The Month of Sickness

If I had to label this month of November 2010, I would call it the "month of sickness." Not the most lovely name in the world, but one that describes it pretty well. Even now, it seems like sickness has crept over the whole Maadi area. It really is absurd the number of people who have been hit and forced to lay low for quite awhile. And sometimes when they are needed most. For example, my aunt Julie- whom I love very much- has had a lot on her plate over the past few months. She is the director of the women's ministry at our church and has been heavily involved in planning the women's community Bible study and organizing the annual Christmas Charity fair amongst many other things. And right in the busiest of seasons, she was taken out of commission. One evening she started feeling dizzy, the next morning her ears felt funny, and in a matter of three hours, she lost all of her hearing in her right ear. It is about 3 weeks later now, and the hearing has not returned. The doctors are calling it "Sudden Sensory Hearing Loss" and saying it probably won't return. But the hardest part is that the dizziness/balance has not improved either- leaving her to spend most of her days on the couch. It has been an incredibly difficult time for her, but she is holding on to her faith in our Brother. She shared about her trust in the Father through this hard time during our testimony service on Friday, and it brought tears to my eyes.

It seems the enemy is trying very hard to slow down the work that is being done in and through Maadi Community church, but even sickness and hardship, in the hands of God, can be used to make His body stronger.

When I was sick a couple weeks ago, I came down with a fever and really bad stomach issues. The doctor said it was either food poisoning or some kind of stomach bug. But it completely wiped me out. I was at the house of my friends Tim and Maia when it started. We were all watching a Christmas movie when I started shaking with the chills. It wasn't stopping, so I laid down in their back room. Tim drove to my Uncle's house and back to get a thermometer to take my temperature, and they called their doctor. They found a lab/clinic that I could go to in the morning, and then gave me 100$ in case I'd need it for the doctors since they were supposed to be leaving on a trip at 3 in the morning. Then they ended up deciding to stay home from their trip and texted me to see if they could come with my Uncle and I to the doctor's office. These are the moments you remember. These are the times when the love of our Brother is shown so clearly through His children.

Because I was recovering from this sickness, I missed out on the desert camping trip I was planning on taking with a group of friends. But since that group of friends has returned, each one of them has also gotten sick with stomach problems. I think it was my Father's protection against further sickness that kept me from going on that trip.

I'd say that your prayers would definitely still be appreciated as the sickness still seems to be going around and we're not all at 100% yet. Pray for health and protection. But also, praise the Father, that despite all the sickness... His work continues. The Christmas fair, despite the fact that Aunt Julie was taken out of the picture, was a complete success. Father raised up another group of women who took the responsibility and did a wonderful job organizing the event. I've only heard positive feedback. He's not limited by sickness or hardship, and for that I'm very thankful. :)

Thoughts over a Bowl of Cookie Dough

So, I'm sitting at the dining room table eating my roommate's cookie dough out of the bowl on a nice quiet Thursday evening. I don't know when the last time was that I spent a week night at home, and I am thankful for these quiet moments. The day hasn't been COMPLETELY quiet I suppose. It started with an epic battle against the ants in my bathroom this morning. I wiped them up 3 or 4 times, and they kept coming. Such determined little bugs! But I called for reinforcements and my roommate is supposed to be bringing home some ant spray tonight. So we hope they won't win the war and take over the apartment.

I have two roommates. Amber is 26- a Kindergarten Teacher at an elementary school in New Maadi. My other roommate, Meg, is a student at the American University of Cairo for the semester. She's really enjoying it and comes home with lots of stories. Most of the friends that Meg has made at university are Egyptian, and sometimes she brings them over to our apartment and I get to meet them. One of her best friends, Moe, comes frequently to help her study Arabic.

Meg often tells me about the conversations she has with Moe. She is very passionate about what she believes and talks very openly with Moe about her desires to love and serve our Brother. And when she speaks like this with him, you can imagine it causes tension. He cringes and says "Don't say that He is the Son of Dad." He cringes not because he is offended, but because he is concerned. GENUINELY concerned. He- like many of us in the "family" of believers- is afraid for his friend because he honestly believes she will not spend her eternity in heaven. He begs her to read passages from his book. He shows her videos online of testimonies of people who were not of his religion but then "found the truth." They move him to tears. Just like ours move us to tears. He tries to persuade in the same ways we try to persuade.

You know, it's amazing to me, how similar these two look in so many ways. Just the other day, I was walking back to my apartment on a Friday morning and passed the mosque that is right next door to our building. It's a pretty big mosque and its call to prayer has become a very normal part of our day- sounding very loudly in the mornings and noon and evenings. They have their services on Friday mornings, and as I passed by on this particular Friday, I peered in to see all the people. As I was looking in, a middle aged Egyptian man and his 10 or 11 year old son got out of their car and shut the door- walking up the steps in their "Friday clothes." And as I kept walking, a young Egyptian man in his early 20's or so came running by me, obviously running a little late and attempting to sneak in the back... and as the service gets out the families converse and socialize.... and how familiar it looks from the outside.

On the inside of the mosque there are countless people; but on the inside of the people, there is an underlying emptiness.

There are many M's, like my roommate's friend, who genuinely believe what they have heard all of their lives, and because of their beliefs, some of them are scared for us. They think we're lost.

What a strange feeling to be on the other side of things. Yet I have a relationship, and His Spirit lives in me- testifying to the Truth of His Word. We must pray for wisdom and revelation to penetrate the vale of darkness over hearts.

Well, I've finally put the bowl of cookie dough away (probably not soon enough), so I guess I'll sign off for the day. :) Blessings!