Living in Egypt Revolution 2.0

Tahrir June 2013

Every summer we explain to people back home that each year in Egypt has been vastly different.  This year is shaping up to be no exception!  We remember thinking in 2010 how it seemed inconceivable for any other group to replace the Mubarak regime, yet it happened.  Before we left for summer home-leave, it seemed just as inconceivable that the next president would be taken from power after only a year in office.  We have refrained from recording our opinions about the politics in Egypt or America, but this summer and Fall has been particularly frustrating.
   

Delga church

So we need to get a couple of things off our chests (you can skip this paragraph if you want).  First, when a new form of "democracy" has been started, but it has then ceased to be a democracy, is it wrong to unseat that government before any future elections will no longer be free?  (Too bad we can't ask the leaders of Germany's Weimar Republic that question now!)  Second, you cannot impose an advanced American template of democracy (with 200+ years to be established in a now literate populace) on nascent democracies in the Middle East (people used to authoritarian

worship in burned out Egypt church

government and religious leaders telling them how to think) and expect Western outcomes!  Half of Egypt is estimated to be illiterate and vote however their village chieftain tells them.  The actions of the deposed president's supporters revealed their true motives with widespread violence and destruction.  Third, when you don't have much of the Western world in support and little Middle East coalition support, why would you almost launch a military strike into a civil war where most sides are without morals?  Especially if this military strike

burned out interior of Egypt church

will likely spill over into a conflict that ignites the whole region and pits international superpowers against each other?  Why would you take that risk in the name of "accountability" when you have selectively ignored past violators?  We are waiting for the four riders of the Apocalypse to appear on the horizon!  (End of political comments!)

      Turmoil and uncertainty have been the "new normal" for nearly three years, and that has a stress and wearing all its own.  So we keep learning newer and deeper ways that life is not about us controlling everything to our desired outcomes.  We keep talking about how God works most dramatically during times of transition, so we are learning to look for His fingerprints all around us.  Many from other religions are asking questions and we want our followers of Jesus to be ready to engage them in loving and wise relationships and responses!  We also pray a lot as a church.  These are our roles for now in this land!
   

In a burned out church, the signs say: "My
terrorist brother, I came today to pray for you.”

We have been absolutely amazed at the spiritual response of many in the persecuted Egyptian churches.  Their love and forgiveness humble me and provide a standard of living out Jesus' kingdom principles in Matthew 5!  It must also be stressed that most Muslims in Egypt in no way support the violence against Christians and churches.  In some cases, they have risked their lives to help their Christian neighbors!

     We also press forward on initiatives to support the indigenous church of Egypt.  Over 85 churches were burned, as well as monasteries and Christian shops and businesses.  One of our church members went to visit Delga (one of the hardest attacked Christian villages).

Child's drawing shows mosque giving comfort to church.

He saw the aftermath of the atrocities and is now raising support to help the Christian families rebuild their lives.  (To go to our church website to link to his report "MCC eyewitness", click on: www.maadicommunitychurch.com.  If you want more detailed story about the situation, click on the links to two news articles:  http://bigstory.ap.org/article/south-egypt-islamists-take-over-town
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/egyptian-police-recapture-islamist-town-delga
     Meanwhile, our boys back home have life transitions of their own.  Travis was promoted to assistant manager with Verizon and has moved to Yakima, Washington.  He has been very successful in his career path with Verizon.  It's been nice to be able to see that our words to him during school: "Just get through it and jump through the hoops, then the world will be your oyster!" have come true.  Travis' people skills have really paid off for him.  Brett finished his internship with Mount Hermon in Santa Cruz, California.  He is now back in Seattle looking to take some online training to work on web design and web user interface development.  His graphic production emphasis is harder to find jobs as print continues to decline as a media.  Alex is back at Gonzaga in Spokane and starting his business classes in earnest now.  This semester includes accounting, statistics, and business law--yikes!  He is also working part-time at an athletic store near campus.  He doesn't have much free time these days!  Karan finds out this week if she will have a job next year.  The church is about half of what it was last Fall, so it's a new world in many respects!
     Please keep praying for us!  You can follow Steve on Twitter at srflora and Karan on Facebook at Karan Wooley Flora for more up-to-date personal reports than this sporadic blog!

Safely in His Hand,

Steve & Karan Flora