Deeper Than My View of Grace

(A golden lamp inside the Greek Orthodox Church in Coptic Cairo)

Your love is deep.

Your love is high.
Your love is long.

Your love is wide.

Your love is deeper than my view of grace...

Higher than this worldly place...

Longer than the road I've traveled...

Wider than the gap You fill...

(The view from inside a church in Coptic Cairo of the neighborhood)

I am so grateful that God has allowed me to live this life. The song by Jami Smith "Your Love is Deep" has been in my head the past few weeks as I've been basking in God's overwhelming love and grace.

Matt Chandler of The Village Church has some great sermons on the church's website. I just listened to "Ask How." It was wonderful.

(This is a statue of St. George stabbing the devil disguised as a snake on the exterior of the Greek Orthodox Church)

Lyrics I'm Humming:

Your Love is Deep

Dahab

After climbing Mt. Sinai, we treked down to Dahab to lay out on the beach and snorkel in the Red Sea. We stayed at a fabulously peaceful hotel called the Daniella.

Across the Red Sea was Saudi Arabia! Amazing how a body of water separates Egypt from Saudi.

While enjoying the sun and the beach, fleets/herds/caravans of camels would pass by. It was pretty funny! Sometimes it seemed like they were running loose without any direction...then you would see a man on a camel herding them from the back.

It was a great weekend of being outside at the Sinai Penninsula!

Lyrics I'm Humming:

"I Need Love" by Enter the Worship Circle

Following in Moses' Footsteps...maybe...

Exodus 34:2

Be ready in the morning,

and then come up on Mount Sinai.

Present yourself to me there

on top of the mountain.

We just got back from a fabulous three day adventure in the Sinai Peninsula! After crossing the Suez Canal, we traveled across the vast mountains and deserts of the Sinai until we got to Mt. Sinai. Biblical scholars think there may be three possible sights of Moses' Mt Sinai: the Mt Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula, a mountain in Saudi Arabia, and a mountain in Israel.

We arrived at Mt. Sinai about 8:30pm on Thursday evening. We began our climb at 9:00pm, and after 5 long hours of hiking, we arrived at the peak of the mountain at 2:00am. Only three hours of sleep until the sunrise! The hike was partially a winding dirt path and partially steep, rocky stairs. It was pretty difficult hiking in the pitch black! We shared the light of a few flashlights and made it to the top alive.


On the hike, we stopped at a Bedouin man's tea/coffee stand for some chai tea and a little break. There were lots of wonderful homes to stop at along the way. I loved seeing the Bedouin homes and people on our way up.

The top of the mountain was incredibly cold! We rented blankets from some of the Bedouins and snuggled together on top of the mountain. Brrrrr!!!

Around 5:00am the sun began to rise.

It was incredibly beautiful seeing the sunrise on top of Mt. Sinai.

God was in the moment.

Around 6:00 we headed down the moutain. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the bottom. It was crazy seeing everything that we had just hiked in the pitch black! Wow. We were definitely being looked after that night before!

The entire hike up and down we had an incredibly patient, kind Bedouin man guiding us through the winding path. He was a wonderful guide. He always stayed with the person in the back, and ended up carrying the backpack of one of the girls in our group. She was getting altitude sickness, so around the time that we hit the steep stairs, he physically helped her finish the climb. We gave him a tip at the top of the mountain and told him that we could get down on our own the next morning. He gratefully thanked us and parted.

Well, that next morning, he was there waiting to be our loyal guide. He patiently took us all the way back down the mountain. At the end, some of us wanted to tip him again, but he had disappeared. He clearly did not want any payment for helping us. It was very humbling to see him be so kind to our group.

I love Bedouin mountain people who reside on Mt. Sinai.

While hiking up and down the moutain, there were lots of Bedouin men with camels offering "comfortable camel transportation" up or down the mountain. I was terrified that I would fall of the camel on one of the steep steps! One of the girls in our group took a camel for the very end of the journey. She looked super cute and Egyptian!

After climbing the mountain, we all piled back into the van around 9:30am and headed to Dahab for a relaxing afternoon of laying out and snorkeling at the Red Sea!

Lyrics I'm Humming:
Over the Mountains and the Seas...Your River Runs with Love for Me

Coptic Cairo

Maggie, one of Ally's Egyptian friends, gave us a tour yesterday of Coptic Cairo. Coptic Christians in Cairo have an interesting history, and Maggie (a Coptic) showed us around the neighborhood with churches and winding streets.

Coptic Christians have had a history of persecution, living as a religious minority. I loved seeing the hidden passageways and rooms in the Coptic churches. When persecutors would come to the church doors, the priest and the people would hide in secret chambers within the church.

I liked being in the Hanging Church, and thinking about all of the Christian believers who worshipped God in the building. The Hanging Church is dedicated to Jesus' mother, Mary. I loved the beautiful icons and images in the church. There is so much meaning in every decoration in that wall. Even the detailed ebony, ivory, and cedarwood carved walls have symbolism. The ten points of a repeated star represent the Ten Commandments. Each icon in the church was thougtfully and purposefully placed and is a way to worship God.

It is beautiful to me to think of all the different people groups and cultural traditions that praise the name of the same God. Every person views worship differently, and I love seeing the various ways men and women seek to praise and honor Him.

After we explored the streets of Coptic Cairo, we went to the British Cemetary and sat underneath a mayflower tree and talked. It was the first time in Cairo that I sat in lush grass, which was a treat. The peaceful cementary was a calming oasis from the bustle of Cairo. We talked about life, families, dreams, struggles, and joys. It's been nice getting to know Ally's friends, Rachael (American) and Maggie (Egyptian) here.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

"Claire du Lune" by Debu

Doin' the Tourist Thing

The Day in the Life of a Tourist in Cairo!

Today we went to Giza to see the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. It was such a fabulous morning! One thing I've loved about Cairo is that the journey to our destination is often equally as adventurous (if not more) as visiting the actual destination.

Here's an example: We left Maadi (the neighborhood where Ally is staying right now) around 8:30am. The trip to Giza is about an hour long. Well, we took a taxi from Al's flat to the Metro...rode the Metro to the Giza stop...on the Metro, the women on our car were terrified that we were carrying the swine flu. So, when we get on, some of them take our tissues to cover their faces and quickly move away from the obviously infected foreigners. Haha. Then we took a microbus to the pyramids...well... tried to take a microbus to the pyramids. On the microbus, a shady "tour guide" told the driver to take us to his "tour guide business." We ended up in this narrow alley...clearly not the entrance to the pyramids. Ally, in her fabulous Arabic, got furious with the driver, and after a fabulous argument in Arabic, Al won and the driver drove us up to the pyramids. Oh my! Traveling in and around Cairo has been quite interesting!

At the pyramids, we rode camels, climbed down into the tomb of one of the pyramids, took funny pictures with the Sphinx, hiked up the side of one of the pyramids, and wandered around enjoying the fabulous antiquity. Pretty much rocked the tourist persona.

After the pyramids visit, we went to KFC, of course. Haha. I haven't been to a KFC in years! Random.

The tourist trek continued....we headed out to the Egyptian Museum, in downtown Cairo. Wow. The artifacts and historical pieces were almost overwhelming. The museum was so densely packed with reminders of Ancient Egypt. I loved being among the jewelrey, tombs, coffins, statues, and even wigs of the Ancients.

We then explored the American University in Cairo as well as spaced out for a while at a coffee shop. We all needed a second wind.

Then, we ventured to Arzak for cosheri, a tradionally Coptic meal. Cosheri is a mix of pasta, rice, fried onions, chickpeas, lentils, tomato sauce, chili sauce, and lemon juice. Coptic Christians fast for 45 days before Christmas, and cosheri is a meal that they can eat during the fast. The meal was created for Coptics to be able to have protein and fiber in their diets during their fasting period. I like cosheri. It's pretty delicious!

After cosheri, we went to the Nile River for a lovely felucca (sailboat) ride and watched the sunset. Lovely.

After a tightly packed day of excursions and traveling, I am well past being exhausted. Tomorrow, we're going to work at the sewing center and then explore Old Cairo and Coptic Cairo in the afternoon. And, I need to find a BNP Paribas bank, pack for Mt Sinai/Red Sea/Dahab, and make a copy of my passport.

Masalama (Peace Be With You!)

Lyrics I'm Humming:

"Tooti Fruiti" by Little Richie (A taxi driver was playing it for us tonight on the way to the felucca! Hilarious!

Mokattam Mountain

Matthew 17:20

He replied, "Because you have so little faith.

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,

you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."

Today was a wonderful day. We saw the the Mokattam Mountain, which is on the southeastern part of Cairo. On the Mokattam Mountain, we explored Garbage City, the Recycling Center, and the Cave Churches.

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Tradition says that a Coptic Priest was given a challenge to move a moutain. He prayed and fasted, and he was led to Simon the Tanner who showed the priest how to miraculously move the mountain. With faith like a mustard seed, the priest moved the mountain to the new location...Mokattam Mountain.

Garbage City

Garbage City is a Christian neighborhood at the base and up the side of Mokattam Mountain. The people who live in Garbage City are Cairo's street sweepers. The street sweepers are considered the lowest of the low in Cairo, as they sweep the trash from the streets of Cairo. All of the garbage in Cairo ends up in Garbage City. This means that Garbage City is the city's dump, where the Christian street sweepers live and make their livelihoods. Garbage City's heavy odor permeates the neighborhood, and intense smells of garbage, dead animals, manure, and burning trash mix together in the thick air.

The street sweepers are Christians, and they find great pride in their work because Jesus was considered the lowest of the low. I was humbled by the workers and inhabitants of Garbage City. The children had the best smiles, and the men and women in the streets smiled and spoke with us as the taxi driver slowly drove us through their homes.

Recycling Center

This was amazing! Within Garbage City, there is a small shop that is run by a woman. The shop is a recycling center that takes paper and other recyclable pieces of trash and turns them into wonderful handcrafted items. The center sells rugs, purses, notebooks, stationary, bookmarks, aprons, artwork, and many other wonderful things! The center gives jobs to women in Garbage City who wouldn't normally have a job. It also helps control some of the overwhelming piles of garbage in Garbage City.

Cave Churches

In Mokattam Mountain, three churches have been carved out of the caves. The church in the picture above holds 5,000 people! One of the churches is very intimate, and feels like a small chapel with only rugs and rock.

The Egyptian Government would not let the Christians build churches up in the caves. So, the Christians got around this in a very crafty way! During Ramadan, Muslims use a loud cannon to signal the beginning of the season. The Christian church builders scheduled their dynomite explotions during the cannon explosion of Ramadan. That means that the church builders could do one dynomite blast per year. It took them 7 explosions to completely cave out the church; that is 7 years!
This man is the caretaker of St. Paul's cave church. He was so kind and welcomed us into the church.

God is incredibly present here in Cairo.
I see Him in the faces of women on the metro.
I see Him in the carvings in the mountains.
I see Him in the beautiful view of the city.
With a little bit of faith and a little bit of belief, God can be found.

Lyrics I'm Humming:
"I Want To Ride My Bicycle" by Queen

A Call To Prayer

An afternoon call to prayer while walking through the Khan-al-Khalili.

Five times a day Muslims pray to God. Five times a day, the Islamic faith has its believers pray and worship the Lord. Five times a day, the sky in Cairo becomes dense with a cacophony of prayer. Five times a day, we hear the call to prayer.


The call to prayer (or adhan) is a Muslim tenet reminding Muslims to pray for 10 minutes five times daily. It is a time of reflection and for me has been a time to remember that God is God.

A spice store at the Khan.

God was definitely in Cairo today. On the metro, I saw so much kindness. A young lady stood up to let an older woman sit in her seat. I also saw a woman wearing a traditional scarf and robe laughing as her son accidentally hit his head on the pole. Her smile was contagious and she chuckled while picking up her 4 year old and rocking him back in forth.

The women car in the metro. There are certain cars on the metro set aside solely for women to sit. Men are not allowed on the all-women cars.

Ally and I went to the Khan-al-Khalili, which is a huge market in Cairo. The video above is when Ally and I heard the call to prayer at the Khan-al-Khalili. The Khah was incredible. There was a melange of people trying to woo us into their tent of goodies. Ally and I braved the clerks and customers to browse the unique shops.

Ally knows some of the speciality stores nestled within the labyrinth of the Khan, so we went directly to their spots. We went to a man's shop who sells camel bone creations. He makes wonderful boxes, jewelry, sculptures, and artwork out of camel bone.

The book-binding store. Outside is a woman carrying a bag on her head.

We also went to this hidden book-binding store, where I got a beautiful journal with my name engraged on it in Arabic. The craftmanship of the handmade journal is priceless.

Me in one of the winding streets in the Khan.

The call to prayer reminds me that God is in control. Whether or not I am ready for the call each time it sounds, once I hear the ominous loudspeaker filling the air, I am reminded that God is with me. The call to prayer comes five times daily, whether you are ready for it or not. And, when the call is made, I remember that God is constant.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

First Sunset in Cairo

Landed in Cairo this afternoon! The airport was surprisingly peaceful and easy. Ally had someone there to meet me and take me through the visa and customs checkpoints.

We drove to her apartment, unpacked, and headed out to have dinner at a quaint Syrian restaurant. It was delic! I had grape leaves, lamb, fried ground beef balls, rice, and a huge scoop of mayonaise (which I passed on.)

Then Al and I took a taxi to this incredibly huge westernized mall!!!! What?!?! It was so bizarre. There were women wearing full robes and scarf jihabs. There were girls wearing trending dresses. There was a Chilis written in Arabic. The clashing of cultures was beautiful!

Al and I then sat at a coffee shop and planned our next four weeks. It's going to be quite packed, but fabulous!

Juxtaposition of cultures: Man wearing a traditional galabaya talking on his cell phone.

Lyrics I'm Humming:

Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"

Transitions

Wow. I feel like I am just ending an amazing adventure and beginning a new one. Thursday was my final day of classes as an elementary school teacher. What a beautifully challenging two years it has been! I cannot believe my Teach for America commitment is over. I am so proud of myself for working so hard in my classroom and really pushing my students. I have grown so much!

Here are some pictures of my classroom the last few weeks.

And now I leave to Cairo, Egypt!!!!! I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon to visit my incredible friend Ally. I will be with her for a full month!!!!! It is going to be so nice to see her!!!!!

I will try to update my blog as much as I can with pictures and thoughts from Egypt!!!

Lyrics I'm Humming:

Walk Like an Egyptian (of course!)