Greetings from Egypt sandstorm!

Cairo sandstorm

Greetings!  Yes, we are still alive in Egypt!  Each February-March in Egypt you don't have to go visit the Sahara Desert because the Sahara Desert comes to visit you.  Today is an extra special "desert viewing" as it is the second day of a sandstorm that has continued blowing without ceasing.  The sky is brown and the is sun blocked while sand/dust filters in through every crack and crevasse to leave a thick layer of brown grit on everything inside and out.  These sandstorms are named "khamseen" (Arabic word for "50") because the season for these periodic windstorms is 50+ days long, however they can pop up through April.  Now you would think a wind off the Sahara would be warm, but no!  Our temperature on Friday was an unseasonably warm 83º (28º C), but today it will only reach a chilly and windy 56º (13º C).  If you were in New England recently, I realize you have little sympathy, but at least your snow is clean!  The upside is that cat mating season has taken a break as they are hiding under buildings instead of walking around wailing for each other night and day.

sunrise over Karan's school

     Things here are less chaotic now than in the past years of two revolutions, but that does not mean they are calm.  The new government has cracked down on those they perceive are trying to disrupt the country and economy, so things have returned to more of a feeling of a police state.  But the difference between this and five years ago (pre-2011 regime) is that the terrorists are fighting back.  We are in a bubble in Maadi, but elsewhere in Egypt there is violence.  We cannot travel to the Sinai nor to the Western Desert as the military works to secure the borders.  However, Egyptians are quite willing to sacrifice some of their freedom for security.  They are frustrated and worn out with all the violence and disruptions.  Psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs ranks safety as a foundational need (only food, water, shelter being more important). Relationships, self-esteem, and pursuing fulfilling activities are less important!
   

village family we help support

More recently over the past few weeks, a group in Egypt who aligns themselves with the radical I.S. movement in the Middle East has issued a warning for all foreigners to leave the country.  No one has left, but it does raise everyone's fear factor.  So tourism to the Red Sea or St. Catherine's monastery to hike Mount Sinai or camping or four-wheeling in the desert (popular expatriate activities) have been off limits.  Many expats have felt caged in and are frustrated and restless.  I have to admit that after four years of uncertainty since the 2011 revolution, it does wear you down.  But as we said when we came, "We came because we are called even if we don't like some things."  A few weeks ago, Apache Oil (a major employer here started to lay-off some of their overseas workers.  We don't feel the "upside" to the slide in oil prices here because it creates economic downturn and unemployment.  So this adds more insecurity.  Still, we don't feel God has released us and as far as we know, so we will return again this coming ministry year in August.

through the gate to our worship service

The numbers of people at Karan's school and at the church are still low.  New people coming to Egypt is still fewer.  Nevertheless, Karan has had a very good year so far.  She is now head of department for special education for primary, middle school, and high school, so she gets to help shape direction and encourage teachers in helping students with learning challenges.  She loves it and feels she is making a difference.  In a few weeks she will travel to Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey with the middle school to go to a "space camp" put on by NASA.  Things at church are ever shifting with no year being like the last.  Our church governing board launched our African worship service into an independent church (with some heel dragging on their part), but we feel strongly that the New Testament pattern is to plant churches rather than leaving people in an immature state of ongoing dependency.  More recently we are negotiating with the owner of the church property who has been wanting to reduce the times and spaces we use in the facility so that they can expand their own activities.  This has driven us as a leadership team to our knees even more to seek God's voice and direction in knowing what He wants us to do.

Prague castle district

   
We were able to do some more traveling (a needed perk to de-stress).  On our way back to the US last summer we did a marriage and family classes in Romania.  Karan did also did a teaching seminar.  We stopped off in Prague and Budapest for a few days in each place.  We were in Whistler, BC with Brett, then on Orcas Island, WA with Travis.  One of our favorite memories was a 3 hour sailing lesson in an ocean bay.  Alex spent the summer at Mount Hermon outside Santa Cruz, CA. He is now in the business school in marketing and international business in his third year at Gonzaga University in Spokane.  He still works part-time at Kimmel, a sporting goods store.

Travis & Karan on Orcas Island

  Travis is still working as an assistant store manager at Verizon and they have moved him from Yakima to a bigger store back in Spokane.  The last few months he has been filling in for the store manager.
     Brett has a new job with an internet design company in Bellevue, WA as of last July.  It has stretched him professionally.  His branch of the company all flew back to New York City in the Fall to interact with the mother ship.  He found New York expensive (something his dad would have said!).
   

Brett & Karan heading for Whistler

Then in October we went to Hermanus, South Africa to whale watch and see Cape Town.  The next part of the 9 day trip was a tent safari in Kruger Preserve to see the various African animals.

Karan & Alex at Swiss ski chalet

   Alex came to us at Christmas and we also spent a week at Davos, Switzerland to cross-country and downhill ski.  So that's our news for now ... and remember that the incidents you see on the news media about Egypt are not taking place all over the country.  We still have greater safety than in many cities in the US.
     Karan is still on Facebook at Karan Wooley Flora and Steve is on Twitter (slightly more often than we blog) at srflora.