Tea with Brits

Oranges ripe on the tree while we were wandering about...

One thing about living where we do, you never know who you're going to meet.  Such is the case this past week.  We attend a German church that has a small congregation of 15 give or take.  Each time we attend, there will usually be a visitor or two who are here in our town for one reason or the other.  We meet some very interesting people, the latest being two British ladies.

We chatted for a bit and then they asked if I would like to meet for tea.  How could I say no?  British asking ME to tea?!  

I met them at their hotel where I discovered a whole group of senior Brits on 'oliday (say that with a cockney British accent).  They directed me to the veranda where we could "sip in peace" from the group of Egyptian gynecologists who were also staying there.  (Needless to say NO eye contact in the lobby at ALL.)

We visited with one another, all the while I was savoring their accented words.  I told one lady, "If you would just read the ingredients on the back of this sugar packet, I would be thoroughly entertained."  She laughed and said I was "crackers."  See what I mean?

Someone brought up Queen Elizabeth and a twenty minute discussion ensued about how the queen "is worth every penny" she costs.  They spoke of Harry and Wil as though the boys were their sons.  They even told me of an island near Vanauatu that has a religion based around Prince Phillip.  

The view of the first cataract on the Nile.

They changed to the topic of the "brilliant weatha'" that we have in our fair city.  I said, "I dare you to say that in June when your brain is melting."  They laughed and said that is why they only come during these months.  I waited for an offer to come see them in the summer…but only crickets chirped.

Sidenote:  The two Brits actually drank coffee and the American (me) drank tea.  What is wrong with this picture?!

After we finished our drinks, they asked if I wanted a "wander 'round."  Um…maybe?

They continued saying that the hotel had a lovely garden with walking paths.  Ohhhhhh, yes.  That would be nice.

We walked and talked passing a few more of their friends.  One man in a heavy English accent said that he was "feeling much betta today so much so that he was wandering about being a bit naw-tee."  I really couldn't help myself.  I burst into laughter.  He had to be 75 at least and had a twinkle in his eye.  

The ladies had to go to their designated lunch time which meant we had to say our goodbyes.  I desperately wanted to wave while saying, "Pip! Pip! Cheerio!" but I didn't have the guts.

I returned to the apartment with an insatiable desire for a crumpet, but alas John had none ready.  So now I'm going to search for a new episode of Downton Abbey. I might even drink another cuppa while I do!  Brill morning, indeed!

PS.  I will continue "The Visit" tomorrow…

______________________________

Today's BOGO Blog:  The Silverware Tray

To get to the hotel you take a ferry boat.
Boys from the village surf alongside and
sing to the foreigners for money.

The Visit: Part 1

A visit to the Harley store…for John, Sr.

Sunday we were dining with friends when one asked, "So what did you do over the holidays?"

I paused and thought, "Where do I begin?"

Not wanting to be rude and say, "Y'know…all kinds of stuff" or "It all started on a dark and stormy night…(insert 1 hour of great detail)" I began to succinctly recount events over the last few weeks.  Later that night I thought, "I'm not sure if I told my friends about all this either! I've got to write a blog entry!"

So here we are.  I would advise you to pause for a moment, pour yourself a cup of your favorite caffeine and prepare yourself.  While I'll try to keep the details reined in, let's be honest…no one who reads blogs wants bullet points.  If we did, we'd all be looking at Twitter right now.

They're here!

I think the last time I left you, we had just said goodbye to our Korean bicyclist and Russian backpacker friends who had stayed with us for a few days.  Following their visit, I began to kick into high gear for "Operation: Emileigh and Jacob Coming."  John knowing me well indulged my requests by lifting, cleaning, toting and offering various (positive) opinions when asked.  This would be the first time that they would see our new home and I wanted it to feel just like that…home.    You see, our girls don't have the opportunity to go home for the weekend or make their way to us on most holidays.  Plane tickets are expensive and the 25-30 hour flights are prohibitive.  All that to say is that when they are with us, we want them to feel very much at home.  (Aria will be joining us this summer.)

Jacob had entered Emileigh's life 3 years ago.  Over a SKYPE meeting (while we were in Sudan), he asked if he could date Emileigh.  We agreed and the relationship grew over time.

Dinner at a Lebanese restaurant

John and I flew to Cairo to meet them, but arrived a couple days early in order to visit the brand new IKEA which had recently opened.  Yes, you read that right.  IKEA has come to Cairo.  Let the angels sing!  I suppose it wouldn't be as big of a deal if we weren't minimalist in our decorating sense.  Most everything sold in Egypt looks like it was produced by Napolean's interior designer…gold, over the top, opulent.  John is Mr. Zen man (which means he would prefer maybe at most a bed, a fridge and one cool lamp) and I am somewhere in between Napolean and Zen.  We roamed for hours and came out with one small throw that is currently on my lap.  (I know big talk for such small purchases, but there's always next time.)

We then prepared to meet Emileigh and Jacob at the airport by leaving our hotel early enough to allow for the constant severe traffic Cairo offers.  They arrived right on time and we were over the moon happy.  They would be with us a total of 9 days which meant we needed to cram a lot of good times in a very short while.  Since it was Friday (or Go to Mosque Day), we just visited with each other at the hotel, ate dinner and prepared for an early start in the morning.

Saturday was the big TOURISTY day.  Emileigh had seen all the sights many times before, but this was Jacob's first visit.  We couldn't disappoint!

The Great Pyramids really are great.

We first took him to the Great Pyramids.  We had hired a driver for the day so he navigated his way through the traffic, through the vendors and up to the main entrance.  Pre-revolution this place would be packed.  Busses would be everywhere and tourists in Hawaiian shirts would be pushing at the gate.  Today, however, we were the only ones.  A sad reminder of the current economic condition here.

Once inside, we began to regale Jacob with stories, facts all the while deflecting the numerous peddlers who smelled fresh bait.  A persistent man offered his camel transport services to which John agreed.  Emileigh and Jacob would ride while John and I would happily stay grounded having had this opportunity before.  They dressed Jacob properly making sure he looked the true part of bedouin and then led them up and around the pyramids.  You don't realize just how huge the structure is until you stand near it for scale.

We took all the necessary pictures near and around the pyramids and the Sphynx (or "spheen-kees") as they say here.

After, we proceeded to the Mena House Hotel for tea.  This hotel along with the Old Cataract Hotel in our fair city are the two most famous places to stay in Egypt.  Apparently Winston Churchill made his rounds too because he stayed at this hotel as well.  We sipped and talked savoring our time together.

Lobby of The Mena House

It takes a while to get from Point A to Point B no matter what time of day you try, so we began the trek back to the hotel where the jet lagged couple were feeling their hours of previous travel.  Emileigh and I headed to our room where we were promptly unconscious.  I'm assuming the men were too.

I had made arrangements earlier for us to meet our good friend, Moody, and his new wife, Margo.  They agreed to meet us for dinner and then run around with us in the evening.  We ate at our favorite place in Maadi called, "Lucille's."  Lucille's reminds us a lot of home where the refills are free and the hamburgers huge.  When we arrived the whole area had had a power outage, but it bothered no one.  We were eventually seated at our table along with a candle while the cooks in the back worked by flashlight.

So many beautiful lanterns…
so little luggage space.

Following dinner, we made our way to the famous market, "Khan al Khalili."  This huge market has been in existence as early as the 1500s as an important trade location in the heart of Cairo's Islamic district.  Emileigh wanted to look for lanterns so we made our way through the cobbled streets, vendors' calls and many Egyptian shoppers.  We found a shop with a huge variety so we stopped and Emileigh went into haggle mode.  She's quite good at this.  I am not.  I watched from the sidelines.  Happy with her purchases, we decided to take a tea break at the famous Fishawi Cafe established and continually running since 1773.  The place was packed and hookahs were everywhere.  Smoke permeated the air and all I could think was, "Poor Jacob.  This is too much too soon."

Fishawi Cafe

A man lifted a small board of watches to eye level for our review and a woman displayed henna designs as we sipped.  We thanked them and declined their offers.  We laughed and talked for a while before I told Moody, "We would like to go to the Qsr el Nil Bridge now."  

"What?!" he said, "The Mortons go to bed at 10 pm.  It's already after 10.  What are you thinking?"  

I told him that this was one of Emileigh's favorite places and that the bridge is more fun if you walk on it at night.  He shook his head and said, "Okay, we will go but if there are tanks there we will have to go another day." I agreed.

The famous lions at Qsr el Nil Bridge

We hailed a small van that could take us all and explained to the driver what we wanted to do.  He nodded and took off in the normal "Bat out of…" fashion that all Cairene drivers do.  The traffic only worsens as the evening progresses so I was hoping that we would 1) be able to get there in a timely fashion and 2) that there would be no tanks present.  The driver pulled up and much to our happiness the bridge was open.

We all piled out and walked along the bridge looking at the Nile River and the city skyline.  Emileigh and Jacob walked a bit further and were being entertained by young teenage boys trying to be impressive (not so much).  We began to talk with Moody when he asked, "Why did you want to come tonight?"  

"Because we think Jacob is going to propose to Emileigh here!" I said in a whispered voice.

"Ooooooooh," he said, "That's awesome."

John said, "Hey, I think this is it."  Sure enough Jacob had asked Emileigh those four wonderful words, "Will you marry me?"  They came back from where they were standing holding hands and wearing huge grins.  

Now THOSE are happy faces...

I screamed and hugged Emileigh.  John hugged Jacob.  Then we all hugged each other as Emileigh showed us her ring.  We gave hearty congratulations and talked over one another in our excitement.  This was epic.  This was one of THOSE moments that you picture in your mind when they are a baby in your arms.  It was here.  Jacob had been the recipient of our years of prayers.  We just hadn't yet known his name.

I snapped back to reality and we began telling the van driver what was happening.  He offered an excited, "Alf mabrook!" (A thousand congratulations!) to Emileigh and Jacob.  We hopped back in the van and once again joined the long line of curling traffic back toward the hotel.  We said goodbye to Moody and Margo and headed to our rooms.  Emileigh couldn't stop beaming.  Neither could I.  What an amazing day!  And we had 7 more to go!

The beautiful ring...

rEVOLution

It's the 3rd anniversary of the Egypt Revolution today.  In other words, it's a "political snow day" for us.  That means that we stay close to our home, don't venture out too far or wear our Old Navy 4th of July t-shirts in public.

The news has reported some grim happenings in Cairo, but we have no immediate issues where we are (much further south). Still we continue to pray for the whole country knowing that most of the population wants to move forward, have opportunities to progress and take care of their families.

Our landlord's extended family is here visiting while the elementary aged children have a break from classes.  They are an animated crew that take over the whole property by sheer number and volume of laughter.  

I noticed that one of the relatives would be considered a fundamentalist by the way he dresses and his  refusal to shake my hand (or the hand of any other female outside his family).  I admit that I immediately go into "suspicious mode" when he's around.  I begin to whisper more, watch his movements and totally go into my Jack Bauer Defcon 4 Level…Okay, maybe not that much, but still…

John, however, sees the glass "half full."  "Ooooo," he says, "He's devout?!  Me, too!  Bring it on!"

Yeah, he's pretty much a magnet for these guys.  He engages with them, discusses life and prays that their devotion would be turned like Paul/Saul.  Good prayer.

I bake my way into their hearts by tantalizing the women with American brownies that they say are made with "so much love."  It's actually lots of sugar and oil, but who am I to argue?

My newly decorated table made from imported
French Christmas wrap…

Valentine's Day is approaching and I'm in my creative laboratory preparing a party for my village friends.  This should be a corker.  I'm trying to find out all social norms so that I can do this right. My hope is that as I create my own rEVOLution of sorts…that only the "backwards" philosophy of Jesus would remain…replacing the first with the last, despair with hope and hate with love.

May this anniversary mark the beginning of a true revolution in many hearts across this land.

_______________________

Today's BOGO Blog:  NEW

I purchased handblown glasses ($1 each) and
wrapped with berry vines.

Then I placed battery-operated mini LED lights
 inside for a warm glow!  Waaaa-lah!

Substitutions

The current Healthy Lifestyle Bandwagon we've jumped on requires a load of planning and a plethora of odd ingredients.  If Hy-Vee or Kroger were around the corner this would be absolutely no issue at all.  Sadly, that is not the case here in our little neck o' the desert.

The recipe today called for the following items:

chicken
apples
balsamic vinegar
fresh thyme
scallions
salt
pepper

I managed to track down the chicken, apples, salt and pepper.  The rest were coming "bokra inshallah" ("tomorrow if God wills it") as they like to say around here.  It's to be assumed that "bokra" never comes and they are simply trying to let you down easy rather than saying, "No way.  No how."

I put the chicken in the pan as directed and then began looking through my cupboards to see what might work as an adequate substitute for fresh thyme.  I found rosemary and decided to sprinkle that on top of the chicken.  Next I placed sliced apples.  Check.  Then I moved onto a replacement for scallions.  These mutant-sized green onions I found at the Veggie Guy would have to do.  I thought I had balsamic vinegar but it turned out to be soy sauce, so you guessed it…the soy sauce came next.

My general rule of thumb is if it has more than 3 ingredient substitutions it stops being the original recipe and becomes something else.  This was definitely something else.

I placed it in the oven on low and went to our neighbors to visit.  When I returned, the apartment was filled with a quasi-Asian Silver Dollar City smell.  John (ever the encourager) said, "I'm sure it will be great."  Well, it's what we've got, so it will have to work.

I pulled it out of the oven and dished it out into the indicated portions.  First, it looked awfully small on that big ol' plate and second it was all sort of brownish without any real cookbook photo appeal.

We thanked the Lord for the food before us (an act of faith actually) and tried a bite.  John grunted in approval, but added no adjectives.  I knew what that meant.  The old adage, "If you can't say something nice…"

I took a bite too and tried to talk myself into liking it.  It's not too bad, I said.  Well, not terrible.  I suppose this could be part of the diet psychology…meaning if you put enough bad combos together then you won't even recognize good (otherwise known as fattening) food when it's put in front of you.  You'll simply push it away not wanting to risk another tastebud debacle.

One side note:  Currently it's my turn to take something delectable to my landlord's family.  I have their plate.  I've been waiting to make a "hit" and then share it with them…however, the last couple attempts would not give American cuisine a good name.  I simply can't in good conscience hand over something to them that tastes bad and let them think this is our country's food.  It wouldn't be good foreign relations.  You're welcome.

The Blue Algae Diet

The bells of St. Mary began to play somewhere in the recesses of my mind.  "I had better get to church," I thought.  "Wait.  I'm not Catholic."  The cobwebs began to clear from my brain when I realized that my alarm was going off.  Ug. 6:15 am.

Yes, for me that is still pretty much the middle of the night.  I have always leaned more toward my mother's most productive hours which are later morning (NOT 6:15 am) and later evening (after 9 pm).  Still, the world insists on getting an early start, so I too must comply.

"Get up, Pam," I said to myself.
"5 more minutes," I pleaded.
"You aren't to be trusted.  It's never 5 minutes."
"It will be this time, I promise."
"Tell THAT to your thighs."
I winced.

You see, today was (once again) the start of a new and improved healthy lifestyle for me.  I will be slimming my way down to a MOB (Mother of the Bride) dress in no time.  After all, pictures are forever. And now that they are digital, that has never been more true.* (Check the factoid below.)

Earlier last week I had made myself a chart which documented every minute of my day so that I could truly make every moment count.  "Fail to plan.  Plan to fail." I think a general somewhere sometime said that.  I've adopted that motto and have chosen to spring into action.  Thus, the 6:15 am alarm.

I got out of bed and shuffled toward the clothes I had laid out the night before.  (That way I can move about the room simply by feel therefore giving myself 2 more minutes with my eyes closed.)  I gathered them up and went to the bathroom.

Soon after I returned, John followed by getting dressed and preparing for the brisk walk.  This is where I should insert what a good guy he is.  In our location, it's not wise to travel alone for pretty much any reason.  Since I don't have a "walking buddy" he inadvertently volunteered when he cheered my efforts.  

We began walking out of the village and soon noticed that no one in the village is an early riser with the exception of the imam and a faithful few who rise to go to prayer at the mosque at 4:30 am.

As we walked along the main road, I chuckled to myself remembering a few of my previous attempts at dieting.

There was the:  

-Aerobics after work, but eat a brownie in between with my friend at the drive thru 
-Deal-a-Meal (No, I don't want to talk about it.)
-Stop the Insanity (No, I never liked her hair.)
-And the now infamous "Blue Algae Diet"

The last one seemed the most far-fetched, but also the most scientific.  I have a few dear friends that have witnessed several of these phases throughout the years.  One friend in particular is the picture of discipline.  She's everything I'm not.  She not only eats right, but she likes it.  She even runs, for fun! Yeah, I should have known there was something seriously wrong with us being friends.  

Knowing that she has a wealth of carrot stick information, I told her (and a couple others) of my plan to begin the Blue Algae Diet.  She suppressed a grin and asked what it was.  "Oooooh, it's very scientific.  Apparently there's this algae that when eaten by the fish keeps them very lean." (Even typing this I understand the utter ridiculousness of this statement, but I had just watched a 30-minute informercial and was extremely motivated.)  "They have now collected this blue algae and put it into a powder form.  When mixed with other toxin cleansers, it becomes the perfect weight loss cocktail!"

My friends all looked at each other and said, "When do you start?"

I, of course, said, Monday because all diets start on Monday unless it's the middle of the month in which you have to wait to the beginning of the month and hope that the first and Monday all hit at the same time or it's just too confusing to start.

Two weeks later, I sat with the same group of ladies and they asked about my progress.  I sheepishly looked back at them.

"How many days did you last?" they asked.

"One," I muttered.

"One day?"

"No, one meal.  I hated the stuff.  I mean seriously who eats blue algae?! No wonder the fish are thin.  I took one drink of the concoction and almost threw up!"

They didn't just laugh.  They guffawed.  Tears streamed down their faces.  They'd compose themselves and start again.  I joined in.  It was pathetically hilarious.

I snapped back to attention when I realized my calves were burning with a thousand fires.  "Uh, we forget to stretch out," I moaned to John.

"Stretching's for wimps," he quipped and picked up the pace.

"What a brute," I mumbled.

He laughed.  

We arrived back at the house and I promptly walked to my chart and drew a smiley face.  Day One COMPLETE.  I smiled at John and said, "When I get 10 smiley faces, I get a prize."

"What prize?"

"I suppose a Mini-Cooper would be over the top?"

"For your new mini form, I suppose?"

"Now you're trackin'…"

He laughed and said, "Let see how tomorrow goes…"

He knows me well.

_________________________________

*Factoid:  In ancient times, Alexandria, Egypt had the world's most renown library collection.  Sadly, it burned but Egyptians chose to rebuild a modern library in its place.  We had opportunity to visit there.  The building is nice, but one room is of particular interest.  In the space are hundreds of computer servers that are cataloging and archiving every single page on the world wide web each week.  Not sure if this were true, we typed in one of our old business sites from the late nineties.  Sure enough, there it was.  Just imagine if my MOB pictures are catalogued for all eternity waiting to be viewed by generations of some carrot-eating stick girls?!

The Library in Alexandria, Egypt

Mosque Karaoke

Upper Egypt children, stock photo

Our day began yesterday typically enough with the call to prayer which happens in the wee hours of the morning.  On a "good" day, the imam will start with a short "get up and go to mosque" call, then go quiet for a bit before the official "now you should be at mosque and can begin praying" call.

It was all pretty much the same EXCEPT the guy didn't stop.  Not at all.  All morning, he kept the PA system on first with the call to prayer, then with some verses from the Q'ran then a full-blown sermon.  About the third hour into it, I looked at John and said, "What is the deal today?"

He shook his head.  We couldn't figure out why or how we ordered the "extended play" package.  Our neighbors called us asking the same thing.  We thought that maybe it had something to do with the response to the constitution vote which had taken place this week.

Hours 4 and 5 went by, the imam still going strong except now two additional mosques joined in.  Finally, yet another neighbor informed us that Thursday was "Children's Day" in which all the children celebrate Mohammad's birthday.  They receive sweets and have a parade.  The imam also dedicates extra time to sermonizing.

Our neighbor wanted us to know so that we wouldn't think that there was an uprising taking place or a protest when the parade started because quite frankly you can't always tell the difference.

Hours 6, 7 and 8 included pre-recorded sermons as well as a few children who also had opportunity to broadcast on the "big mic."

There are no noise laws here and they wouldn't apply in this situation anyway because this is a legitimate service to the community (as we understand it).

Hours 9, 10 and 11 were trying my patience.  I began plotting that maybe the imam would get laryngitis or perhaps John could use his special studio skills and secretly cut the all-important speaker wires.  I stared off into the distance, diet Coke in hand and smiled at my cunning.

Hour 12 arrived and I had had it. I truly felt like this was some sort of psychological warfare and I was preparing to yell out my window, "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW! JUST SHUT OFF THE SPEAKERS, I BEG YOU!"

I was almost to a full blown combustion when Jesus ever-so gently said, "Are you as determined to proclaim Me?"

I almost felt physically knocked back in my seat.  Mute.  Stunned.

Not long after, I heard the beginnings of the parade as forewarned.  Drums were beaten, horns were blown and children yelled while they walked through the village announcing the birth of their prophet.

Lord, forgive me.  I'm a selfish lot that thinks praying for an hour somehow earns me a merit badge and a special corner of Your heart.  

These sincere, wonderful people are doing all they know to win God's favor never quite sure if it will eventually tip the scale their way.

I listened to the noise fade and I bowed my head asking Jesus to use me to make Him known whether by word, deed or even 12-hour karaoke.

The Vote

News photo...

Very loud music blared from a store as we crawled through traffic via our faithful taxi driver, Sadik.  We had just returned from our out-of-country travels and found ourselves down to 2 eggs precipitating our trip to the store.

Someone had told us that yesterday (Jan. 13) had been some sort of holiday.  I didn't quite understand the words used to describe it so as is my custom I googled it.  Ah, yes.  It's Mohammad's Birthday which is a national holiday.  So we knew that we wouldn't be venturing out that day.

News photo

Today, we thought, would be a normal day so we gave Sadik a call and he came straight away to pick us up.  We chatted with him as he weaved through the traffic which came to a sudden halt in front of the city courthouse.

"What's going on today?" we asked.

He began a long explanation.  In language learning this can also be called "gap finding."  It's when someone begins discussing a topic that you realize is a "gap" in your vocabulary.  We had just discovered a canyon-wide gap.  No comprehension was taking place.

John asked more questions and discovered that somehow Morsi was involved.  This led us to think that perhaps his trial was taking place and that citizens were showing their support or disdain by coming to the courthouse.

We arrived at our first stop and I hopped out with my list as John followed me with a basket.  I found most of the items I needed (sans broccoli, spinach and cottage cheese) and proceeded to the next store.  The place wasn't as busy as normal so I was able to complete (80%) my list as John and Sadik hurriedly bagged the groceries to make way for the customers ever so obviously pushing us out of the way.

I told Sadik that we were finished for the day and he began driving toward our place.  This time however, he was taking a different route.  Meh, he must know about some construction or something.

We were making our way through the traffic when he pointed out a group of young men walking down the street holding four fingers in the air and lifting signs above their heads.  Sadik said that they were protesting today's vote.  Vote. Oooooooooh, this makes so much sense now.  These young men were members of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Groups of them have been protesting since Morsi (their leader) had been removed last year.  Most citizens in our neck of the woods don't support them, still they braved the streets.

Today is the day that Egyptians vote on a new constitution.  As Sadik pointed out the dissenters, we began noticing lines of people on the sides of the road waiting their turn to cast their vote.  Women had one line and men had another.  Policeman and soldiers were dispatched at each location and tanks were on the end of major streets.

I asked Sadik if he thought there would be trouble.  He nodded yes, but said the police would take care of it quickly.  He had just commented when music began blaring from a store across the street.  They were protesting the protestors by drowning out their chants with music.

I tried to be sly and shoot some video, but prudence told me to be careful. : )  (I'm still working on how to upload it to Blogger.)

We returned to the apartment with enough groceries for the week and enough correct info to converse intelligently with our neighbors.

Please join us in prayer during this transition time that the hearts of our friends will be open and that our presence here would represent well the One who can make genuine and lasting change.

A Year in Review: 2013

A random store in Cairo!

Happy New Year! 

I know.  I know.  I'm 12 days late, but this is truly as soon as I could carve out some moments to write to you.  I'm almost catatonic sitting at the keyboard trying to put into words everything that has taken place over the last few weeks as well as reflecting on 2013 as a whole.  So if you'll permit me, I'll probably be breaking this into something like 32 parts…okay maybe that many, but several.

Let's start with the Year in Review: 2013.

New Year's Eve (2012) we said tearful "See you laters" to our daughters, family and friends as we prepared to return to Africa for another season of serving in S*dan.  We first arrived in Kenya to meet up with our team of teachers for a time of prayer and preparation before going back in.  On January 9, with prayer and trepidation we made it through airport security celebrating with big grins and silent high fives.

My class that I taught for 5 days.

For John and me, our time in S*dan only lasted 11 days.  Turmoil within the country had been growing over the last few months until the president decided that all foreigners needed to go, including us.  So our "Welcome Back" party and our "Goodbye" party were one in the same.  The government did, however, allow the teachers to remain.

 We were asked by our company to live in Kenya and remain in contact with the teachers throughout the remainder of their stay.  The next 3 months were the most intense, challenging months imaginable.  The S*danese government turned up the heat seizing vehicles, pulling passports and harassing its citizens and ex-pats.  We literally slept with our phones by our heads every night in case some new situation arose (which often did).

By the end of March, it was clear that the teachers would need to leave.  They quickly packed their belongings and joined us in Kenya for a time of debriefing.  Even as I type this, my eyes well up with tears when I think of each of these wonderful people who so faithfully endured under extremely difficult circumstances with unbelievable unity and lovingkindness.  They are truly remarkable, dedicated friends and have our deepest respect.

There were better group photos but this is a testament
to their endurance…a 12 hour bus ride!

Once we navigated through the first few months of the year, the obvious question came:  What's next?  We had arrived in January anticipating years in S*dan, not days.  We spent a few more weeks in Kenya praying, thinking, looking to the sky for a "Surrender Dorothy!" sign of some sort.  Nothing.  At least nothing new.  We still felt an attachment to S*dan, but attributed that to the fact that we were in the grieving stage…so we waited.

Some of the best advice we ever received from a dear pastor was: When you don't hear anything new from God, go back to the last word He spoke and continue from there.  So we did.  We began looking for a place close to the S*dan border where we could continue language study, stay in contact with our S*danese friends and have a way back in if the opportunity arose.  That place was Aswan, Egypt.  

At the edge of the canyon…

We needed to discuss all of this with our company leaders so we returned to the U.S. in June for a meeting.  This also allowed us time to visit our girls.  (Insert a VERY happy mama face here.)  We hung out with Emileigh in Springfield, MO, before we all packed up to go visit Aria who was working at the Grand Canyon for the summer.  Aria proved a brilliant tour guide showing us her very favorite places that she discovered during her down hours from moving laundry bags that were the same size and weight that she was!

It IS a very Grand Canyon!

It was so great to hug them, talk about life and see their lives in action.  Soon it was time for us to return, so with a bag full of Bath & Body Works products and chocolate chips, we made the 27 hour trip back across the pond.

We settled into a small Nubian village on the Nile in August starting life once again.  (This was our 11th living space since January.)  We had lived in Cairo for a year in 2009 so we were familiar with Egypt somewhat.  However, the difference between Cairo and Aswan is like comparing New York City to Springfield, MO.  Aswan has a much slower pace and relaxed feel.

Egypt was experiencing troubles of its own and we found ourselves right smack dab in the middle of another government upheaval.  But our Egyptian friends were so very kind to advise us when to stay in and when to venture out.  Political "snow days" became a part of our lives as we hunkered down while the Egyptian people processed through the governmental transition.

Months passed and while not everything is settled, there seems to be a level of fragile stability that has come.  Our Nubian neighbors have welcomed us with open arms extending as many invitations for tea as I can manage.

The classic Sphinx pose...

We received amazing news that Emileigh and her boyfriend, Jacob, would be visiting us for Christmas.  (Airplane tickets are costly so Aria will wait to visit us during Summer 2014.)  December 20th, they landed and we hit the ground running showing Jacob all of the wonders of Egypt that we could manage.  

Jacob managed his own moment of wonder as he proposed to Emileigh on Qsr el Nil (also known as "The Bridge of Love").  We were so thrilled to be a part of this amazing event and couldn't be happier for the upcoming May wedding!

She said YES!

The remainder of their visit was spent with us in Aswan where I cooked real food for them (vs. cafeteria food) and also included a sailboat ride down the Nile on Christmas day.  

Our ride down the Nile

Too soon our time together concluded and we parted ways at the Cairo airport.  They returned to the US while we spent the remainder of the year in South Africa for a company retreat.

Posing with a Mandela
made entirely of beads.

As I read over this, I can hardly believe that this was my life in 2013…Little Ol' Pam from Springfield, MO…mini-van mom, wifey, professional Panera luncher and follower of Jesus.  I can say that through everything that God has met every single need, every time.  We still have a healthy sense of humor…(slightly warped, but we were like that before all this…)  

Our daughters are happy, thriving, loving Jesus.  Emileigh will wrap up her college time as a student and Resident Assistant at Evangel in May.  She'll then start her life as a married woman a few days later and begin to prepare for a career as an Air Force Arabic translator.  She dresses vintage, runs an Etsy shop and writes a great blog (www.flashbacksummer.blogspot.com).  She has a wonderful heart and longs to serve as a liaison between the two cultures she loves so much.

Emileigh and Aria's Hall wins a major award.

Jacob is a wonderful, sincere man and we are so happy to welcome him to the family.  (I'll try to keep my comments limited here so I don't become THAT mother-in-law, but he IS amazing.)

Yeah, she's pretty awesome.

Aria is almost halfway through her Evangel years.  Her compassionate heart coupled with her adventurous spirit make for an amazing combination.  She leads a prayer effort on campus, is president of her hall, loves her friends well and has been known to busk now and then for coffee funds.  She's a graphic art major with a health minor which explains why she carries a bag of dehydrated blueberries in her camera case at all times.

We have hope for the future.  We wait expectantly for the doors of S*dan to reopen.  

What will 2014 look like?  I can't even begin to guess, but I love the verses in Psalm 112 and I'm praying through these verses for our family and you this year.  (I started to highlight certain verses but then realized ALL of the verses are great.)

Praise the Lord!

How joyful are those who fear the Lord
    and delight in obeying his commands.
2 
Their children will be successful everywhere;
    an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
3 
They themselves will be wealthy,
    and their good deeds will last forever.
4 
Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
    They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 
Good comes to those who lend money generously
    and conduct their business fairly.
6 
Such people will not be overcome by evil.
    Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
7 
They do not fear bad news;
    they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
8 
They are confident and fearless
    and can face their foes triumphantly.
9 
They share freely and give generously to those in need.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
    They will have influence and honor.
10 

The wicked will see this and be infuriated.
    They will grind their teeth in anger;
    they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Friends in Northern S*dan...