Happy Halloween!!

Halloween in Cairo is really not a big deal, except the kids dress up at school. I think the American school in Maadi has a trick-or-treat time, but we don't get to go to that since it's not our school. Luke's school has a Halloween party, though, and the kids get to bring costumes and dress up at school. The teachers change the kids into their costumes, so I always try to keep it simple for them. This summer Mimi made Luke a pirate hat, so he was a pirate this year for Halloween. We made him a hook out of the top of a plastic coat hanger and a sword out of cardboard. I had some fabric scraps, so he got a sash and a kerchief, too. This little outfit with the stripy top worked as his pirate clothes. I taught him a pirate joke to tell, "What's a pirate's favorite letter?"

"AARRRRRR!"

He loves saying "Aaar!" and "Ahoy, matey!" and pretending to be Captain Hook. I made a sword for myself and we like to have Peter Pan vs. Captain Hook fights, using his bed as the pirate ship. It's lots of fun!

At our school, the kids get to dress up all day, which makes for a fun day for teachers... I (very intelligently) scheduled my OBSERVATION for Thursday - smart. The kids were wonderful, though, not too distracted by each other's costumes, and everything went well. We did a super-cool lesson using 3-D glasses to learn about warm and cool colors. It was great.

That's about it for our Halloween here--not too exciting. Now we have to figure out Thanksgiving and where we are going to get a turkey at a reasonable price. I brought pecans back from home so we can have pecan pie, and I am insisting that we have rice this year with our turkey - last year it was mashed potatoes, and so this year it's my turn to have my traditional food! We will do our "traditional" dinner with our friends here (Can 2 years be a tradition? I guess in the transient world of international teacher it can be...) at our house. I am already looking forward to cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, yummmmm...

I don't seem to have as much to say this year... Why is that? Oh, yes. I am working!! I could go on forever each day about the daily joys and frustrations of teaching, but those are the just about the same no matter which continent you are on, so I don't want to bore you with that. I don't spend as much time musing and writing as I did last year. Instead I plan lessons and clean watercolor and chalk pastel dust out from underneath my fingernails. Still loving the job - the kids are mostly sweet - but there are several challenging classes that bring me back to reality and make me remember that I am actually teaching and not just playing! I am having a great time creating sample pieces of art to show the kids and just trying to stay one lesson ahead as far as that goes. Even though I have a lot of prep time, I definitely use it all each day.

Now, on to some other things I want to share.

We have been going to church here at Maadi Community Church ever since we moved here. The church has been in a transition period since before we got here - the pastor died unexpectedly and tragically about a year before we came, and one of the associate pastors served as interim all last year, until the new pastor was hired and came in June. Many of the other staff members have gone on to other places. However, the church has still been a place of peace and joy for us during our time here.

I have always served on a worship team or in a choir in every church I've been a member of. I love being a part of leading worship and feel called to do so. I auditioned last year for the worship team here and strangely never heard anything one way or the other. I also never called to ask the results...probably too afraid to hear something that would make me cry... but when kick off week rolled around this year I decided to sign up again and audition again. Long story short, I auditioned two weeks ago and am singing on the worship team this weekend. I am so happy and excited about it. Here is a short video clip of our church's worship time. I love the man who plays bongos. I met him for the first time the night I auditioned and told him what joy I felt when watching him play and worship. He said something like, "When I am up there, I just try to make God smile." What a great attitude to have about all parts of our lives. Watch him here, and see if YOU don't smile!



Another great thing that has finally worked out church-wise is that we are part of a "life group" now. We asked last year to be placed in one with other people with small kids so that we could make some friends here with families. (Most people who teach at our school are either single or married with no kids or grown kids.) We were placed in a group with people whose kids were our age. We decided to wait until there was a group where we fit better. Apparently lots of people started asking for the same thing (we started a trend!) and, at last, the first-ever "family" life group has been formed! We bring the kids, who stay with some sweet ladies downstairs while the parents go upstairs for Bible study. We've met three times, and already I feel like God has answered our prayers through this group. One couple there adopted three children while they lived in Hong Kong and taught at the school where Jason was offered a position two years ago - it's amazing to think that we would have met them either way, whether we accepted that job or this one. We are so blessed to know these neat people, and Luke is enjoying his new group of friends, too.

The third wonderful thing is that some ladies at my school are getting together on Saturday mornings for a Bible study/prayer time. There are seven of us altogether, and it has been SO wonderful to share that time with them. We're studying Romans together.

I had asked God for these three things last year - a chance to serve on the worship team, a home group study for our family, and a ladies' study for me - and all these prayers have been answered this year. I wonder why I had to wait a year - but am grateful and thrilled to have these opportunities to serve God and love others. I've wondered why we were sent to Egypt, and I'm still not sure. When we were in Hong Kong we did the Experiencing God study, and it says, "'What is God's will for my life?'" is not the right question. I think the proper question is, What is God's will? Once I know God's will, then I can adjust my life to Him. In other words, what is it God is purposing to accomplish where I am? Once I know what God is doing, then I know what I need to do. The focus needs to be on God, not on my life." God is working here in Egypt. During the remainder of the time He's given us here, I want to be right where He wants me. Please remember us in your prayers - thanking God that He has given us a church home here and avenues to be involved, and asking for Him to help us see what He would have us do here.

Isaiah 19:1, 19-25

1 An oracle concerning Egypt:
See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.

19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."

My Husband's an All Star!

So first of all, I have to brag! Jason has played softball with the AIS men's softball team the last 2 school years. This season he has hit several home runs, played short stop, and made some awesome plays (some of which I've gotten to see myself). Last weekend he was asked to be the team's representative to the league's all star game! I'm so proud of him!

That made me start to think of some other ways Jason is an All Star. Here are just a few (in no particular order):

1. He is one of the most giving, unselfish people I know. He thinks of Luke and me before himself, and does it so well and without thinking that I take it for granted sometimes.
2. We've dealt with a lot of difficult situations in our marriage that a lot of people don't get dealt over the course of a lifetime--and Jason has handled himself with such grace and integrity. He has been my rock and my best friend.
   
3. He seeks God's will for our lives and is very firm in his belief that the Lord will lead, guide, and protect us.
4. He's an amazing Daddy. He is so playful with Luke. They have such a great time wrestling, goofing around, and playing their special games. I love to watch them together. Jason has put together a playlist of fun music that Luke loves (it includes those songs he was dancing to in the videos and a few more) and it's a hoot to watch them boogie together.
   
5. He balances me out and handles me very well--sometimes I am a real mess, and Jason is sensitive and compassionate when I am depressed, helps me get back on my feet when I've hit rock bottom, makes me laugh daily, and remains my best friend in all the world.
   
6. He fully embraced me staying home with Luke the last three years, and has been so excited since I've returned to work, not just because of the two incomes, but because he gets to share AIS with me. I love going to work with him every day. Riding next to him on the school bus is second best only to the big hug I get from Luke when we get home in the afternoon. (Third would be Luke sending us out the door every morning with a "Have a great day, guys! See you this afternoon!")

I could go on and on...but it's time for me to quit for now.
I love you, Jason!

A Trip to Dahab

Our last day of school last week was Monday. Having Tuesday off was a welcome surprise--has to do with the moon and when the end of Ramadan is--so we enjoyed a relaxing day before we flew out to Dahab. We left Tuesday night and flew from Cairo to Sharm-el-Sheikh (a popular tourist destination--very developed compared to Dahab), and then rode in a hotel van from Sharm to Dahab. Dahab is a town on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula. Still part of Egypt, but not far at all from Saudi Arabia. Jason went there last spring with teachers from school, and a bunch of teachers went there this week for our end of Ramadan vacation.

It was 1 AM when we arrived, so we checked in to our room and went to the hotel restaurant, where we ordered some pizzas to go. We gobbled them up, and then headed off to bed.

The next morning we could really see everything. The outside of our hotel was so cool. There's a restaurant between the hotel and the sea, where they serve breakfast (part of the deal) and all other meals, too. There are no chairs, just cushions and rugs and low tables. Very relaxed, mostly comfortable, and good food. Tough to get Luke to sit still during a meal, though...but that's even tough at a table and chairs.

Playing possum at the restaurant:

The hotels in Dahab are all in a strip several miles long. We were pretty much at one end, and most of the AIS teachers were at the other, so we really didn't interact too much with other teachers, except for our Cairo "family," the Simons. We had breakfast with them in the mornings, did our own things during the days, and met back up at night.

Our goal during this trip was to teach Luke to snorkel. Since Jason is a much better teacher at this type of thing than I am, I left him to it. I took the pictures and read a (bad) book on the beach while Jason and Luke swam and learned to use the mask and snorkel. Luke did okay, and was super excited when he saw a few fish. Later in the vacation, the three of us went together to a place called the Blue Hole, which is a deep hole (couldn't see the bottom) in the sea, surprisingly near the shore, surrounded by reef. It looks a lot like the dropoff in Nemo, and the whole thing is maybe about half the size of a football field. All three of us snorkeled together there. One of the sweetest moments ever was when Jason told Luke to make sure to point out the fish he saw to me. I loved watching his excited little finger pointing to all different kinds of fish and hearing him try to talk through his snorkel! Overall, the snorkeling effort was mildly successful. Luke could go for about 10 minutes before he got frustrated with the mask and was ready to get out. After a short rest, he was ready to go again. I wouldn't trade those 10-15 minutes for anything, though. He was so precious!

(The reflection on his goggles makes him look possessed...I assure you, he's not.)

Another thing we wanted to do was climb Mt. Sinai. After investigating the logistics, we discovered that it was a 12-hour trip: leave at 11 PM, drive 2 1/2 hours, climb for 3 hours, wait an hour for the sun to rise, climb down for two more hours, then drive back, arriving back to the hotel at 11 AM. Jason was pretty sure we could do this with Luke...I was more skeptical. My skepticism won out, and Luke and I stayed behind while Jason went on the trip. I didn't mind--climbing Mt. Sinai was more important to Jason than to me, anyway. Plus I took the opportunity to allow Luke to veg out in the morning and watch Sesame Street podcasts on my computer (Don't know about those? They're free from iTunes! Download 'em! They're 5 minutes each. LOVE them.) while I slept in till 9! Yay!

Jason was glad he did the trek up Mt. Sinai. He said he walked up "Camel Dung Trail" to the top, and that it was pretty cold at the top waiting for sunrise. After sunrise, however, the desert sun got the back of his neck. Here are some of his pictures:


All in all, it was a very relaxed five days in Dahab. We basically ate, slept, swam, ate, and slept. I didn't get many pictures most of the week because there are only so many pictures of people sitting around eating one can take! However, once the camera is in Jason's hands, magic happens! Here are some of the great shots he got the last day. I don't know which one I like better, this one:


or this one:

Both are pure Luke.

Then there's this one, which is NOT so magical.

(I include this one ONLY because of the sheer number of FRECKLES on my face. I knew there were a lot, but WOW.)

And last, a good family shot Noel took for us. Thanks, Noel!