Time has definitely flown by (hence the lack of updates). God has done some incredible things- and taught me more than I could have ever imagined. Not only did He draw me nearer to Himself by taking me out of my comfort zone and placing me in a totally foreign environment- but then He blessed me all the more by providing this incredible community of believers who have taken me in and loved and accepted me. He has provided friends and families who have continually encouraged me and challenged me in the best way possible. Through the ups and downs of living in a foreign city, surrounded by a completely different culture, the Lord has truly been sufficient in providing exactly what I need- whether its a safe-haven to escape the noise and pollution of the city, or big family dinners at Mama Mac's where there's always a fresh pot of coffee and we sit and laugh until we cry, or crazy late night runs through the streets of Maadi, or amazing conversations with like-minded friends about God's plan for our lives- God is always moving and working and opening my eyes to see His wondrous creation and His redemptive plan for the world- and how I, as small and insignificant as I feel sometimes, even I have been called to play a role in His great story. And for at least the next few years, Lord willing, I will be playing out my part in Cairo. Yes, I said it, I am actually planning on staying here at least another year after my internship! It would take entirely too long to write out exactly how it came about and what I'll be doing, so you'll just have to wait until I can tell you in person in t-minus 2 days! So until then... here are a few pictures from the past few weeks!

This is Garbage City, where I go every Saturday to play with the babies at the Orphanage:

This is the Khan El Khalili, a huge outdoor market place in downtown Cairo:

My good friend Amy at mine and Revo's birthday party... one of the best Birthday's yet!

TEAM INTERN! Brenna, Clemente and I at the birthday party:

A group of girls we took to a village outside of Cairo to paint a pre-school room:

Hans, Brandy, Nathan, and I (the "adults" of the group...) Also the amazing friends I will hopefully be working with in the future :)

One more group photo...