Holiday Break

Yeah for Christmas Break! In spite of lots of parties and events, this year has actually felt a bit more manageable time wise and not nearly as overwhelming as year past. I will update a bit and add pix later from my other computer.

I have spent more hours in the kitchen this last month then I have probably in the whole year combined but what was different was that I actually enjoyed it! I baked cookies and made dips and salads and dinner for a week straight! The secret to enjoying the kitchen, I have learned, is audible books and podcasts and sermons. I have listened to an excellent recording of The Help, another one called Olive Kittredge (so so) and now am listening to The Fall of Giants which is very interesting. I always found being stuck in the kitchen a bore but with something to keep my mind busy I have actually enjoyed it.

Christmas Eve day was spent at Skip and Bonnie's with the Turlan's, and Ben and Sarah and her dad who was visiting from TX. We snacked and munched for a few hours and the headed to church for Christmas Eve service. Caleb and I did the advent reading and lighting the candles. I think it is one of my favorite holiday traditions now. This year Caleb and I headed home and went to bed early b/c in years past we went back to Skip/Bo's and stay up late then get up early and I spend the whole day tired which conflicts with C's hyper excitement. So we both got a good nights sleep and as expected he woke me up at the crack of dawn, the rule is sunlight must be present. He got a Gameboy which was his big thrill plus a few other action figure items which he loves. Around 10 am we went back to Skip/Bo's and opened presents with them and had brunch. Later in afternoon others joined us for a awesome dinner and our British friends supplied the crackers which is now becoming part of our tradition as well, although personally I could do without wearing the dorky hat. We played a few rounds of Quiddler before calling it a night.

The next day was an early morning wake up as we were heading out with Turlan's and Jaffrey's to go camping about 2 hours into the desert. We loaded up my truck and left close to on schedule with a full car and lots of energetic kids. Mark J led us out to a great spot at the mouth of a canyon. We set up what looked like a tent city with kids getting their own tents as well. I had bought and brought a awesome air mattress which promised me a great nights sleep I was sure. When we tucked in that night the wind was howling and battering our tents. Caleb got nervous and bailed on sleeping in the kids tent and came into mine and then begged to get up on my mattress as well. Needless to say my amazing night of sleep never happened what with the wind threatening to launch our tent and Caleb, who sleeps spread eagle, spreading out the width of my bed. In spite of no sleep the next day was full and fun of hiking out at ancient ruins and around a huge lake sitting out in the middle of the desert. We watched a beautiful sunset from the top of the canyon, cooked up some amazing steaks and enjoyed a few hours by the fire before sleep demanded my attention. I knew better than to let Caleb onto the bed and insisted he stay on the floor. The wind got serious again but I was able to sleep through most of it.

I think we brought half the desert home in our clothing, car and various other cracks and crevices. Spent all of Thursday trying to straighten up the house in time for the arrival of my Dad today. No thanks to my wound up 7 year old I did manage to get the house into good order and throw out LOTS of junk that he insists is important.

With the arrival of Dad came my personal Christmas. I got a new Kindle Touch, some sweaters, new jeans, socks and a box of Swedish Fish ( I love those things!) Right now I am downloading all my books onto my new Kindle so I can clean off my old one and give to Dad. Caleb is very excited to have Grandpa here and was drawing him pictures all afternoon and asking a million questions about when I was a kid. He was curious if my Dad was going to be the boss and tell me what to do. I gently explained that "when he is in my house under my roof..." :) We don't have any big plans while Dad is here but hopefully can find enough new stuff to keep him interested...maybe we will go check on the revolution!

Holiday Season

Caleb with his new sleeping hat, just like Sponge Bob!

Add caption

 Our Christmas Cookie Decorating Event!
I planned a year ago that I would take off a day and make cookies and get everything ready to do decorating the right way. Fun adn sweet times had by all.

Yup that's my boy!

 So after 9 wild days downtown of anger and rioting (picture above taken by a friends daughter near AUC as she tried to get to her apartment to feed her cat.) election day arrived. People, mostly my Egyptian friends, were quite nervous. Of course most of my friends are Christian and that adds to their insecurity. I tended to swing quite a bit between my instinctive way of thinking, which is optimistic "Nothing is going to happen," to a somewhat uncertain conditioned way of thinking. After being in a bombing, and experiencing a revolution close up its not as easy to be light- hearted and optimistic as I once was.  All that said day one of election was very exciting and seemingly peaceful from all that I observed.The picture to the left is right outside my office. Women only lined up early and spent on average 5 hours to get to the front of the line to vote which is only one block up. They had tons of voting centers, which was a good thing cause 4 million voters in Cairo voting just today I heard. There was an exciting hum through out Maadi where I live. On a negative note the traffic was horrific! I mean traffic in general is bad but this was beyond bad! Today is a second day of voting in Cairo, and other parts of the country will vote on other days for the next few weeks. Continue to pray for peace and for a peace with how things turn out. Just because they are voting freely doesn't mean we are going to like the outcome and that is a tough pill to swallow for most of us. I lean heavily on the words of Scripture that reminds me that not one leader rises to power outside of God's will, He places each one to accomplish his plans, but I don't always like how His plans initially feel. Most stay focused on the big redemptive picture and not get caught up in the micro Amy perspective.

On a lighter side: Thanksgiving and Christmas Bazaar took place last week and both were wonderful successes! Spent T-Giving with about 25 friends enjoyed great food but even better the company. I like that I don't have to fight anyone for the gizzard and heart which is my favorite part of T-Giving turkey! I can do without the meat just gimme the giblets and I am happy. Caleb was Bonnie's helper. He set the kids table by himself and helped Skip scrub potatoes as well. Saturday was the bazaar. Caleb enjoyed spending all his allotted money, sitting on Santa's lap and he even got to throw wet sponges at Mommy...as did about 20 other kids. I sold sloppy joes for 4 hours straight and raised a good bit of money for our Christmas box project.

Arrrggghhh! I wrote a decently informative and long post yesterday but the internet is crappy right now and somehow it never loaded and timed out. OK breath and let it go Amy!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all from chaotic Cairo! Yes the tear gas is flowing but it doesn't waft out to my neck of the woods, I assume it gets overpowered by our daily does of exhaust. Just wanted to check in and say all is well in my little haven of Maadi. I will head out soon for the feats at Bonnie's and Skips. There is a definite feel of lingering sadness as to what is happening and uncertainty but not any rel sense of danger. Of course I am not heading in the direction of Tahrir anytime soon. As you sit and give thanks for good food family and friends, just as I will do in a few hours, also intercede on behalf of this very confused land, truly there is a spirit of "dizziness" as Isaiah describes it, over this country. They have murals all around Cairo that claims "Islam is the answer" oh that they would know the truth!

Seriously All is Well

Ahhh such interesting times we live in. Actually I am glad protests are going on in the US so we can all feel a part of world upheaval. You might be thinking "Yeah but Occupy ... is so far from me and it really doesn't impact me." but see that is what I think to an extent concerning what is happening in Tahrir these days. Honestly if I didn't see news of it on FB I might not have a clue. Which isn't really a point to brag about I suppose, I should have a better feel for it all and definitely be more concerned as it affects the future of my home, but it gets tiring to ride the revolution roller coaster. Some people write and speak as if the end is near and Tehran style gov't is perched ready to assume control, while others speak as if it is the natural birthing pains of a new system. I don't know which is more realistic. As always I come back and find peace of mind in knowing God is on the throne and no party, nor military force, nor outside government presents a legitimate threat to his position. I guess the part I always struggle mentally with is, that we assume that God being in control means that all will be well=easy, and that I am not so sure of. The optimist in me never really thinks things will get that bad, I like being an optimist it is a better position to live and function from, but it may not be realistic who knows!

But regardless of what protest might be in taking place downtown, my usual life marches along out here in the 'burbs. It is the season for ridiculous busyness and many good deeds, and as much as I enjoy it I also can't wait for it to draw to a close and release the pressure. This week alone has a big wedding of a dear friend, Thanksgiving, and the annual Christmas Fair all of which involve preparation (organizing sloppy joe donations, dress alterations, and group menu planning) oh yeah and there is work like writing a bible study on whether or not God changes his mind, practicing music with kids, trying to find sponsors or money to make 500 Christmas presents for African kids, and looking for a new director of various ministries ...

This year I am determined though to plan out my time so that I can establish Christmas tradition and routine with Caleb. I have scheduled a day off for making cookies for Caleb and friends to decorate at a different time (lesson learned last year that baking and decorating can not be done on the same day... frustrating for child and mother), We will get x-mas stuff out and house decorated quickly after T-Giving so that we can get the advent stuff out ON TIME and started.

I am thinking about sending out last years Christmas letter and card which is still sitting here, not much has changed, Caleb looks a bit older but that is a minor detail! So don't be shocked if you get one :)

Looking forward to Dad's visit and looking for ideas of what adventure to go on this time. Thinking about heading to Mt. Sinai in search of POSSIBLE snow sighting, its not likely but we if we are ever to see it, then we at least need to put ourselves in a place where it could happen. Caleb is begging!

Here is a pic of him with missing tooth, our first! looking forward to many others :) Also a shot of santa's elves working on painting reindeer's for the bazaar.

A quick check in to say "Hi!" I am going into work late today as I attempted to sleep in but to no avail. I find myself in a bit of a tired rut having difficulty getting a good nights sleep on a regular basis. Monday is a very long day as I teach my bible study in the morning and again at night, but it usually follows on the heel of a late Sunday night (or more often an early Monday morning) as I try and finish up my lesson. I need to find a new rhythm besides the last minute panic that I am accustomed to.

I am doing another retreat this weekend for Third Culture Kids (TCK's) which is basically what all the expat kids are here but this retreat isn't primarily for my church group but rather for MK's from around the Middle East, kids whose parent's do ministry in a somewhat secretive fashion. We get them together every few years and try and create an environment where they can talk openly about their upbringing and some of the stresses and strains. The last time I did it, 7 years ago, we had an interesting mix some kids very expatty, as in American but living in another culture and others had really assimilated into the culture in which they were being raised. It makes for interesting discussion! Kids are coming from Sudan, Jordan and Yemen and a lot of them have observed this "Arab Spring" from a unique perspective. I am not the main in charge person so that helps, Caleb will go along and hopefully we will have some fun time together as well. It is the big Eid weekend which is the 40 days past Ramadan when the do the animal slaughter...won't be missing that sight!

Fall is really in the air and that is exciting, we had a definite temp change and that puts everyone in a festive mood! November will be busy as I have our big Christmas Bazaar event where we sell sloppy joes and this year gumbo as well, Thanksgiving and a wedding of a dear friend and old youth group kid. I am also in charge of a big fundraiser called "Takin it to the Streets" where we make 700 Christmas boxes for the students of the 2 African Refugee Schools we support as a church. SO if any of ya'll have interest in participating let me know :) Each box has practical stuff like school supplies, hygienic things, a toy, candy we will do a big party in Dec. and Santa will hand out the boxes.

Caleb is doing well and happy and growing! We pulled out his winter wardrobe and everything JUST fits but he can't grow a centimeter! he is such a long leggy kid! He really does look like a Widener in that sense, actually I always think he has more Widener traits than I, with his dark color, curly dark hair he and my brother Jeff's kids could easily be related. He is working on learning to ride his bike and hoping for a gameboy or some type of hand held game device for Christmas. If anyone has recommendations on which type I am open to hear as I know NOTHING about such things.

OK off to work and a new day

Caleb and his 1st grade class













Caleb imitating mom at the beach. Sunglasses, beach towel and highlighting books as he reads.
Caleb NOT imitating mom as he hangs out on toilet with his laptop.




















It is Sunday my "not really a day off" day. This is the day I work on my Bible Study and other odds and ends that I can't really do during the week. I go to my weekly chiropractor appointment which has done wonders in controlling a few problems, then I head over to Caleb's school to play with kids at lunch ( I should probably do the chiro after this playground session!) and then head home for lunch and concentrated think time. My Bible Study is on the book of Exodus but fortunately the desire is not for a lengthy historical account of each chapter but more a study on looking for God's tranformative power in each chapter. How can we connect and be a part of this story of deliverance? It always seems to come but Sundays are far from relaxing as I wait for the ah hah moment.
Last few weeks were quite hectic as we prepared for and then had our youth fall retreat. It went really well although I spent literally the whole time working out issues with the hotel. Overflowing toilets, no ho water, no towels, toilet paper and the list could go on and on! Then to top it all off as we were packing to come home on Sat. it was brought to my attention that some kids had held their own little private party in one kids room. Evidently one of the older kids volunteered to go find some alcohol and another graciously put up the money and in a bit pf peer pressure and stupidity and voila! A party. I was bummed and annoyed at the time consuming hassle they had created for me but am trying to see it as opportunities to press into their thinking a bit more as well as to demonstrate grace.
Looking forward to a bit of rest next weekend at the beach with some friends and Caleb, hopefully he will learn to ride a bike! Not sure why I am so anxious for him to learn that here in this crazy country but it just seems like and important rite of passage. Will photo for your entertainment pleasure.

Life into Full Swing

Well I see that almost 20 days has passed since my last update and a few events worthy or report have taken place. Sept 12 was the boys 7th birthday and we had a fun celebration with a few buddies in our yard ( I use that term loosely) with water balloon fight and competitive "hide and Seek." This years theme was Transformer and of course my friend Bonnie created an amazing cake. He also signed up for fall soccer and of course looks very cute in his little uniform. He does not have a clue as to how to play the game and for all of his fighting that he loves to do he really isn't terribly aggressive. This picture is the only one I have where he is actually near the ball, and if the truth be known that is only because he is doing a dribbling drill with a team mate.

He has had a great start to the new year and is very happy and doing well. I feel like we have a better grip on homework and scheduling this year and so all in all we are both functioning well.

My year got off to a busy start but I am hoping that in the next few weeks it will quiet down a bit as others take over more responsibility in the youth and children's department. That leaves me to really work on developing the women's ministry and the Bible Study that I lead. I love doing the study and love the ladies that I get to work with! I am teaching through Exodus this fall semester and then Hebrews in the Spring. I have never gotten to do this in depth of a study on a regular basis so I am very happy with my own learning curve. I have a Fall Beach retreat in 2 weekends and then another retreat just for youth of Christian workers from all over the ME. Then hopefully Caleb and I will get one last beach run ourselves end of Oct.
My Dad is coming after Christmas and we are hoping to do some new adventure while he is here as well.

So that's the scoop as of late!

लेट्स तरी थिस Again

First Day of First Grade 2011 This one was for me
















This one is for his photo album


OK maybe I have solved the problem once and for all but if Hindi creeps in you will know it isn't my fault. I had to abandon my other blog because it switched to Arabic and I couldn't figure out how to post or follow the instructions.

So sorry for being gone for so long. Lots going on keeping me on my toes, but as always it is fun and challenging. I preached last weekend on a tough passage Rom 9 which was quite the mental work out to say the least. I barely even scratched the surface but it was a great exercise for me to think through my beliefs and work at articulating a very difficult to accept and understand passage.

Caleb began school this week which was a great relief for both of us. I was maxed out being his social coordinator and he was even growing weary of all the free time. He is very happy and feels like quite the big man on campus. Together we are working at finding a workable morning and evening routine and even doing some chores, I got a little star chart and everything!

Here is my recent article I submitted to our church magazine. I have been (actually I am always) churning with trying to figure how to grow Caleb up in his faith. Sometimes I feel so fake when I pray with him, or try to force conversations into little people language. So I have been researching and pondering various ways/methods. I settled on a few ideas that I would like to incorporate, like trying to write a blessing for him, and as I mention in the article we are listening to a bible story rather than reading it. I picked a dinner time prayer that we could learn together not necessarily to say every time but maybe something that will log in his brain over the years.

My birthday was a few days ago and I received a sweet card from my 7-year-old son that he had made with a friend of mine. As I looked at the card she explained a bit of the background. She had offered him a variety of stickers, markers and various things to help him decorate the card. Glancing through the stickers he ultimately chose a picture of Jesus at the tomb and of the cross explaining to my friend “My mommy really likes him.”

Yes!

He is seeing it, but will he get it?

Of all the dreams I have for my son, and I have many, what I most desire is that he grows to be a man whole heartedly devoted to God, like the Caleb of the Old Testament, an ambitious dream I know! Ambitious and, if statistics are right, highly unlikely considering this statistic from John Trent’s book Faith Launch

“Depending on which study you want to quote, anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of children from evangelical Christian families won't embrace the faith as their own when they leave for college.”

Reading this initially heaped more guilt upon my parenting brain already struggle daily with the weight of such a great responsibility. Mind you that I am well aware that ultimately it is God’s responsibility to ignite the flame of faith in my child’s heart, but the Bible is quite clear that it is my task to create a soil that is rich and inviting to receive the seed which God will one day plant, and it is my job to nurture the seedling, with encouragement, and to be “God’s love with skin on” to my child.

Numerous times throughout the Bible God clarifies what His greatest expectations are of all His followers, and for over 3 millennia the faithful Jew has recited these words daily in their prayers it is called the Shema

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Wow woven into God highest priorities is a parenting tip! In the ebb and flow of daily life amidst the coming and going routine most families feel these days: at home and along the road we are to engage our kids in a life giving conversation. I am not sure about you but I spend more time “along the road” it seems then I do quietly snuggled up “at home.”

By nature and circumstances I struggle with forming a routine and sticking to it, so trust me when I say “I understand” if you cannot envision how you would institute a family devotion, if you regularly fall asleep when attempting to read a bible story before bedtime or feel like grace at dinner is a repetitious duty timed according to the grumble of the stomach. None the less God has issued an urgent demand “talk to your kids about me, impress it on their hearts!” My advice to others and myself in many areas is always “ Just start somewhere.” Pick one manageable idea and start working at it. Here are some ideas I have focused on or plan to.

· Listen for teachable moments and seize them! "In all things natural, be as spiritual as possible. In all things spiritual, be as natural as possible."

· Purchase an audible bible book and listen to a chapter each night with your child. (We are enjoying Jesus:The Storybook Bible)

· Write a blessing and pray it over your child each night. (Focus on the Family and John Trent both offer ideas of how to write a blessing)

· Sing a dinner time prayer (Doxology, The Superman Prayer, for other suggestions http://home.pcisys.net/~tbc/mealpryr.htm)

· Share what God showed you or did for in the course of your day

· Check out www.focusonthefamily.com for other ideas

It is harder and maybe more awkward to start when your kids are older but its never too late!

It has been a wild couple of weeks! Preparation for One Wild Week was fast paced and non stop and then the actual week itself, which really isn't that hard but just tiring. Registration as always proved frustrating as people waited to sign up until the last minute which made buying and planning really hard. In these lean times I am trying to make things pay for themselves, but if you have to over order everything thinking that people might sign up it can be a huge money loser. Our turn out was OK but definitely smaller than the past. We are all a bit nervous at the church that not as many families will return or move here due to the perceived instability. The American school started back yesterday but most of the other schools, Caleb's included, will start back first of Sept after the big Eid holiday.
I had friends over Saturday for a birthday BBQ and enjoyed a great evening of food and laughter. In my mind I don't feel a day older, but man! my body was committing a mutiny on me. My back went out, I had a stomach amoeba and caught a summer cold. Feeling old to say the least!
So a new week has begun, medication is helping with the back pain, and hopefully I clear out the bug in my belly and get back to work. We are now in start up mode, youth group will begin soon, recruiting for new Friday School teachers, and the Women's Bible Study all lie on the horizon.
Heading off to work hi ho hi ho ...

One Wild Week!

Thoughts on Fundamentalism

My last 2 vacation shots to add. They are the cutest of Caleb because he willingly participated in the photo shoot.
Why? Well for photo #1 I told them that they were Smurfs making blue smurf poops, he thinks anything "poop" is funny so no problem and a smile to boot! #2 He is Ben Ten demonstrating his superhero power holding up the asteroid which is threatening planet earth.
















"Ramadan Kareem" will be the greeting of the day today from EVERYONE I meet! It means a "generous Ramadan" as generosity is the focus of the holiday. God's generosity towards them and hence their generosity towards the poor. But I guess like all good things humanity manages to distort and pervert it in ways, I mean isn't that really the essence of all sin, we take good things from God and warp it. God is generous with us and we think we "deserve it", God gives tasty food and we binge on it, He creates sex and we abuse people with it etc...
So anyhow, with all that is going on here in this country among the "devout" and their influence over politics and hunger for more, it made me think about the role of religion in politics. I guess I am being struck a bit by some inconsistency in my own thinking or maybe just how I communicate what I am thinking.
The big concern here right now is the degree of influence that Is. is going to have in the new politics of Egypt. Our biggest concern is that we are going to follow in the footsteps of iran after their revolution in the 70's. I can certainly tell in the 18 years that I have been here that we have shifted significantly more conservative and so the fear is that without the strong arm of the government keeping things in check we could spiral into a "theocracy" which is really what they would define "sharia law" as. This thought threatens believers in this land greatly, but it also is a real scare to the secularist, capitalists, and anyone else that wants to see this great country move forward. So here I am praying passionately for a secular government! Does anyone else see the irony of that?
I don't agree with their beliefs and I don't want them to force their ideas, which they genuinely believe are God ordained and in the best interest of the people, on me. I have different ideas and a different understanding so I want the freedom to practice my ideas as well. So this is my internal conflict, when in Egypt I am all about secularism, but if I were in America I would be more of a fundamentalist! Aren't I saying in many ways the same thing? Of course I think I am right, I know the one true God, I know His moral law, I respect life and marriage and truth, and modesty etc...I mean really if you compared my values to their values we would be in agreement on the vast majority!
Now don't panic and misunderstand me, I am not converting by any means nor do I think they have the "truth" as revealed in Bible BUT I am saying that if one were to judge the rhetoric and underlying mentality, is there much of a difference between the demands of fundies here and say the rhetoric of evangelical's in America?
The fundamental question I have is "How do I genuinely live out the truth I hold without trampling the rights of others who disagree?"

Back and Busy

I arrived home over a week ago and jumped right back in to the rush of life. Lots going on at church in areas I am not normally involved in but because everyone else is gone it becomes my business. My big children's event One Wild Week is a week away and there is lots to do and get organized involving that. So far we have not had as many sign ups as usual and that worries me a bit, praying that we have at least 50-60 in order to have good energy and feel to the event. Wouldn't be a bad thing to have a small crowd but just different than years past and hard to plan for the unknown.
Caleb has settled in nicely, he got to take ownership of my old laptop and has turned into quite the little techie, teaching himself games and navigating around quite well. We have access to an amazing pool for the next week so that helps a great deal to get him out and playing and burning off some energy.
Pondering a possible move to a nicer bigger place. I would really like to have a guest room so that when people visit I don't have to sleep on the air mattress as well as extra bathroom so Caleb and I don't have to negotiate every time we arrive home and both have to pee. (He usually gets sent to pee in the yard since the option exists for him.) I love my little home though and my close knit community will be sad to let that go. Still pondering the issue.

St. Katrina and Mt. Sinai

Vacation 2011 is in its final days, we leave for Cairo tomorrow.

Currently I am sitting out on a rocky mound under a very blue sky with a cool chill in the air gazing at the mountains of Sinai. I have 4 out of 5 kids and they are reading to each other and being mellow, Andrew has volunteered for his first nap of the day curled up next to me. The others left at 1:30 am for an early morning hike up Sinai we will meet up with them in a bit at the monastery at the base of the mountain.

Yesterday we went on a beautiful hike up to a mulberry tree where we feasted on mulberrys and then treked back down into town for ice cream...doesn't get much better than that. In the photo it might be hard to tell but the town is right in the center of the picture and we hiked out of town and up the mountains.

We hung out for the afternoon kids playing some make believe game and the adults playing Settlers of Catan. We had planned on going into town for a grilled chicken dinner when our bedouin host showed up with 2 large fish to cook up for us bedouin style. Now for Sarah and I this was just fine being that we like fish but for the rest of the crew not so exciting and unfortunately there was no culturally correct way to wiggle out of an unwanted meal by a generous and very sweet host. His wife came along and made fresh bread over an open fire and showed the kids how to do it. The kids made a meal on the fresh bread and were perfectly content with that. Hopefully we have one more hike left in us before we head home tomorrow.

It has been a great 2 weeks and it will be hard to go back to just the 2 of us. Caleb has thrived in the company of all these kids and has really been a sweetie to be with. I am looking forward to getting back to Cafe Greco which may have had to lay off some help in my absence. I have not had a really good cup of coffee since we left.

Colored Canyon

Faces of Fun!

Egypt is always an adventure

So we have spent the last 2 days camping in bamboo huts on the shores of the Red Sea at a place called Basata. Saudi Arabia is quite visible across the sea and Jordan and Israel are just a few more miles up the coast. The place is quiet (with the exception of our 5 kiddos) and serene. The ssnorkeling is minimal but even so we had a close up show with a good size eel. The kids continue to enjoy the freedom and open space and we adults enjoy the freedom of sitting and watching with one eye while reading with the other. We had a couple of tourist spots we wanted to visit and in spite of the ease with which Lonely Planet described them we managed to find an encounter of the " Only in Egypt" kind. Yesterday we wanted to visit Salah El Din's castle which is on an island 5 minutes out to see. After a 30 minute argument at a police check point for not having our passports (which the hotel was keeping for the tourist police who check in there) we finally were allowed through only to arrive at the boat departure point and be told the boat is out of commission for 20 days. So we spent 5 dollars each on a soda and sat and stared at it for a while as Jonathan and GJ attempted to swim to it. We turned around and came home a bit disappointed but nothing that a dip in the sea couldn't resolve.

Today's adventure included driving out into the mountains in search of the colored canyons that I had visited a few years ago and deemed worthy of a hike. So we load up the car early this morning, passports in hand, and head out only to be stopped yet again by tourism police saying we had to have permission from the tourist police in town in order to travel down the necessary road. We turn around and head back to town argue a bit more and get a piece of scrap paper that gives us permission BUT we need to take a Bedouin guide with us to show us the way. Admittedly the guide was most helpful as it was quite the 4 wheel trek to get to the location and good practice for me. We had an awesome hike with minimal whining on the part of the kids and then topped off our great adventure with a Chinese meal in Nuweiba.

Now we are back atteh ea and everyone is cooling down and I am prepping to change a tire ( a close call!)

So we continue to enjoy our time away although home seems to catch up with us where ever we go. Protests continue in Tahrir and news abounds about tourist visas being denied. For me personally I am in a safer position with a work visa but for most of the teachers at Caleb's school and for the Turlan's who work as volunteers for a refugee school this is a critical issue. We all get nervous with the talk, but I am reminded again and again of my study of Ephesians and the reminder that really this is a spiritual battle that is taking place in spite of how it may appear as just a political one. God has called people here and I guess at times he has reasons to call them away. I know more than anything this is a reminder again f how desperately we need to be praying for Egypt. I think, on a positive note, that the Army has decided to postpone the parliamentary elections. I see this as a positive for 2 reasons.

1. it allows for more time for other political parties to organize and participate in a process that up until this point appears headed for a Brotherhood sweep.
2. hopefully in the delays there will be a change in order and we are hoping that the constitution will be written by a selected committee rather than by a Brotherhood led Parliament.

Anyhow the real issue isn't so much to understand all the political ramifications as much as to be prompted to pray. So Pray!!!

Kids played a diving game endlessly with Jonathan.

The best milkshake in town for my little snorkler who conquered his fear.









3 pools Reef and Myself, Jonathan and GJ post dive. It was quite exciting to be back under again after all these years. I got a bit nervous when we were reviewing the rules etc... but once we descended it all came back quite naturally. I must say I feel my age though when it comes to carrying all that equipment!



Sandcastle in the making which turned out to be a sand turtle

Reasons to Come Visit

View from the back of our Dahab hotel










































Turlan's at Dinner

Basata Paradise

After 5 wonderful days at Dahab we have moved south to a remote location on the beach called Basata. It is run by an Egyptian/German couple who are true
environmentalist. Everything out here is hand made from local sources. They have a kitchen so you can cook for yourself (and clean up for yourself) and then at night they do a community style dinner. We are staying in cute huts facing the sea, cozier then one might imagine but hot. We will be here for 3 nights and then move onto St. Katherine (Mt. Sinai) for our last leg of the vacation. I expect my computer to run out of battery here and not be able to recharge for a few days so will likely drop out of cyber connection.

The pic of the night time skyline is Dahab's boardwalk by night.

Vaca Part two and three

Our campsite and view
After 3 fantastic nights in Sharm enjoying all the perks and pleasures of 5 star living we moved on to the other extreme of camping in utter and beautiful isolation. The scenery above the water was barren and simple and absolutely untouched and under the water an explosion of creativity on God's part; abounding in color and variety and thick with fish. We camped right on the shore and our Bedouin hosts prepared all our meals and a campfire for us every evening. The adults loved it I am not sure if the kids were as enthused or appreciative of the experience.

Next we drove about an hour and half down the coast to Dahab a left over hippie town with a totally different vibe to it than the more touristy and glitzy Sharm. The place I normally stay at here seemed to lose our reservation but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We found a MUCH nicer much better located hotel with a much better pool so everyone is happy on all counts. So far we have contented ourselves with snorkeling but tomorrow GJ and Jonathan and I will go diving. I have not dived in years so hopefully it will come back to me easily. Caleb has really gained confidence in both his swimming and snorkeling, he is working on overcoming his fear of the fish when they swim near. Everyone but me saw an octopus today.