Friday & Saturday, April 29 & 30

The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance. Isaiah 19:25

Beit Elwadi Saturday April 30, 2011

Sitting in the conference center I am a bit blown away by how packed the past 48 hours have been. My memories are a blur of seven teaching sessions, testimony, worship and small groups and numerous personal interactions. At best a few scenes vividly stand out.

Larry and Angela, who had been traveling 24 hours behind us due to Angela's school schedule, arrived early the second day and immediately went into action, no small feat given the rigors of travel and the difficulties they faced (On the trip over Larry had lost his laptop containing his lessons and testimony). Nonetheless they shared and taught powerfully and effectively. I myself taught twice the second day, first on the Hope Choice, where we earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that he has the power to help me recover. That Friday evening I taught on the Housecleaning Choice, where I openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. Like most people when I first heard of the concept of sharing my darkest secrets with another person, my initial reaction was no way. In the Middle East with their priorities of not shaming their families, severe repercussions if they do dishonor their families and the lack of trust between even close friends, the idea of building a human relationship where you trust being totally open is a tougher sell than in our own isolated, Horatio Alger culture. Unlike Syria were the idea when presented generated an extended Q&A and discussion time, some group dynamic times were built into early teaching sessions and so the initial presentation was accepted without much discussion. Time will tell if the concept grows on some, if not all; I know it took a while for God to bring me around and I did not have near the cultural restraints these dear people face.

These people truly are amazing. A mixture of Coptic, Catholic and evangelical believers, these are undoubtedly some of the most God-loving believers in Egypt. This was a long holiday weekend in Egypt and they had given up their free time to come to a conference on healing. Their love for the Lord is evident in their approach to worship. Various groups led at different times, most were fairly young, 35 and younger, which reflected the conferees, and the culture in Egypt as well. Their singing seemed to spring so naturally from them it was as though it were just part of their lifestyle: you could almost picture them breaking out in song sitting in a sidewalk café or walking as a group down a street. They would intersperse the heartfelt music with prayers from the conferees. Even at night while Don and I slept exhausted, large groups staying up into the wee hours of the morning praying together.

For me it is difficult to grasp what some of these people have been through, even before these past few months. I remember chatting at dinner with a young mother of two, who was working a job and going to theology school. But under the Mubarak regime, she and her children had been picked up for questioning by the police because she had appeared on TV talking about her faith in Christ. You see many young Coptic believers with the Coptic cross tattooed on their inner wrist as a witness to their faith. You heard stories of people banning together to protect their neighborhoods; of gun shots randomly being fired in the middle of the night, of the lack of business since the revolution.

Yet in all this they are still people with the same heartaches and issues we face. Drug addiction is no stranger, from pot to percocet to heroin based drugs. Their satellite feeds contain something like 62 pornographic channels. There is divorce; there are problems with family members; they struggle with anger and resentments. Then on top of that you add in a revolution and political uncertainty.

Another amazing group was a core group of about fifteen leaders that God has been preparing to bring Celebrate Recovery to Egypt. They had already begun working through the step study participant guides and were hungry to learn more and more about CR and how it compared to Life’s Healing Choices, and about the dynamics of leading a step study. I met two that had gone through drug rehab; one expressed the shame he sees in peoples eyes when he talks of his past yet he is willing to embrace his weakness in order to see God work the same wonders in others lives as he has experienced himself. Since returning I have been praying for them almost daily.

We had our share of light-hearted and fun moments. If it were not for the kindness of a young man in my group I am not sure we would have ever gotten internet access, for while buying a card with ten hours access for $6. was easy enough, it took someone with a local MobilNil phone account to receive the authorization code. Probably to the amusement of many conferees, Don and I started taking advantage to the sports facility. When few people were there to observe us we would slip on swim trunks (I had jammers) and goggles and swim laps in the outdoor pool. As we adjusted to the time change a bit we would get up early enough to go for short runs around the perimeter of the complex.

Early Saturday morning at 2 a.m. we got up early, through on a few clothes and met everyone in the lobby to Skype into the CR worship at home on Friday night. Our hearts were warmed by the familiar sights and I felt such gratitude that these brothers and sisters who were supporting us so powerfully by prayer as well as financially. More than once Don and I would discuss the wonder that God could take such two old coots with such deeply rooted character defects and yet allow us to be a part of this process. God truly is amazing.