Prayer Revival in Egypt 11.11.11

"I saw signs of the beginning of revival that I have never seen before!" an Egyptian evangelical leader.

On 11.11.11, Egypt had a historic prayer meeting. Egyptian leaders are saying there has been a significant spiritual "shift" in their country and we are trying to make sense of it all.

- 71,000 attended the all-night prayer meeting in Cario.

- It was the largest Christian event in Egypt for over a thousand years

- It was held at the cave church on Cairo's largest garbage city, Mokattam. This church is called St Simeon the Tanner Coptic Orthodox Church.

- The gospel was proclaimed during the Prayer event and some people responded to the challenge call to follow Jesus.

- Prayers for healing were made at midnight and some people were healed of physical problems.

- Since the event, one Egyptian Christian leader said "The heavens are clean! It is easy to pray!" He calls it the beginning of revival.

- Up to a month ago, there was absolutely no promotion for this event. No flyers. In fact, the organizer was still undecided on whether to host it on Friday or Saturday.

- It was an Egyptian event. Buses took people to this event from all over Egypt with almost no foreigners.

- In September 2009, a prayer meeting was held in Egypt where the leaders, including the main organizer of this event, heard God say that President Mubarak would receive "no grace" in 2011. They also heard God tell them that there would be bloodshed, persecution and the burning of churches. But if God's people would come, and hear His voice, and repent, then He would hear their prayers.

- The passage on repentance that was referenced in the 2009 prayer meeting was the Bible passage read at the beginning of the prayer service. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.2 Chronicles 7:14

- On 9th October, 2011, when many Coptic Christians were killed in Cairo, Christian leaders met for 3 days of prayer. During this time, they announced their intention of a prayer event for Egypt, which culminated in this event.

- Muslims joined Christians for prayer at this event and they were told by the Priest that they did not have to change their religion but they needed to know that there is one Savior, Isa [Jesus Christ].

- Since the prayer meeting a few days ago, Cairo has experienced highly unusual rain, clouds, lightning and thunder during a month which normally gets only .15 cms of rain.

- In a decision by Pope Shenouda III the day before the meeting, evangelical leaders were banned from the stage. Dr Rev Sameh Maurice, Pastor of Cairo's largest evangelical church called Kasr El Dobara, was scheduled to lead prayer on the main stage but instead stood and prayed among the participators without complaining.

- Last Wednesday, Father Simon, who started the cave church [The Monastery of St Simeon the Tanner], had a vision of a bright light and a mountain that was lifted up and removed. He was told to prophesy and heard God say that "you will hear wonderful news this year!"

Revolution 2.0

 We are still fine. The violence from Sunday, October 9 was once again near downtown Cairo not out in our south suburb. The mood of the country is another story. I have been looking for some way to measure and describe the mood of Egypt since returning for our fourth year. I can only give impressions, but people are feeling uncertain and worried. In response to uncertainty, people draw inside more. They are waiting, so they are living life more cautiously. There are without a doubt fewer foreigners living here than 1 year ago, and even less than 3 years ago when we first came. School attendance is down 25% at Karan's school and probably about the same at church. So the energy level is lower and the stress level higher. I have talked with men who are now here working this year while their families are living back home. The large corporations are struggling to fill jobs because qualified people are reluctant to come, so that means fewer people working longer hours (in industries that already demand 60-70+ hour work weeks plus constantly being on-call). More stress on top of exhaustion for some.

      So we all wait to see what will happen with the parliamentary elections in a month or so and the presidential election next Spring. Then came the worst violence since the Revolution with over 25 people killed--mostly Coptic Christians.  (See the first-hand report below)  Initially the military government claimed that the protestors had attacked and killed soldiers so the army was only defending themselves.  The still state-run media broadcast this news and called for the people to come and defend the army, creating a sectarian frenzy.  Now the military has claimed one solider was killed and the TV stations blamed and over-reactive news reporter for their false report.  The attempt to drive a wedge between religious groups is denied by various voices.  Some are blaming "foreign elements."  One false report claimed the US would send troops to protect the Coptic churches--that would only increase the anger and paranoia of a foreign invasion with religious overtones.  People speculate as to why the military turned on its own citizens, however no one really knows why, but there has certainly been a change in the game.  Will the military dig in their heels and claim they are sick of all the protests?  Was this religiously motivated?  Will the military now have to bow to domestic and international pressure to accelerate changes toward human rights and democracy (remember they are a remnant of the previous regime)?  We wait and see--just like we have been doing for nearly 8 months.

      Most important of all, we remember that God is not frantically pacing back and forth in heaven wondering how things came to this.  He has His hand firmly on the wheel.  He is in control and His purposes will be brought to pass (even if we are not around to see it).  We look for spiritual opportunity.  Our midweek prayer for Egypt last night tripled in size.  We are brought back to remember what made us strong in February--desperate dependence on God and focusing on what really matters.

A Firsthand Account: Marching from Shubra to Deaths at Maspero
by Sara Carr (journalist)

 The march from the Cairo district of Shubra was huge, like the numbers on 28 January. In the front row was a group of men in long white bibs, “martyr upon demand” written on their chests. A tiny old lady walked among them, waving a large wooden cross: “God protect you my children, God protect you.”

The march started down Shubra Street around 4 pm, past its muddle of old apartment buildings, beat up and sad but still graceful compared with the constructions from the Mubarak era next to them - brutish and unfinished-looking.

       A man explained why there were bigger numbers than the march last week in response to the attack on the St. George’s Church in Aswan: the army had hit a priest while violently dispersing Coptic protesters in front of the Maspiro state TV building on Wednesday. A video posted online showed a young man being brutally assaulted by army soldiers and riot police.

      At a traffic underpass at the end of Shubra Street, at around 6 pm, there was the sudden sound of what sounded like gunfire. Protesters at the front told those behind to stop - the march was under attack. Rocks rained down from left and right and from the bridge, underneath which protesters were taking shelter.

Some threw stones back. Behind them, protesters chanted, “The people want the removal of the Field Commander.” The stone throwing eventually stopped sufficiently for the march to continue. A teenage boy crossed himself repeatedly as he moved forward toward the rocks.

      Darkness fell just as the march reached Galaa Street. “This is our country,” protesters chanted, led by a man on a pickup truck full of speakers. An illuminated cross floated through the darkness. At the headquarters of state daily newspaper Al-Ahram, a single rock was thrown at the door, likely a comment on its coverage of violence against Copts.

      Outside the Ramsis Hilton Hotel, the chanting stopped momentarily - the exuberance of having escaped the attack in Shubra faded as the march rounded the corner toward Maspiro. It was immediately met with gunfire in the air. As protesters continued moving forwards, the gunfire continued.

      Suddenly, there was a great surge of people moving back, and something strange happened. Two armored personnel carriers (APCs) began driving at frightening speed through protesters, who threw themselves out of its path. A soldier on top of each vehicle manned a gun, and spun it wildly, apparently shooting at random although the screams made it difficult to discern exactly where the sound of gunfire was coming from.

      It was like some brutal perversion of the military show the armed forces put on for the 6th of October celebration three days before. The two vehicles zigzagged down the road outside Maspiro underneath the 6th of October Bridge and then back in synchronicity, the rhythm for this particular parade provided by the "tac tac tac" of never-ending gunfire, the music the screams of the protesters they drove directly at.

      And then it happened: an APC mounted the island in the middle of the road, like a maddened animal on a rampage. I saw a group of people disappear, sucked underneath it. It drove over them. I wasn’t able to see what happened to them because it then started coming in my direction.

      Later, as riot police fired tear gas at another small attempt at a demonstration and fires burned around Maspiro, I found on the floor part of one of the white “martyrs upon demand” bibs the men had been wearing, and took it home. It had been ripped in half.

       The Coptic Hospital tried its best to deal with the sudden influx of casualties. Its floors were sticky with blood and there was barely room to move among the wounded, the worried and the inconsolable.  A man asked if we were press, and whether we’d like to film the morgue if we “were strong enough.”

      The morgue was a harshly lit two-room building surrounded by men and women screaming and hitting themselves in paroxysms of grief. In the first room there were two bodies, middle-aged men on the floor next to the fridge, which we were told held three bodies. In the other room there were the bodies of 12 men of varying ages.

      A young woman sat by one of them clasping his hand and wailing. Vivian and Michael, who were engaged to be married. Michael had been crushed, his leg destroyed. Next to Michael was the body of a man whose face was contorted into an impossible expression. A priest opened his hands and showed me the remains of the man’s skull and parts of his brain. He too had been crushed.

      Outside a woman said out loud to the dead, “How lucky you are, now in heaven!” A man screamed, “We won’t be silent again.” Even while the wounded were still being brought in, state TV was reporting that Christian protesters stole weapons from the army and killed soldiers, and that the busy foreign hands are back again, still trying to destabilize Egypt.

      There should be a finality in death, an unchallengeable truth when it happens with the simple brutality of last night. But even when death happens on Maspiro’s doorstep, it can be rewritten, in order to lend a twisted sense where there is none, to justify the impossible and, above all, to sabotage any attempt to consider that the problem is within us, not without.

Back in Egypt for Year 4!!

We have arrived back in Egypt with no problem. We had a great time in the Pacific Northwest (in their unusually cool summer), including a week each in Whistler and Victoria. Karan finished her graduate class and application to renew her teaching certificate for Washington. Cairo's weather is slightly cooler than normal (upper 90s now), so Texas must be taking all the heat for themselves! We should have spent our last week in Texas instead of our first week so we could readjust to the heat!



On the political front, things are heating up in Cairo as every Egyptian is glued to their TV set to watch the Mubarak trial--an unprecedented thing in the Middle East. But no one knows how justice will occur in this complex situation. A speedy trial is not necessarily a fair trial, and may cover over 30 years of issues. It doesn't help when you read things like this from a defense lawyer: "Mubarak actually died in 2004 and an impostor has been ruling Egypt as part of an American/Israeli conspiracy!" Jerry Springer are you watching?!

Here is a clip from an Egyptian newspaper about a poll regarding upcoming elections this Fall. So far no real evidence that extremists will be voted in.

Poll explores Egyptians' views on presidency, parliament and foreign relations
By Safaa Abdoun / Daily News Egypt/August 1, 2011

CAIRO: Twenty-seven percent of Egyptians have said that a Muslim Brotherhood majority in parliament “would be a good thing,” according to a poll by Newsweek and Daily Beast conducted by Douglas E. Schoen LLC and Thawra Stats.

The poll which encompassed 1,008 randomly selected Egyptian adults from 19 Egyptian governorates between June 24 to July 4, surveyed Egyptians’ opinions on a variety on issues from Israeli relations to the upcoming president.

On the parliamentary elections, which is tentatively scheduled to take place the coming November, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party scored a plurality of support at 17 percent.

Thirty-five percent of the poll’s respondents said that a Muslim Brotherhood majority would be a bad thing while 38 percent weren't sure.

Liberal Al-Wafd Party got the support of 11 percent of the respondents with the National Democratic and the Free Egyptians parties both scoring seven percent. The remaining parties on the scene all got five percent or less.

In a race between the three presidential hopefuls, Amr Moussa, Mohamed ElBaradei and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh; Moussa, the former secretary-general of the League of Arab States scored 47 percent. ElBaradei scored 17 percent and Aboul Fotouh scored 16 percent both coming in close with the 18 percent of undecided respondents.

On the other hand, when asked who they will vote for in an open race, 27 percent said they are undecided, 16 percent chose Moussa and ElBaradei came in next at 12 percent along with former prime minister Ahmed Shafik.

When it comes to foreign relations, “less than one-quarter surveyed say the US, regional ally Saudi Arabia, media power Qatar, or regional rival Iran had the best interests of the Egyptian people in mind during the revolution,” stated the poll.



Alex returns from the US on August 8. Karan starts school on August 7, while Alex starts classes on August 14. Over the summer in the US we visited six colleges. Alex likes Gonzaga University (in Spokane) best, then Western Washington University (in Bellingham where Brett will finish this year in Graphic Design-Production track). Brett is finishing up his summer working in graphic design at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center near Santa Cruz, California. Travis has been promoted to sales with Verizon and was employee of the month his first month in his store in Spokane Valley and sixth in the district in overall sales in June. We think he has found his niche and he is certainly making more money than before (finally).

Karan ended her summer in the US with oral surgery. It turned out that her dead front tooth that received a root canal 27 years ago finally gave up. So she had to had a periodontist insert a metal post in her bone/gum and then a dentist glued the old tooth back in place to hold for a year (hopefully). Then next summer she has a false tooth placed on the post. It's a better procedure than a bridge. We have video of Karan on her "anesthesia" pill to prepare her for the surgery. It is a condition no one has ever witnessed in this straight-laced belle from Arkansas. We may have to auction the video on Facebook to help pay surgery costs!



Love to hear from you! Karan is on Facebook at "Karan Wooley Flora", and Steve is on Twitter at "srflora". We still feel quite safe in Egypt (Cairo is one of the safest big cities in the world), but please keep us in your prayers nonetheless.

Steve and Karan

The Revolution continues ...

The Revolution has only just begun. As historic as the revolution at Tahrir Square in Egypt was, as incredibly inspiring as the young Egyptians were who didn’t take the bait by Mubarak to turn violent, the real work of freedom begins. Real work that will take years, if not decades. Religious tensions remain. Economic desperation among the majority poor has grown worse. Political uncertainties will extend well beyond the September parliamentary election. Staying in Egypt is a long-term commitment that we measure in years, not months—if God allows.

We have received some emails asking, “Now what’s going on over there?? We read about churches being burned and no police in the streets.” Yesterday the Salafi (more fundamentalist) protested the re-opening of a church in Ain Shams. A few weeks ago, 12+ people were killed and a church burned in Imbaba (near the Pyramids). At least some of the source of tensions is over the belief that a Coptic (Egyptian Christian) woman is being held against her will who wants to convert to Islam. The Copts have published statements saying she has retracted this, but they have not brought her forward. It's the source of the Catholic church bombing last October in Baghdad. The extremist will not let it go. There continue to be kidnappings and reprisals (in upper Egypt mostly). One rumor said that the woman was married to a Coptic priest and wanted a divorce and conversion is the only grounds she could get. I think she appeared on Christian satellite TV station a few weeks ago. So rumors have been flying and everyone wants the two groups to resolve this issue. At this point, there have been no problems with international churches of expats. We have not had any issues or threats or extra security presence. Still things are unsettled as most people (especially the Coptic Christians) know things could erupt at any time. Some who never thought of leaving their home country, now ponder that future. These are the dynamics (when you stop and consider them) that keep us knit closer to the heart of God.


The police are back on the streets, though perhaps not quite as pervasive as before. There are still many more police and security officers than in the US. I will repeat that Cairo is one of the safest cities in the world and certainly safer than most large US cities as far as violent crime goes. The increase in crime here has been related to burglaries and larcenies. The police problem is more in the administrative ranks as to who is following up on things. In spite of this, the US embassy and Apache Oil have felt comfortable enough to allow most dependents to return. So many (but not all) have returned. There are still some people here who are feeling uneasy, but the spiritual atmosphere of the church has continued to be good, though all of us so easy drift back to that "business as usual" perspective. The spiritual intensity has fallen off some since February as you would expect as things have settled down. We still have prayer meetings for the country and region three times per week. Amazingly, our church fiscal year which ended in April virtually ended up even with offerings vs. expenses! We actually collected more offerings February-March than we did in September-November.


sign at Cairo mall (Saudi owned) No hand-holding, skimpy tops

We still await the future of next Fall. We don't know how many people will return and how many new people will come. It seems highly likely that new families will not want to move into the climate of uncertainty. Will that translate into lower church attendance? We don't know. We can only trust God and wait on Him. Even if that does become the reality, the Revolution proved that crisis brings huge spiritual opportunity even if you have smaller numbers. We continue to feel that deep sense of call that we are supposed to be here, so all these speculations about the future are largely irrelevant.

Karan and Alex’s school has regained its pre-revolution attendance, but not without considerable drama. It has been chaotic as some teachers were told they would be let go and then soon after were told that would be rehired for next year. Meanwhile some had already found jobs. In the end the superintendent resigned and all the speculations that surround such events flowed like coffee in Seattle. Morale needs a big boost, but Karan kept her job during all the flip-flopping. Next year she will return back to all “Learning Support” (aka special education) classes and not teach any language arts classes. She will cover all sixth and seventh grade LSS students. The school will be in its own version of transition and uncertainty.


Alex has continued to do well in school and sports. He had a great varsity basketball tournament in London where he scored over 20 points in one game. He leaves for his varsity baseball tournament (again in London) this Wednesday. He looks forward to the end of school on June 1 and returning to Spokane for the summer June 9. We are lining up soccer and baseball sports camps among the many Washington college visits. It will be another hectic summer!

Travis finally was moved full-time in Verizon and promoted to sales. We say “finally” only from his viewpoint since he has only been working for Verizon for 5 months (including a month of training). He wasn’t supposed to be able to make any moves for at least six months. But as a customer service rep he was selling more than many of the salesmen. He has evidently found his niche in sales/marketing! He looks forward to finally making enough money to live on and buy a car that is newer.

Brett is finishing up his degree in visual journalism this year, but wants to continue for another year to get a second major in graphic design. He is waiting to see if the graphic design department will accept him into the senior level program. This summer he will work at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center (where his dad worked in 1978) in graphic design to gain some experience.


We have traveled some since the Revolution. Steve went to a missional pastor's conference in Dubai in April. It was a very valuable time and energizing for vision. Talking with a couple of pastors from Bahrain made the Egyptian revolution seem calm (though with as many as 800 people killed in Egypt that is a false perception). They experienced a much more directly tense situation between religious factions as the Saudi army moved in (not nearly as much media coverage of this situation). This is the time for peace dialogue with the moderate religious people of this region, not the time to run away in fear and avoid all contact. Remember from 1 John 4, "Perfect love casts out fear." I believe that God does not call us to isolate ourselves, but to engage.


The three of us took our spring break vacation at the end of April to Paris. We were braced for cool and aloof treatment because we spoke no French and are Americans. It was quite the opposite. The people were very friendly and helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed it, though it was really expensive there. Then a few weeks later, Karan attended an education conference in Athens. She had a few days to shop, but is saving the tourist sites (of which there are many) for a family trip.

Our next trip will be back to the States in mid-June. We will get away to western Canada for a few weeks for vacation. Please stay in touch!

Steve, Karan, and Alex

The Other Side of the Revolution

Now that the first phase of the Egyptian “revolution” has ended, one would think that life would return to normal. That is not the case. We now search for the “new normal,” while realizing that the “new normal” will change as politics and government change. Some portion of the elections may be in a few months which would bring some resolution. But that is not necessarily a good thing since the only real organized political group could gain enough control to begin shaping Egypt into a less moderate religious state. If elections take longer, then we remain in limbo longer. It still does not appear that the military wants to retain control any longer than necessary (if they change their minds that would make this a coup, not a revolution). There are still fewer police on the streets and there are reports of isolated crimes (mostly robbery) in our city of 20 million. But for all the reports you hear about, I would challenge you to read the crime report in your local newspaper in comparison. We still feel quite safe in the streets of Maadi.

Even a well-planned election does not mean bright and happy outcomes since democracy is a learned skill. It may take years for it to evolve into a successful state (but you have to begin somewhere!). Too often we impose our Western mindset on a non-Western region and wonder why they can’t make Western principles work? Partly it’s because they don’t think like we do. For example, this Youtube animation humorously shows the difference between how Egyptians and Europeans behave in common situations. Copy: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3evQl2ukFq8 Expats in Egypt laugh at the youtube video because so much of it is true! or you can stream online the television show “An Idiot Abroad” to see Karl Pilkington in Egypt at: tubeplus.com/player/1738722/An_Idiot_Abroad/season_1/episode_5/Egypt/ We see trash all over the street and wonder why people don’t take better care of their environment (only vaguely remembering the huge anti-pollution campaign to change similar attitudes in the US in the 1970s—remember the Native American with the tear in his eye? Go to www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/499/). We struggle with driving that promotes cut-throat behavior (whoever gets there first has the right of way) and dangerous practices (like a family with toddlers on a motorcycle with no helmets, six children in a small car with no seat belts, or people riding buses hanging off the outside). We don’t think about the cut-throat mortgage crisis in the US that has left different kinds of injuries. We were going to write a blog describing these things we adjust to that don’t make sense, but then the revolution came and they seemed petty and insignificant in comparison. Nevertheless coping with all these things takes energy (especially when you are an anal-retentive, controlling personality). But that is all part of how God is shaping us to be less self-centered.


Back to the present ... Responding to the ongoing uncertainty, the US Embassy and a large oil company here have opted not to return their non-essential employees and dependents yet. Without the embassies and larger companies, that means fewer students at Karan and Alex’s school and fewer attenders at church, both of which have emotional and financial impacts. A few days ago, CAC talked to the teachers who will be laid off beginning this August. Karan was not among those, but if enrollment does not reach expected levels (still a 22% drop), who knows? We had dinner with some of our best friends here last night who were on the list. The church has yet to decide how to deal with the almost certain drop in income by this Fall, but staff reductions and salary cuts are likely coming.


Some of Alex’s Western friends have returned, but others have not. We know there are some people we will never see again, and it’s hard! There is an under-current of loss that wears on your emotions. Nevertheless, enough players from Alex's basketball team returned, so that they will be able to play in a tournament in London this Wednesday-Saturday. Baseball may be a different story, but we just have to wait and see. With all the uncertainty in Egypt, when you add in the latest reports from Libya, you feel revolution exhaustion! Finally you switch off Al-Jazeera news and scream “I can’t take any more!” Some people are not sleeping well at night, are irritable, and feel overwhelmed with the extra work and worries. Other people who have returned from evacuation are here without their families and have to cover extra shifts at work, so we still don’t see them much. We share these “other” things not because they dominate, but because like everything in life, there is an upside and a downside. You have to deal with it all as a part of growth.


Still ministry opportunities that weren’t there yesterday abound, and God is certainly at work. We continue to have pray meetings several afternoons per week and lively worship services. Some people in the church have spontaneously organized giving away over 1000 food bags to those who are struggling to get food. There is a great sense of unity, but you have to realize somewhere along the way that you are running a marathon not a 100 meter sprint! You have to find rest and refuge because at some point your human energy is used up. We are exploring deeper meanings of how to live out Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

A new Egypt? Time will tell!

It has been one week today (Friday) since President Mubarak stepped down. Naturally there was euphoric celebration and a new positive mood. Protesters began cleaning up Tahrir Square the next day--picking up trash, repairing pavement and painting curbs. You have to understand this is NOT normal Egyptian behavior. One thing most tourists notice is the trash all over the streets. There is not a green conscience here ... yet. But maybe it's now beginning! Egyptians are being told to hold their heads high because they are Egyptian. This has also not been the case in recent decades and even centuries. Remember this is the people who built the pyramids and sphinx and amazing temples (unless you subscribe to the alien theory) with the world's greatest technology at the time. So change is in the air.

It has been interesting and little disconcerting to see different people groups immediately go on strike and protest for high wages and more rights. These are of course hugely needed changes, but everyone can't suddenly get a piece of the pie all at once--unless the Mubaraks give back their several billions, like that will really happen. Meanwhile, the army is in control and seem to really be trying to do the right thing in opening up discussions. The Copts (10% Christians in name) are concerned because they don't seem to have a place at the table yet, in spite of the secular nature of the revolution. It's one thing to peacefully overthrow a dictator of 30 years; it's entirely different to think the influence of Islam will be reduced that has been a part of the country for over 1300 years. But like everything else here, we will just have to wait and see. No one knows how all this will turn out or when it will be defined. Even after an election (in 6-12 months) things will still unfold slowly (most likely).

We also feel the tremendous uncertain future at church and school. With the US Embassy and large corporations evacuating their people, there is a gaping hole of expats in Egypt. Cairo American College (CAC) currently have 46% of their students, and is hoping to reach 60% within the next few weeks. The guess is that the embassy and many big companies will only begin sending back the employees and not the dependents. I am thinking that most will enroll their kids in school back home and not want to uproot them the rest of this school year. CAC is also projecting to have a 35% reduction in students in the Fall. That means teacher layoffs are coming, so Karan's job is up in the air. The church is in the same boat. We had around 180 last weekend which is maybe 20% of our average Fall attendance. We too will have to wait and see who comes back when and how much money we will have. Barring a dramatic intervention by God, layoffs and salary reductions seem likely. So now that the anxiety of the revolution has lessened, we deal with the anxiety of an uncertain future on the national and personal level. Yet the crisis of revolution has drawn the church together in an amazing way. We have prayed everyday since this all began. The worship services have been energetic and passionate (excerpts are available online). There is a close-knit sense of community. Some have moved into houses of those who have been evacuated to protect them. We have spontaneously collected food bags with flour, oil, sugar, and rice to give away over 400 to refugees. We have made lunches and handed them out to struggling Egyptians on the streets.

Alex is remaining here, but all of his expat friends are gone and likely not coming back until Fall (and some he will probably never see again). He has a tight group of Egyptian guys he hangs out with, so he has had plenty of social interaction. School classes have been small. Until a few days ago, he was the ONLY kid in his AP English class, so he was getting intense one-on-one instruction. Maybe this will make him a world-class writer! More important to him is the future of his basketball and baseball teams. There MAY be enough returning expats (non-embassy and big oil company families) to field a basketball team to go to the tournament in London in later March. Baseball may be a different story. So we pray for God to work His plan even if that means no sports this year. Certainly this is and has been an unparalleled cultural experience for him. We just hate to see his first love fall by the wayside. So its a faith-stretching experience for all of us.

We have posted a few videos and blogs also at our church website www.maadichurch.com if you want additional updates on the church side of things. We have so appreciated the overwhelming responses by email and Facebook saying people are praying for us! Please keep it up!

In His Grip,

Steve and Karan

An Uncertain Future

On the eve of the next major demonstration that has regained life. This thing is far from over. It is also far from certain as to the outcome. Will the government grow weary and obstinate and use force? Already hundreds of protesters have been taken away with fates unknown. Will there be a power vacuum filled by the Muslim Brotherhood? What might be their eventual agenda? Will there be democracy? This last one is the favored option, but democracy is a learned skill. It won’t just magically happen among a people who have never really experienced it. It won’t come easy when the education system has emphasized rote learning and not thinking outside the box. This could all begin in a day or a month or a year ... or never.

Comparisons are inevitable to Iran 1979. The history is similar: a corrupt and repressive regime for three decades, fake elections, strong internal security, a government and military supported up by lots of US dollars, the need to by cultivating an ally and protect Western strategic interests in a volatile region, opulent wealth and grinding poverty living in the same capital city, ongoing street protests, conflicting US responses to the crisis, and the presence of Muslim clerics. But the sociology is different: commercial interests heavily dependent on international tourism and not tied into the clerics, communication spread to the whole world through the Internet and social media, white-collar and labor activists are at the center of the protest instead of religious leaders, political parties with secular rather than religious ties, and a brand of Islam that does not demand unquestioning obedience to their clergy (Sunni vs. Shiite). Also, the Muslim Brotherhood has thin minority support. This makes a coup by them less likely than Iran.

No one knows what will happen, and anything could happen. Most of us are emotionally exhausted. We don’t know what to expect and when to expect any real definition of the future. Life has been turned upside down and many of our friends have left, and I suspect some of them may never return. So you grieve their loss and feel lonely. Yet there is a strong sense of community springing up. We have prayed every noon for the past two weeks with crowds ranging from 30-60! They have been powerful times of connecting with God and releasing His power in this country. Some members of the church have even begun food distribution on the streets to those who may be struggling to get food with the economy shut down for two weeks.

Karan and Alex are back in full days of school, so it appears that Alex will get to stay in Egypt. We take each day as it comes on this new chapter of our faith journey. There are reports of a few large corporation men trickling back in. Let’s hope that trend continues.

Crisis: Danger & Opportunity

The Chinese word for “crisis” is made up of the two characters: Danger & Opportunity. That would accurately describe our last 10 days. Thursday as the Internet returned, the pro-democracy protesters clashed violently clashed with the pro-government protesters—an ugly turn of events sending the future spiraling toward oblivion. Even more chilling for us was the reports that state-run television was broadcasting blame on “foreign elements” for sparking the protests and riots. In particular, journalists were targeted and much of what you heard on the news flowed from the attacks on them. It was terrifying for them and disturbing for us. Meanwhile in our part of town it was calm. No one was eying us with suspicion, but we were quite aware that anti-foreigner sentiment could multiply and spread to our neighborhood eventually. Yet the neighborhood watches continued with a good spirit of community.


Friday was dubbed “Day of Departure” by the protesters, but the only ones departing were more foreigners. Karan’s school sent out their first voluntary evacuation flight on Friday. The rest of us were told to stay inside. A few members of our church who did not hear this admonition were moving about and were picked up by the police. They were taken to the police station and questioned as to why they were here and were they journalists. One woman had a picture in her camera of herself posed by a tank. They made her delete the picture. They released them without further incident. Though the protesters are anxious to get their message out, there is another sizeable segment of average citizens who realize that reports have not presented their country in a favorable light.

The tourists are gone and the average poor person is feeling the effects of hunger as the nation’s economy has shut down. There is a definite mood of “Let’s get back to work so we can eat.” Democracy is a wonderful goal, but you can’t suddenly jump right into it without a huge risk of an extremist faction flowing into the power vacuum ala Iran 1979. The mindset and education system here emphasizes rote learning and not thinking outside the box. There is also entrenched corruption and apathy. True and fair democracy will be a learned system over a period of time.


By Saturday there was a palpable sense of relief that nothing violent had occurred the day before. We had our church service at noon attended by around 150 people. The spirit was amazing and electric. We took Communion to remember why we have remained here. As we took the bread and wine, Steve focused on how we are an extension of that Body that provides vital community, and we have the sacrificial blood of Jesus flowing through our spiritual veins to serve those around us. Mark, the worship pastor, shared a story of how his neighbors were opening up as they manned the barricades in the wee hours of the night. One guy from the majority religion here when he saw Mark’s guitar said, “Do you know that song ‘O Happy Day’? The one with the words, “When Jesus washed my sins away.’ ” So here they were belting out this gospel song with the very lyrics that form the center of our message. When we were going to close with a song, you could just tell that the crowd was not ready to go after 75 minutes. Something deeply Spirit-driven was at work. We wanted—no, we HAD—to connect with God. The congregation wanted to keep singing. When we spontaneously sang “O Happy Day” the place rocked! There was more volume and joy than when we had three times as many people under the tent. For the first time in a long time, Steve was overcome with tears. We kept going for another 20-25 minutes. We all realize that we and our church will never be the same!


This is a time of huge opportunity. Here is a letter from the pastor of a large downtown church made up of local people:
“Our prayer meetings had begun to intensify the last three months, accompanied with forty days of fasting by the end of the year, in which more than 1200 people participated. We heard many prophetic messages about what is to come, clear words indicating a huge change is coming in 2011. On New Years Eve, a clear word from Exodus 34:10 came to us saying, that He is going to things that no one ever heard before in our land. The feeling we had was similar to the feelings of Esther, a time of a great danger mixed with a time of great victory, and how the Lord put her in this position for such a time as this (Esther 4:14)."

It’s now Sunday and Karan and Alex’s school is opening up for a few hours to begin charting a course for starting face-to-face classes later in the week. Things are calming down, but one person from this land said yesterday, “Yes, but there is deep anger just under the surface.” Whatever the future holds, we are learning daily a deeper dependence on God through all the ups and downs and future fears.

Jesus' baptism site in Jordan


With Love,
Steve and Karan

We are fine and do NOT feel in danger in our Maadi home. The demonstrations in Tahrir Square are several miles away from our south suburb. Maadi is filled with a mixture of expatriates (“expats” = those living in a foreign country) and Egyptians. There has been no focus on foreigners in the demonstrations, and in fact, the Egyptians have taken great effort to care for their homes and the homes of their expat neighbors. Some embassies and large companies have removed most of their people; they will tend to err on the side of caution. There is also concern in not having their people going without food and resources if things deteriorated. We do not want to leave because we feel we are supposed to be here to help people. There is a sense of euphoria among the Egyptians that at last things can change for the better.

That is not to say that we haven’t experienced a wide range of emotions over the days. This is our first experience of revolution and you hear a wide range of hugely conflicting reports. On Friday, as the mosques ended services in the early afternoon (reportedly guarded by Egyptian Christians so their Muslim brothers remained safe), we began our African service. We spent much of that service praying for peace and righteousness in the country. When our 5 pm service began, we did the same until suddenly at 5:40 we were told that a curfew was declared for 6 pm. Within a few hours, the Internet was shut off by the government. We sat watching television most of the evening as the demonstrations gained momentum.



On Saturday, we woke up and drove out to our desert biking valley and had a nice ride after filling our car with gas. Then around noon our cell phones stopped working. The curfew was moved up to 4 pm. So we sat in our homes, isolated and nervous as we wondered what was coming next. This was the day that government responded violently against the people in what turned out to be well over 100 were killed. Reporters were attacked. One freelance photo-journalist from our church was shot with a shotgun by the police from 100 meters away even though he was simply walking with his cameras on a nearby bridge. He was injured and sore, but did not suffer any serious injury. Al-Jazeera reporters were attacked and some arrested, as the Arabic channel of Al-Jazeera was taken off the air. Meanwhile, the US State Department was doing the diplomatic shuffle trying to desperately figure out the best way to respond to the situation without alienating whichever side would become the eventual power holders. Clearly sentiment favored the protesters.



The televisions then reported that police had left to defend their stations or go home. Rumors flew that Mubarak (whose name means “blessing”) had told them to abandon their posts to promote chaos with the hope the people would beg him to provide security—a rumor only. Then we heard that a couple of prisons had thousands escape (or according to another rumor: were released to promote further chaos). Either way, now there were criminals at large and no police. That evening we began to hear sporadic gunfire, including automatic weapons. We closed all of our shutters and locked ourselves in. We were afraid to go out (though Steve sneaked out in the dark to peek at the street and only saw a few Egyptians walking by and a couple of small campfires down the street). We have to admit that Saturday night was tense as we went to bed to the sound of gunfire through the night thinking: “So this is what a revolution and its resulting chaos feels and sounds like.”



As we awakened on Sunday morning, we walked out onto the street to check the scene and see if our car survived the night. It was then that we discovered that the Egyptians (and a few other nationalities) in our neighborhood had stayed up all night to guard our street. As it turns out, all over town these neighborhood groups had become the police force. Barricades had been erected on every street in Maadi to stop any and every car driving after curfew. Looters were caught and turned over to police (sometimes after being beaten). One story claims that some looters on a distant edge of Maadi were lynched. It was the US wild west of 1880s with vigilante justice. We realized that all along we had been safe in our homes because our neighbors had been watching out for us. Steve rode his bicycle around town to check on the church and let the stragglers from the Sudanese congregation know that church had been canceled for them on Sunday morning. Finally the military had begun to move in. On the dark side, the Egyptian National Museum was broken into and a few artifacts destroyed. Some stores in the Maadi Grand Mall were looted and burned, but most shops here are still in tact. Yet more rumors state that those apprehended had police or government credentials, implying that they were sent by the regime to disrupt the peace. How ominous is that if it were true!!



By Monday, things were much calmer and it was time to stockpile some food. It was at the grocery store that we first heard of the mass exodus of embassy and large company employees and families. The news was scrolling the ticker that the US State Department was urging Americans in Egypt to leave as soon as possible. This was another one of those times of conflicting emotions. “Do they know something we don’t? Will we be the only Americans left in town? Who will be left to go to school? Will the church need to shut down, and if not how will we pay for everything with so many people leaving?” We packed a carry-on suitcase to be ready to go on a moment’s notice. Adding to this anxiety is the panic and terror from loved ones back in the US who hear the sometimes sensational news reports. We have some young women here whose parents in the States are in tears.

On the other side of the emotional ledger were those long-termers who had been through times of previous evacuations (like during the Gulf Wars). They explained that this was typical to evacuate at the first sniff of trouble. Since the 1979 Iran revolution that resulted in embassy hostages for 14 months and Americans trapped in Iran with no way to get out, they will not take any chances. They explained that things were not nearly as dangerous for foreigners as the news media is portraying them.

When we met as a church staff, we were all unanimous in our desire to stay here and minister to people. No one felt threatened or afraid. We all felt that this was an unprecedented time to talk and encourage and really focus on our mission to advance God’s kingdom. There have been chances to talk with neighbors and neighborhood watch people all night long! One Egyptian said to me in talking about the sense of community and helping, “This is Egyptians at their best.” Starting Tuesday, we have met in our worship space under the open-air canopy to sing and pray. There has been a wonderful spirit among those who have stayed behind. We want God to use us in a mighty way.

One worry has been what to do with Alex’s schooling. Right now, his school (Cairo American College [prep school]) hopes to reopen next week. Alex hopes the same since he is quite bored without the Internet until today. The evacuees will not return for at least a month. This will be quite interesting—it may be Alex, some other non-American expats, and Egyptians. Talk about cultural immersion. All of this has set up opportunity for great conversations with Alex. As it turns out, he is as anxious to stay here as we are. The thought of returning to Spokane for school in the middle of the year is not appealing. If school does not reopen for a month, we will have to face that possibility.

It is now Wednesday—the day after Mubarak’s speech refusing to leave—there is a new sense of differing opinions emerging. Some are ready to say they have succeeded enough and let’s resume life. Others are now quite angry with his stubborn resistance. As we write this, Tahrir Square is filled with anti-government and pro-Mubarak protesters clashing. We all pray that this so far mainly peaceful demonstration will not deteriorate into violent anarchy. Naturally speculation is that the government has sent this group to disrupt and cause chaos to derail the anti-government protesters. We are reminded in Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. … Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Many Christians are wondering if this is a step in the fulfillment of Isaiah 19. Changes are certainly well underway.

A less tense scene from our Christmas trip (Karan, Brett, Alex):


Please keep praying for us and for Egypt!
Steve, Karan, and Alex