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!

Israel trip

We returned on January 2 from our “pilgrimage” to Israel. It was an interesting, invigorating, and challenging experience. We are still sifting through the varied and sometimes conflicting emotions. Very early Christmas morning, we drove across the Sinai to Taba, Egypt and went through 6 Israeli checkpoints to Eilat, Israel. It took a full hour. We rented a car and began our drive up and down the length of the country. The Negev desert in Israel looks similar to the Sinai desert. Our first night brought us to En Bokek on the southern edge of the Dead Sea. It was our first exposure to full Shabbat. Candles were lit, prayers recited, shawls and head coverings worn, and stores closed.

The next morning’s breakfast would be mostly cold food since cooking is considered work. The weather was barely warm enough for a float in one of the saltiest body of water on earth at 1385 feet BELOW sea level. They say you don’t sunburn—if such a thing is even possible for Steve’s skin. It is impossible not to float, and the water has an oily quality to it.

From there, most of the daylight was spent on a 50 minute hike 3300 feet up Masada where Herod had a palace and the Jews in 73 AD were seiged by the Roman legions until they all committed suicide. Travis was NOT happy about the walk up. That evening we drove to Tiberius on Lake Galilee and ate at a very good hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant and sampled European beer (except for Karan and Alex).



The next morning (Sunday) in the light of day we marveled at the natural lush green beauty of Galilee in winter. It looked a lot like the rolling hills of the Pacific Northwest (minus spruce trees). We drove to the possible site of Peter’s famous profession of faith in Matthew 16 and the feeding of the multitudes, but the church enshrining the site was closed for the day. So we drove to the Mount of Beatitudes and that church was closed until 2:30 pm. As it turns out, many of the “holy” sites are guesses based on oral tradition that the Roman Catholic Church made centuries ago, so they built churches to commemorate events. So you go realizing you are remembering an event more than finding a specific place.


So we drove to Korazin to see the ruins and imagined Jesus healing and preaching there. We then continued 45 minutes north to Tel Dan nature reserve—the site of the religious worship center for the Northern Kingdom. The hike was much easier this time. We drove back to the now open Beatitudes Church and imagined the grassy hill filled with 15,000+ people. It was a long way down to the Lake. We ate a St. Peter’s fish that night in Tiberius where parking is as sparse as at a Southern California beach on a holiday.

The following day was our visit to Mt. Tabor—the “declared” location of the Transfiguration (it could have been at Mt. Hermon). There is a church on the site and a great 360º view. We drove to Nazareth and were caught in a traffic jam (felt and looked a lot like Egypt because of its Arab population) that made us miss the 11 am tour of a restored first century village, so went to the ruins of Megiddo to see the future site of Armageddon. The surrounding valleys could easily accommodate a battle with millions.

The afternoon tour of Nazareth Village was enjoyable to see the historic recreation from a Christian-Arab point of view. Then began the looonnnggg 3 hour drive to Jerusalem on roads that seemed to have stop lights every five minutes while traveling hungry grouchy young adults and teen. Streets in Jerusalem are twisting and constantly name-changing with no highway numbers, which is all incredibly confusing. After an hour and a half of being lost, we finally hailed a taxi and followed him to our lodging place.

The next morning began our two-day tour of the Old City with a Christian guide. Our first impression of the Old City was that it was like a giant bazaar or flea market with a Jewish section with shops, a Muslim area with shops, an Armenian area with shops, and a Christian area with shops. Sprinkled throughout are churches commemorating Christian events—like the stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa and the resurrection. There are also lots of archeological excavations on the east side of the city as well as below the Temple Mount. Our kids response was: “Oh boy more ruins that all look the same!”

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was one of the places of contradictory feelings. Is this the real site of the Resurrection (there is another tomb outside the city that makes the claim also)? There are several different denominations fighting over their corner in the church. A leftover section of ladder stands on a second story ledge unable to be moved because of Christian parochial turf wars. It is not Christianity at its best. Still people tour and kiss the stone and touch an oiled rock for a special blessing and answers to prayer. That’s okay if we remember that God is just as present in your hometown and that this site is not any more holy than a believer’s heart (temple) where the Holy Spirit lives.

The Mount of Olives is so populated that it scarcely resembles any picture that my mind had imagined. When Jesus returns to split the mountain in half someday, there will be a lot of property damage! The Garden of Gethsemane was also a bit more manicured and groomed than I think it was when Jesus spilled tears of blood on the night of His betrayal.






Ironically the most inspirational spot for us was the Temple Mount. Ironic because it is controlled by Islam and only open to the public for a couple of hours some days. Non-Muslims are not allowed in the Dome of the Rock shrine at all. I guess they can tell who is and is not Muslim based on some racial profiling method?? Still it is an unspoiled area where the grand Jewish Temple (rebuilt and adorned in splendor by Herod the Great in Jesus’ time) once stood and where the final events of history will unfold someday.

The Holocaust Museum (Yad Veshem) was a serpentine building of zig-zagging rooms that chillingly chronicled the conditions leading to the Holocaust. One gains a deeper understanding of the Jewish hostility toward Christianity after seeing the displays and presentations. Still stories of courage and risk to stand for morality were featured from people of all beliefs and walks of life. I wonder what our world would be like if those 6 million souls had survived? What talents and innovations were lost?


Our final day included stops by the desert oasis of En Gedi where we hiked to David’s water fall and saw caves on the side of the canyon walls that could have been where Saul … umm, “turn aside.” It is an amazing natural area in the midst of the desert. We left Israel after visiting it’s one and only coral reef on the Red Sea complete with tropical fish. I was struck by the incredible variety of ecosystems exist in Israel in such a small area. I think the only one missing is a tropical rain forest! How God has naturally blessed that land, yet how humans have made it such a focal point of political and religious fighting! We truly walked away with a longing … “Come Lord Jesus!”

Christmas Greetings!

It has been an eventful Fall for us in a mostly good way. We learn a little more everyday about the Egyptian culture. From driving where it’s every man for himself and who can get to the spot first, to the lower service mentality makes you realize how different cultures can be. We also experienced our very first national Egyptian soccer (futbol) game. Egypt played Algeria in Cairo for a berth in the world cup. The entire country was literally gathered around their television sets; the normally crowded streets were deserted. When Egypt scored their winning goal it was as if we were just outside the stadium as cheering erupted from houses across the city. I have never seen anything like it. Of course, the darker side was the violence and destruction accompanying both that game and the rematch in Sudan a few days later.

This was also our second year to witness Eid al Adha the festival of sacrifice in late November, which happens about 70 days after the end of Ramadan (which every year starts 10 days earlier). It commemorates Abraham’s almost sacrifice of Ishmael (not Isaac).

In the days before the weekend festival, you see sheep and goats gathered in preparation. Then early in the morning, the call to prayer is nearly an hour long, then the sacrificing of the animals in people’s front yards or out in the street begins. The street dogs and cats have a feast of their own for days.

Alex’s second year has been quite a contrast to his first year. Last year he barely made the team coached by an Egyptian who valued individual skills.

This year’s team was coached by a South African who valued team play (like in Spokane coaches). Alex not only made the JV soccer team, but was team co-captain and co-MVP for the season. He made the travel team to Dubai they were one of the most feared teams. The other teams targeted Alex to knock him down since he was the playmaker, so amidst his bruises he realized it was a back-handed compliment.



He also made the JV basketball team again and it looks like he will get a good bit of playing time and likely travel to Abu Dhabi for the tournament in February. His group had first choice this year for the Week Without Walls trips, service or culture learning opportunities around the world and in Cairo. So with his first pick this year (he will be fourth [last] group to pick next year), he chose the Panda Conservatory in Szechuan province in southwest China. He is also discovering the exotic international girls around him (we’ll leave it at that…)

Travis arrived mid December after his first quarter at Eastern Washington University. His wrist was broken in two places in September and we were afraid of nerve damage, but it appears he will have full range back, though the end of his thumb is still numb and his fingers tingle. A physical therapist says he will still get more feeling back over time, but it will be over a year for it to be near normal. All the extra time gave Travis time to study without working 30-40 hours per week. He ended up with a 3.6/4.0 for the quarter. Travis will be staying until June 1 to do his internship in international relations with an Egyptian woman in our church who runs her own business: Global Strategic Consultants (www.gsc-egypt.com). He will also be her teaching assistant at American University Cairo in her public relations/international marketing class.

Brett will be here for a little over three weeks. He had a very good quarter at Western Washington University with art and photography related classes. He had to take a free hand drawing class (including a section on nudes) with no background in art. He feels like he learned and developed and his instructor looked forward to helping him advance in the next class Winter quarter. He submitted his portfolio and got accepted into the graphic design major! So for now he has a double major, which might be useful since photojournalism is not exactly a booming job market in today’s world.

Karan is still working every other day at Alex’s school (CAC) in special education while still navigating the political waters. She gets worn down with some of the dynamics and feeling treated like a second class citizen, but her principal is very supportive. She loves being with the students in helping them succeed and learn to overcome their challenges. We are glad Karan is part-time and hope she can stay that way from a time perspective. If she goes full-time she will have more clout and ability to help kids, but the cost to church and family will be greater.

Karan returned to her roots and was Elizabeth in the Christmas pageant at church. She was back to her she was pretty animated and humorous self on stage. It was first time to work with live animals and their unpredictability. No camels “unloaded” (one year the camel splashing sound drowned out the voice on stage). And no sheep mounted another during Mary’s solo like in a previous year. It is interesting in this Middle East setting to tell the Christmas story to over 1000 from different cultures and religions.

Steve is happy to have a Director of Administration here and settling in. Dave has removed a great amount of the administrative load. We are dealing with the challenges of moving to Friday evening services (instead of Friday morning--the time of Muslim worship). We now compete with social events and leisure since this is the very middle of our weekend in Egypt. We also have seen fewer "expats" coming into Egypt with the world economic downturn. But the spirit is good as we have stressed training and equipping people to push outside their comfort zones and become involved in kingdom opportunities right outside their door. Our hope is that people's lives will change from being in this amazing setting so that they can return to their home churches and bring a missional mindset. There is a good spirit of unity among the leadership!

On Christmas Day, we drive to Israel to rent a car for 9 days in Israel. We are driving across the Sinai (Egypt) to Eilat, Israel. Then we drive to Masada by the Dead Sea and stay the night. Then drive to Galilee and explore for two days. Then drive down to Jerusalem for four days. We return to Cairo on January 2.

In His Grip!

Steve and Karan

Moving into a New Flat

Yes, we did make it back to Egypt! Yes, we did move into our new flat. When our landlord wanted to raise the rent $400 per month, we found a much cheaper place that was on the ground floor AND had a small yard AND it’s by the back gate of Alex and Karan' school so they only walk a half block. But it was far from easy. When we left for our summer trip for the US, our flat was supposed to be almost ready when we returned July 30. Here began our growing experience. We had to impose on friends for over a month to live in their flat. When we finally did move in on September 1, we lived without a usable kitchen for another two weeks. Customer service, especially during Ramadan (Aug 21-Sept 21 this year), is not a core value in this part of the world. We have only had DSL Internet for a few weeks but it's only 256 kb, while we wait for the Internet provider and the separate marketing company to quit arguing over payment.
←our two-story new flat from the outside

The most disappointing aspect of the whole ordeal was how grouchy and complaining we were. All of our illusions about how flexible and adaptable we had become living overseas were shattered. We realized how easy we had it last year living with a landlord that fixed everything quickly and at his expense. We found how much this is NOT the norm in Egypt. For $600 month less in rent, we have used up all of the first year’s savings just fixing the place up. Were it not for the “angels” God sent us to minister in the fixing, remodeling, feeding us meals, washing our clothes (we also weren’t able to hook up our washer/dryer), we would really be a mess!! Our desire for being “in control” remains an illusion. We are thankful for the body of Christ alive and at work!! We have learned what is more of a typical expat experience moving into a new culture … we just had to wait a year. We will have much more compassion on those who struggle with adjusting to Egypt since we have tasted more deeply what they feel.

While all of the joy of moving was transpiring, Karan began her teaching at CAC at 40% on August 2 (classes began on the 16th). Her new position in learning support services (aka special education) involved dividing her time between high school and middle school. Learning the procedures, expectations, and relational dynamic of two very different divisions of the school in an entirely new position has also been a learning experience. Karan feels good about the situation so far, especially helping students. Soon after September 1, she was moved up to 60%, so she works every other day now. As in any new work community, there are lots of new rules and hidden social dynamics to learn, so navigating these waters has been yet another stretching experience. It takes you to a place of just discovering who you are and being true to that identity when other forces try to shape you into something different and lesser.

Karan's new kitchen→

Working every other day enables Karan to work with the women’s group MWG (Maadi Women’s Guild). Though it has had many faces in the many, many years of existence, the consistent one is the benevolence, to help support various charity work in and to this country. There is a woman to woman aspect, which began more intentionally, last year as more of an outreach to the expatriate community (not necessarily only the Christian women) in connection and relationship, with the hope of joining hands to sow into other lives. From that group, smaller groups from bowling to in depth Bible studies are offered to women in the community. It is exciting to see what the Lord will do this year!
Meanwhile, there have also been some shifts at church. The Anglican (Episcopal) Church, who owns the property where we worship, wanted the prime Friday morning worship time (our local holy day). So we shifted our worship services to Friday afternoon and evening. So far it has gone fairly well. The spirit has been good in the church as we have emphasized the priesthood of the believer and serving as a fulfilling lifestyle. It has been hard to measure attendance because of the irregularity of the school year start-up this year. (As of September 18, all public and private schools and universities were closed until October 3 because of fear of swine flu outbreak.) If the delay had continued, there could be a mass exodus of people taking their kids back home to not compromise their education. So we were sweating it for awhile. The rhythm of this Fall has been very unusual according to long-term residents due to the school closure and Ramadan, but we think we are ready to now begin the year as everyone has filtered back in.

←Steve in the living room with new oriental rugs

Alex has seemed to have the easiest adjustment. He has established a good group of friends who hang out together regularly. He has stayed quite socially active. He likes his classes (mostly). JV soccer try-outs began last week with 72 showing up. It was extremely competitive and Alex was pretty worried, but he made the team of 16. So we are all holding our breath to hope he makes the travel team of 11 this year. He also joined a men’s Fall softball team, so that keeps his baseball skills sharpened. He also had his birthday party this year amid the last boxes of unpacking. What a difference a year makes!! We are thankful!!

Video game area 2nd floor→

Meanwhile back in Spokane, Travis has one more quarter of classes at Eastern Washington University before he comes here to Egypt to do his internship in International Relations from December through May. He broke his wrist in two places, though, and so no longer can work. He is in alot of pain as the splint is trying to hold the bones to mend so he doesn't need surgery. He looks forward to getting it put in a cast and seeing if his fingers and thumb can move so he can work and type, etc.
Brett is in Bellingham in his junior year at Western Washington University. He worked all summer in a state park at the entrance station. He is a photojournalism major, but is trying a class in the Art department enroute to either a double major or minor in graphic design. The issue is that our former science-math student has ventured into an arena that he has had much less background. He is living in an apartment with several others in different apartments from a campus Christian group.
We did manage to take a four day trip to the tip of the Sinai peninsula to Sharm el Sheikh (pronounced "shake") to snorkel in the Red Sea. It was wonderful. The hotel even had three large water park quality water slides! The fish around the coral reef were amazing and we got to sample the night life of Sharm.

Let me encourage you if you haven't signed up to be a "follower" of this blog so you can receive email notice that you follow the directions posted in previous blogs. When we were back home this summer we discovered many people who didn't know how to sign-up, but wanted to.
Let us hear from you! Remember that no matter what the economic and political situations, God is still good and He is in control. His purposes will not be thwarted.

Steve and Karan

It's almost summer in Cairo (though after our first winter it hardly felt like summer ever ended). Spring, like most places, is when the flowers and trees bloom. Right now the beautiful orange of the Flame Tree and the deep lavender of the Jacaranda are right outside our window.

Speaking of windows, we will be looking out from a different location in August. We will be moving out of this flat (apartment) by June 14, put our stuff in storage, and then move into a two-story villa with a small yard. Here's the back story:
When we finished the looonnngggg process of our church budget in late April, we made major cuts so that we could live within our means. Some major outside money had been coming in over the last several years, but since the predominately western Canadian and Christian & Missionary Alliance staff have moved on, so have those financial donors (who came from those long-term relationships from the same denomination and region). So we reduced our budget to a bit above what our offerings have been over the past few years. This means that we won't hire one of the senior staff we had been searching. It also meant that we have reduced our staff by almost 40% mostly by not replacing those who are moving this year (we typically have a 30% attrition rate every year in the church).
We have also faced external issues like the world economic downturn affecting foreign companies in Egypt, as well as more restrictive visa rules that went into effect last October. The human interpretation could be to wring our hands and grieve the loss of staff and programs. We think this is God shifting our focus from a large, staff-dependent "come and get it" program, to a focus on finding, training, and sending out "grassroots" people. The leaders feel this is yet another way that God will make us place ministry squarely in the hands of the volunteers. These volunteers can be used and shaped in this missional, international setting so that they will go to their next place and have an impact for the Kingdom work to influence those around them. Maybe in the long run, we will have more of an impact on the American church than if we had stayed state-side in one church.
So after cutting everything we knew to cut, my attention turned to our housing costs (which the church covers). When our landlord wanted to raise our rent, we found someone moving who had rent $600 less than our current amount. It was a ground floor two-story villa with a small yard in front and a slightly larger yard in the back. It was also across the street from the back gate of Alex's school. He was excited that he could bring all his friends home for lunch some days. Karan looked inside at the kitchen, bathroom, old furniture and simply wept. So after hiring some PR people to "spin" the situation (actually it was our handy man who said it had "potential") and then filling her with imported wine, she finally agreed. Actually, after we got the church council to agree to use our rent savings for a year to remodel the kitchen and bathroom and replace the furniture, Karan began to look with new eyes. Now that some interior designers and her have looked a few more times, she has actually become quite positive about the whole idea. So now she is busy picking cabinets, granite counter tops (it's cheap here so don't be looking at us that way), floor tile, and scavenging furniture from people who are leaving.
Speaking of people leaving, this is our first season to say good-bye to folks who have completed their "tour." Steve is losing his personal assistant who has been incredibly helpful and has actually been the administrative glue that has held the church together. She moves with the State Department to Portugal. Sometimes you also endure unexpected departures. A man who has been here in ministry for 18 years doing wonderful things for the people of Egypt and who has been very careful not to be out proselytizing the majority religion here, was denied re-entry into the country a couple of weeks ago (it's the Egyptian way of deportation so you have to buy an on the spot airline ticket). If losing him wasn't bad enough for the community and church, his wife has been a major leader in the church and the other part of Steve's external support system. All of this only a few weeks before their last remaining son graduates from high school (so now dad will miss his commencement). So all of this brings up many strong, mixed emotions that have been difficult to process. Ultimately we are reminded that every day of ministry is a gift from the Lord and we are here only by His sovereign hand (and secondarily as guests who remain at the pleasure of the Egyptian government). This was part of the faith quotient that we felt so strongly when we visited here last February--no one man can do this job, it has to be a God thing. When we remember our constant desperate dependence, then we settle into more peace.
On a lighter side, while Alex has had all this opportunity to travel, Steve and Karan finally had the chance to travel themselves. They both attended a conference for international churches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the last week of April. Neither of us had been to Asia, so this was an incredible experience. We did the usual tourist thing, but also were able to network with pastors mostly from Asia and the Middle East. The highlight was a lunch with an middle easterner who has become a believer and is having dramatic ministry with those coming to Malaysia from his very conservative country. His story of how God reached into his life and what factors grabbed his heart were amazing. (It had little to do with intellectual arguments.)
Alex and Karan are leaving June 11th for WA. Steve will join them the 14th, to leave for Texas to see Karan's mom and Steve's dad. We will be in Spokane for a couple of weeks before traveling to the west side to see Brett, as well as relatives and friends in Portland. Finally, we will travel to California to see friends and a vacation before returning to Cairo the end of July. It will be a fast summer, but wonderful to see family and friends.
We need and love your prayers as we go through the changes and life in another land. The school where Alex goes is looking for a part time Learning Resource Center teacher (their equivalent of Special Ed).

Karan has applied and interviewed on May 31. A few unexpected openings have also occurred in the elementary level, full time. Karan will interview for one of those positions June 1. We would covet your prayers as we evaluate the opportunities and what the Lord would have us do. The decisions will impact our family, and we desire to be wise, not just jump at the relief financially full time would bring, IF Karan has that opportunity. We continue to feel privileged to be here and serve in this amazing church and land.
Travis is still in International Affairs at Eastern Washington University outside Spokane. He has one more quarter of classes this coming Fall, then comes here to Cairo in mid December for a five month internship with an international business in communication and marketing. We aren't sure how all that will work since his degree program was mostly government and culture classes, not business. He originally started in international business, but the thought of taking accounting and quantitative managing classes were less to his liking. We cannot believe how God opened that amazing door through a very generous Egyptian woman. Travis also works as a cook in an upscale restaurant 30 hours per week, so he has worked his tail off.
Brett is having a good year at Western Washington University, and has switched to photojournalism. He is exploring whether he wants to take some graphic design classes which could become a double major (and extra year of school). He is loving his major, while we figure out how our math and science guy is pursuing an art career (since neither of us is artistic). Brett is working this summer at a state park in the entrance booth--not as strenuous as raspberry picking last summer, but maybe more tedious. He will come to Egypt again this Christmas for 3 weeks. We all hope to travel to Israel over Christmas "enshallah" (God willing).
So far only seven of you have signed up to "follow" our blog, so here's how to get an automatic reminder of when a new blog is posted: From our blog, click on "Follow." On the next screen you will be prompted to choose one of the sign-in methods listed (google, yahoo, etc.) or create your own google ID (don't worry, this shouldn't generate a flood of spam). Then you can choose the public or private option for whether others can see your name. If you later decide to unsubscribe, you can easily click on that option when you sign in to see our blog.

In His Grip,
Steve and Karan Flora

Spring greetings from Egypt!

Steve, Alex, Travis, Brett at Karnak temple at Christmas

April spring greetings!! February and March have flown by and have been full for all of us in our different spheres. God continues to bless us in amazing ways as we live our lives here. First, spring in Egypt is really beautiful. Right now the trees are exploding with color. Our days are warming, but in waves. The week might start out with highs in the low 70’s and by the end of the week the high temps might be in the upper 80’s. Winter never got as cold as it was when we interviewed a year ago last January/February. We are in the khamaseen season, which means 50 days of wind, causing dust and sand to BLOW. The sky isn’t always blue and the grit seeps in under the windows and doors. It is manageable, mostly because I have help cleaning, thank goodness.

We went to Germany for spring break to ski. My bargain finding hubby researched and found tickets to Munich for CHEAP. We went to Garmisch and had absolutely beautiful conditions. We downhill skied for 2 days and then cross-country skied for another 2 days. Alex snowboarded for 4 days. It snowed 4-6 inches every day of the last three days, which made the snow conditions great.


Alex. He worked hard this past quarter to bring up his grades, as well as played JV basketball. Though not his primary sport, he worked hard and improved such as to be able to travel to the tournament with the team in Kuwait. It was a great experience and he met kids from other places, which he hopes to see when he travels to Dubai, UAE for softball on April 15. He is enjoying his sports!! He even turned three double plays in softball last night! He is still finding his way in school. It is definitely more college “prep” school than Mead, so the demand on him is greater. He is doing it, slowly but surely. The different sports have given him more friends and the “away” games are incentive to hang in there. Plus, he was able to get his first choice for his Week Without Walls trip that every CAC high school student takes. He went to Borneo, Indonesia to an orangutan rescue. He landed and traveled 4 hours into the rain forest by riverboat, sleeping on it for 3 nights while they saw the orangutans in the wild. He then went to a hospital and helped paint, as well as checked out the small, sickly baby orangutans. It was an experience he will not soon forget. Another plus for being here. Youth group and his relationships at church have also helped his heart in out life here. Though he misses his brothers and friends in Spokane, he is finding his way here and we are thankful.

Karan. I started subbing at the school where Alex is attending, CAC (Cairo American College), mostly in the middle school. For a few weeks there, it was teach from 8-3pm and tutor until 5:30, still shorter than my Shaw days. Ha!! I will sub for the first time in the elementary next week. I am also tutoring 4 days a week and enjoying it most of the time. It helps where we need it and gives me most of my days free or at least with a choice of the time teaching. I am continuing to meet with women, take part in the women’s guild and wash babies between teaching days. Friends are coming slowly and I am thankful. Some new friends are already on their way out of Egypt, so I have enjoyed the time we have had. Some I will get to know better. The diversity is life giving and keeps things hopping. I am happy, hopeful and eager to see how I will be used, as time goes on.

A view of the gate of St. John's. We worship under the tent to the left.

Steve. He has been very busy, but finding a rhythm of sorts in his long days. We just this week received the news that a man is coming as the church administrator. We are thrilled. Steve will have some help in the admin arena, which will be wonderful!! In the meantime, we are making progress in bringing structure to our African Ministries. We may be turning a corner in that department! Both of us are still very happy to be here and see God at work. We are now trusting God big time to provide property and permission to build a church in a different location from our current rental situation. By August, we will either have to switch days for worship or find a temporary location until we get property. We still sense God at work to equip and send people into His fields after their 2-3 year stay here.

We have found a handy way to receive an email notice when we make a new posting. This is a great tool since we are so erratic and unpredictable as to when one of these blogs actually shows up. Go to our blog and click on "Follow." On the next screen you will be prompted to choose one of the sign in methods listed (google, yahoo, etc.) or create your own google id. Then you can choose the public or private option for whether others can see your name. If you later decide to unsubscribe, you can easily click on that option when you sign in to see our blog.

In His Grip,
Karan and Steve