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

Year 3 in Egypt

Aren’t you glad you subscribe to this very erratic blog, so you don’t waste time keeping on checking back for nothing?? (To subscribe check earlier post instructions.) So lots to catch up ... The ministry-school year ended well.

After visiting parents in Texas in June, we took some days off in our timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was a wonderful time and served as a graduation celebration for Travis.

At church, we began a trial Saturday night worship service at church (to complement the African service and Friday night service) to see if it would open up additional ministry opportunities. Since the work week here is Sunday through Thursday (mosques worship Friday mornings), Friday nights proved to be a challenge for some people’s schedules with school activities and work events. So after the seven week trial period, we thought it was worth the extra investment to continue as ministry things kicked off this August. The ministry year has started with good energy and enthusiasm (it’s been an 8+ out of 10, Bob!). We have had a good influx of new people who have become involved. (Over the last two years with the world economy down, we have had fewer expatriates (“expats”) arriving, especially families. This year that trend has slowly begun to reverse).


We have also re-established key outreach partnerships that had been put on hold. One of the things that drew us to this church was the great outreach opportunities. It has been our goal to redevelop outreach to bring it back to the center. We have partnerships with two schools for Sudanese refugee children, an institute to train pastors for African churches, a prison ministry to non-Egyptian inmates, a more affordable K-8 school for expat families, a women’s service organization (involving many non-churched women) that helps the needy local population. We are praying about finding a local medical ministry opportunity. Though all of this is positive external results, the real foundation and energy is helping people see and embrace how God is working in their everyday life. Steve continues to keep working on this focus for himself as he lets go of past patterns.

Karan is now full-time at Cairo American College (CAC). She not only is doing “Learning Support Services” for sixth grade, she also teaches two classes of sixth grade language arts. So her work load has definitely increased as she is working long hours learning a new curriculum (back to her days at Shaw Middle School). We have joked that Karan’s life verse is now Genesis 15:12, “As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell over him, and a thick and dreadful darkness descended.” Even with all the extra work, she loves what she is doing.


She is able to impact student’s learning in real and tangible ways, while being embedded in a great sixth grade team. She also likes being less spread out among grades and administrations as last year. Naturally this makes for adjustments with Steve working both Fridays and Saturday nights (Karan’s days off). One of the compensations is that we will take one weekend off a month. Not coincidentally, a couple in the church that own a resort condo on the Red Sea 1½ hours away, have offered it to us to use. So God has provided a retreat place not too far away! We still are working on the relationship dynamic change that both of us working full-time brought our last few years in Spokane and are now before us again. (Do you ever wish you could arrive at a comfortable place that you don’t have to grow and adapt anymore?!)

Alex played short-stop in the varsity baseball tournament that was here in Cairo in late May. He had a great tournament, especially defensively and hit two doubles and a few singles and sacrifice bunts.

He had a great summer back in Spokane for 5½ weeks renewing friendships and even making a few new ones. He did break his thumb during Hoopfest (world’s largest 3 on 3 street basketball tournament with over 20,000 players). That limited his activities including receiving batting coaching. He was still able to take driver’s ed. Now we have to figure out how to log an additional 25 hours of driving time in Egypt so he can try to get his driver’s license next summer (the legal driver learning age here is 18). He loved being there, but at the same time he looked forward to returning to Egypt to his friends and activities here.

Alex made the varsity soccer team and is one of the starting mid-fielders. The team travels to Brussels the second week of November for a tournament. This has been an even more challenging academic year with chemistry, integrated math 3, third year Spanish, advanced placement English, a very detail-heavy American history class, and speech. Junior year is supposed to be the hardest year at CAC. Next summer, Alex wants to look at the University of Washington, which is fairly challenging to gain admission. Brett recommends Western Washington University, but Travis warns Alex not to become a hippy eco-nerd if he goes there. We will also look at some other state schools next summer. Alex is also involved in youth group and likes it a lot. It is a great supportive group.

Travis finished his internship here in Cairo at the end of May and graduated in June with his bachelor of arts in international relations. He did very well in his internship which taught him some marketing and public relations skills. But he could hardly wait to return home and escape living in Egypt, not to mention being at home again with his parents. He is now working as kitchen manager in a sports bar in north Spokane, but has had his hours reduced, which is bringing considerable financial strain. He is looking intensely for a permanent job that can actually pay the bills (especially with student loan repayments starting soon). Let us know if you have some leads in sales or marketing or public relations.

Brett is in his fourth year at Western Washington University in Bellingham. He is finishing the coursework for a photojournalism major this quarter, but has also decided to major in graphic design. If his portfolio at the end of this year is accepted, then he is moved into the final senior sequence of courses next year. We still find it hard to believe that our math and science high school student has gravitated into the art end of the spectrum! Brett stayed on campus this summer to do a journalism internship and take two courses (and ride his mountain bike often enough to have two significant crashes and a mild concussion—he now wears body armor and traded up to a full suspension bike). I think the highlight of his summer was a mountain bike trip to the trails of Whistler—ride the chairlift up to the top and cruise down on groomed biking trails. He is still living in the same house with some other Christian guys, and still attending the same small family church.


We love hearing from you all. As busy as life is, we need each other to encourage and be encouraged in community. We welcome visitors and would love to stay up to date on your lives!! We give you incentive with a picture of El Gouna on the Red Sea (in case the previous Luxor pictures were not enough). You hardly know you are in Egypt—the water is warm and the snorkeling and diving world-class.

Overcome By Grace,

Steve and Karan

A Year of Transitions

We apologize for our negligence in keeping up our blog postings. Life seems to fly by at an accelerated pace the older you get! As usual it has been an eventful and stretching time with rarely a dull moment. At church we are making

progress in transitioning from a big staff, big program, big budget past phase to fewer staff, targeted programs, smaller budget to emphasize mobilizing the grass-roots. While this has involved more people and less sitting and watching, it isn’t quite as much fun as the big buzz of the glory years. So as you can imagine this has become a stretching experience for Steve to surrender living up to his perceived expectations of what looks good and successful in order to learn to trust God’s calling instead. It’s his own “Gideon” learning experience!

Karan meanwhile continues part-time at Cairo American College (CAC—not an actual college, but a K-12 prep school). She has been able to make progress in the learning support services (LSS—aka mild special education) program in middle school so that they are talking next year about perhaps giving her the

6th grade learning support students. It has not been without its challenges to navigate the politics of established patterns. Meanwhile the high school LSS program has been a much smoother integration with Karan’s training and background. All in all, Karan has seen some students respond as they learn to make the adjustments that turn on the light of learning for themselves.

Alex is having a great year. In JV basketball, he sprained his ankle in pre-season practice and we feared he would be out for a month or more. But he healed quickly and used an ankle brace, so was able to travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a starter where they won the tournament.

This year Alex’s group (based on last name letter in the alphabet) had first choice in Week Without Walls in late February, so Alex chose a service learning opportunity at a panda conservatory in the Sichuan province of China. It was a bit less “hand-on” than the orangutan rescue in Indonesia last year. Next year his group chooses last, so he may be closer to home since the exotic locations are usually taken early.

Varsity baseball is now underway and this weekend they are hosting a team from Jordan. He is playing short-stop mostly. Usually the baseball team travels to Europe for an end of season tournament in late May, but this year Cairo is the host location. In between sports practices and games, Alex finds some time for school. He has actually improved his grades and made honor roll this past quarter. The school workload is definitely quite demanding, as you would expect from a college prep school. He also is involved in youth group when his homework load is not too great. He definitely likes Egypt better this year, but still looks hugely forward to his six weeks back in Spokane starting in mid June. He will start driver’s ed this year, so will be in morning classes.

Travis has been living with us since mid December while he does his international affairs internship with Global Strategic Consultants (see our December blog). It is a business

emphasis in public relations and communication, and he has liked it and done very well according to his supervisor (the picture is Travis, Mona Zaki his supervisor, and the president of the Czech Republic). He manages some of the public relations for the Egyptian Philharmonic so gets to attend some of their concerts (not exactly his cup of musical tea). The teaching assistant part of his internship has also gone well. Travis definitely likes the business side of international affairs more than the government side. He finishes in late May and will graduate (God willing and Travis turns in the required paperwork) in June. It seems hard to believe! He now begins the real world challenge of finding a job. His wrist seems to be near normal now.

Brett is our lone family member left back in the US. He has survived another drawing class and is now into the thick of graphic design basic courses.

This quarter will tell the story of whether he wants to stay in the program as a double major, or just graduate next winter only in photojournalism. He flew to southern California in early April to do a training seminar with Nikon or someone like that and really got a lot out of it. He will be doing a university communications internship this summer so will stay in Bellingham.

This past spring break we went to Austria for a ski/snowboard vacation. It was a great time and there was plenty of snow—almost too much snow since

grooming couldn’t keep up with the week of storms while we were there. We didn’t get to do any cross-country skiing, but did eat a lot of sausages and other pork products. Steve and Travis sampled lots of Austrian beer (they recommend Steigl). The start of the vacation was harrowing as Lufthansa didn’t have Steve’s ticket that he had booked on Lufthansa.com. In classic Egyptian fashion at the Cairo airport they said it wasn’t their problem and he would have to buy one on the spot for an exorbitant price. After some calls to the Lufthansa office in the US, they agreed to issue the ticket for the original price (that they had never charged to our credit card) only shortly before the plane was scheduled to depart. Needless to say, customer service is not a top priority in the Middle East. Then in the Munich airport, Steve managed to lose his passport—yep pretty dumb, huh? Someone found it and turned it in so that the potential nightmare never made it into reality.

School ends June 1 and then we begin our yearly pilgrimage back home. Hopefully we won’t wait another three months to post our next blog! Don't forget you can sign up to follow the blog. You have to create a google ID, but so far no one has complained about being spammed after doing it. So give it a try!