May 24 (Leah's)

 

Our last full day in Cairo…in Egypt…on  our trip…Wow! Time goes by fast, but also, I feel like we have been traveling for a really long time!

            After we ate our breakfast this morning, we met with Antony, the British guy who we were going to go to Garbage City with. We all jumped in a taxi together and when we go to “garbage city” you could tell we were there. It is a place in Cairo where a population of Coptic Christian have been giving the “task” by the Cairo government to collect, sort, and recycle all the garbage in Cairo! This is basically a slum where people are living in piles of garbage. The men usually go throughout Cairo in either carts driven by donkeys or by trucks to collect the garbage. They then bring it back to the “Garbage City” on the outskirts of Cairo, where it is sorted into piles, MASSIVE piles! One building is full of cardboard, another plastic bottles, another clothes. And on and on it goes. Garbage, garbage, garbage. We walked through narrow streets, lined with garbage. Children walk bare foot and play in the garbage, dogs, cats, donkeys roam the streets. Groups of women sort through the piles. It’s a pretty sad place, definitely an eye opening experience. I don’t think I could ever live in a place like this, unless completely forced to!

            We had lots of kids coming up to us. Some asking for money, some just wanting to say to the apparently “weird white people” for walking through their very dirty, smelly and disgusting streets. We had men and women greet us. Some weren’t so happy that we were there, but for the most part, we received kind greetings. One boy shouted words you wouldn’t want to repeat at us when we told him we had no money for him. He turned and started running as he yelled these words, obviously aware that they were words you shouldn’t say!

            I felt a little awkward wondering the streets. I felt compassion and pity for these people, but also at the same time relieved that I didn’t have to live in conditions like that. You would be dirty and smelly all the time!

            The nice thing about this area is that it is a “Christian” district. Coptic Christian. So the women are free to have their heads uncovered which meant that I didn’t feel as “immodest’ with my head uncovered. All of a sudden though as we were walking the streets it turned into the Muslim area, we could tell only by the women because now all their heads were covered. It was like we crossed an invisible line that went from the Coptic Christian area to the Muslim area.

            We went to a famous church in the Coptic Christian area. It is literally build into the rock mountain. It was pretty cool. There was a smaller church, and then another big one. The big one was built coliseum style. There were cool carvings on the “cave” walls, pictures of Jesus dying on the cross, rising from the dead and so on.

            After our time in Garbage City, we went with Antony to this restaurant close to our hotel where they serve a traditional local dish called Kushari. It is like a layered meal. It starts off with rice, then noodles, then lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce and fried onions. It was good. I added a bit too much hot chili sauce to mine though! Spencer and I shared a cold rice pudding dessert.

            Back at the hotel we enjoyed a cup of tea and crackers with Anthony before he headed off. We spent the remainder of the afternoon in the hotel.            

            We went to GAD again for dinner. They seem to like the fact that we keep coming back! Tomorrow night will be our last time, just before heading off to the airport! We stopped to get some sweets after dinner….. I know we sound like pigs!....Have to indulge a little bit before our year without sweets….No, I am kidding, I am sure we will for sure have sweets in Tanzania!

            As for our last night in Cairo I am pretty sure I will be glad we are going, but all in all, it hasn’t been too too bad! We have had some good days, just wondering around. But to leave Egypt, I think I am ready for that. I am done being overly hassled, lied to, taken advantage of. Not to mention, I am pretty sure I have probably inhaled enough cigarette smoke that is equivalent to me smoking about 20 packages of cigarettes a day! I am almost deaf from the incessant, blasting, obnoxious car horns that are always honking! I have almost got hit by a car every other time I cross the road. To go out walking the streets basically means going through a giant obstacle course as you avoid donkeys, vendors, cars, people, carts, and other random objects on the sidewalks and roads! So I am glad to leave all this behind. Hopefully Tanzania isn’t as bad! But no matter what, I am sure we will enjoy our time!

           

May 23 (Leah's)

 

Today was a lazy day. I didn’t really want to do anything for the first part of the day. We had breakfast, drank tea, wrote, and then I did some major hand-washing. Who knew you could sweat so much just washing clothes- must be good for me!

            We went out to go to the supermarket and fruit market. We also stopped at a bookstore and finally found an English section that had more than just textbooks. We bought a book each since we are quite low on reading material. We ended up eating lunch quite late. I had raisin bran with fruit and Spencer got an Egyptian pancake to go from GAD. We ate our lunch at the hotel and then we skyped with mom and dad Gray.

            We spent some more time hanging out at the hotel. I did a bit more hand-washing. I will have to finish the rest tomorrow. We chatted with a man from the States but who is Palestinian by ethnicity. We talked of the Egyptian election that was happening today and tomorrow, about the Israel and Palestine dispute, and about being a tourist in Egypt and how hard it is.

            We are going to go and see Garbage City tomorrow with a British guy we met at our hotel. He has lived in Cairo for 9 months working with a NGO doing refugee work. He is now on “holiday”. He speaks Arabic and he knows the city, so it will be good to go with him.

We are going to try another place for dinner. Another food-chain restaurant that smelt good when we walked past it this afternoon. Hopefully GAD doesn’t miss us too much!

            It is weird to think that in three days we will be Tanzania! I am getting really excited, but I also hope that I am not idealizing it because Egypt has been hard….I hope we don’t get let down…but that would be our own selfishness that would let us down….I hope I am not expecting things to be “great” and then find out that things are hard…But I guess that is all part of life’s lessons and journey….I am sure we will have a great experience in Tanzania. I know God will continue to lead and guide us, and that He will also teach us, stretch us, and purify us!

            After dinner we went to buy some sweets- even though we didn’t “need” them. It ended up being more expensive than what we expected…we passed a lady (in a burka) with three children sitting on the sidewalk selling small Kleenex packages- we gave her some small money. As we kept walking back to the hotel Spencer felt like he should give her our sweets, so we walked back, and he gave them to her, and she accepted with a big smile on her face. It is so hard to really help people sometimes. You feel like your small deeds don’t mean much, but I hope and pray that every time we reach out to someone in a big or small way, that they get a glimpse of the love and compassion of our heavenly father.

            I sometimes feel horrible walking by these men, women, and children that are on the streets, begging for anything they can get. Sometimes we have money to give, some times we don’t. I admit, that some times I walk by and try to pretend that I don’t see them- because I feel so bad and guilty and I don’t know how to Really help them. I wish we could do something more…..I guess that is why I am really looking forward to going to Tanzania- to be in a place where we can hopefully do something to better the good of the people there…..And God willing, hopefully see some people’s lives changes through faith in Jesus Christ!

May 22

May 22

            I prayed last night that the Holy Spirit would help me be more like Jesus.  I long to be more like Him.  I long for less of me.  It’s the only way I’ll ever truly be happy.  To be more like Christ is to embody the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I’ve got to keep in mind that God is all about our character-growth, or, more appropriately, our complete transformation – conformity to Christ in every way; absolute surrender.  On the one hand I pray for help to be more like Jesus and then I get perturbed and upset when He answers my prayers.  Silly.  Lord, help me.

            Today was another typical day in Egypt, which, I might add, is characterized mainly by inconveniences, annoying people, hassling, and honking.  We’ve barely had a moment’s peace.  We’ve barely had a moment completely to ourselves.  We’ve barely gone through a day without being misled, ripped off, and lied to.  CHARACTER GROWTH.  God keeps answering my prayers.

            Today we decided we would go see an English movie in theatres.  There are numerous cinema complexes in Cairo but only a few of them show movies in English (with Arabic subtitles of course).  I wanted to see Marvel’s The Avengers and figured I would be deprived of new movies for a year so I was adamant about seeing the movie.  We google-mapped the location of the theatre – only about 4 km from our hotel.  We crossed a bridge over the Nile, got led toward a theatre (the wrong one) by another self-proclaimed ‘tour guide,’ and subsequently wound up at an ‘Egyptian Market,’ which is really just a store with a bunch of ‘authentic’ Egyptian paraphernalia like small statues and papyrus paper (for tourists).  The ‘tour guides’ and shopkeepers are always in league it seems.  Anyways, rather than getting cornered in the shop, we briskly made our escape.  We wound up at a theatre and discovered (upon inquiring at the ticket booth) that there were no English movies.  We asked where our theatre was.  “You must take taxi.  Very far.”  So google maps failed us yet again (directions were correct, but impossible to follow in this crazy city).  We took a taxi to the right theatre.

            We took our seats.  We had to move (they have assigned seating).  The movie started.  The movie stopped.  The previews started.  The previews stopped.  In fact, the power for the entire cinema complex blacked out.  We sat in the dark for nearly 45 min with a bunch of noisy Egyptian teenagers flashing their cell phones here and there and giggling and pushing each other around.  It was a mad house.  Then the movie started again – part way through.  I figured we would just have to imagine the beginning.  And then, the movie started!  It was difficult to hear because the sound was turned low and it was hard to focus on the screen because the 3D was wonky but we made it through the movie and I think I understood the plot. 

            We went to Gad again for dinner.  We got our pictures taken with the manager and some of the employees (because they asked).

            Leah suggested we should hide in our small hotel room for the remainder of our time here.  I’d like to think that’d be a good idea but then we’d probably miss out on all the character growth God’s still got in store for us.   

May 21 (Leah's)

May 21, 2012

            I couldn’t believe it was 7:45 am when the alarm went off this morning.  It felt like 4:00 am. But we got up, ate breakfast and made our way to the mini-bus station. We saw on the internet that you could catch a cheap local bus from here and get to the pyramids. So we thought we would give it a try.  Sure enough, we got a mini bus taxi (like an old hippy Volkswagen van).

            The driver dropped us off at the ticket office and we got our tickets. A man inside the ticket building started to follow us and said he was a “watchman” assigned to keep tourists safe.  He told us that he wasn’t a tour guide and that he wasn’t doing this for money, but that he was going to show us around and tell us about the pyramids. We knew that he was lying.  It didn’t feel right….  We tried many times to tell him we wanted to go alone, again he said he was our watchman. We said, look there are some other white people, they don’t have a watch man. After about 10min we got him to realized we didn’t want him “tagging” along with us. And we escaped him.

            We enjoyed walking around the pyramids. They are huge. There are three big ones and 6 smaller ones. And also the Sphinx- the lion with a human Pharaoh head. We were there for about 2 hours. We said La Shukran (no thank you) many times to men trying to get us to ride their camels and horses at a “good Egyptian price” We told them we had two good legs and we could walk!

            We climbed up this small sand dune and gazed at the pyramids. Such a cool place, but also sad, thinking of all the slaves needed to build a place like this. There wasn’t too many tourists at the sites so we were able to walk around and not have to be lost in groups. One man trying to get us to buy something told Spencer what a beautiful Queen of Canada he had, and then he asked Spencer if he would sell me for a million camels! Spencer could have been a very rich man, but I am so glad he didn’t sell me to that old man! 

            We took a 2 mini buses and the metro to get back to the hotel. A man on the last mini bus really helped us! He was going to the metro after we got dropped off by the mini bus (it didn’t go all the way to where we needed to go) and he took us to the metro station, bought our tickets (one Egyptian Pound = $0.16cents) , then he walked us to the platform, got on the metro train with us, and then showed us our stop when it came time, and he continued on till his stop. One of the first real times any one has really gone out of their way, and paid money, to help us! A true taste of friendliness. Although in Cairo, many people have helped us by giving us directions and have been more friendly, this man just made us really appreciative of genuine helpfulness.

            We had raisin bran, yogurt and bananas for lunch followed by a cup of tea. We talked to a family from Bangladesh that is staying at our hotel and they told us about a Carrefour grocery store here in Cairo. I thought we could get some items that have been hard to find there, so we google mapped it and thought it was quite “close”.           

            We took the metro train to get there. WOW what a crazy experience. We were at a main station and we were standing waiting for the train. Once it came it was like a mad fight to get on. I was literally being pushed from all directions. This older couple was trying to help us, motioning us to keep going. And to think, we were standing right in front of the door, but with the people coming off and the rest of the multitude trying to get on behind us, it became quite the event. I was basically sandwiched completely up against strange men. And when we got on the train for the first 2 or so stations it was so crowded that I was pressed up again from all sides….soon it wasn’t that crowded though….but what an experience!

            From the map we thought we only had about a 15min walk (the map said the whole trip was 12km from hotel to Carrefour). Since we covered most of the distance with the metro we thought for sure it was close…….we were wrong…….very wrong….we walked, and walked, and walked…and when we asked people they said it was very far away….we ended up along a highway and since there was no side walk we decided to run as to make it quicker to get off this main road…..

            We ended up taking a taxi….it was like 15min in the taxi, so we would have been walking for a long time….the whole trip seemed kind of futile, as we couldn’t even get most of the stuff on the list….But whatever J I bought some fruity mentos to enjoy.

            We decided to take a taxi all the way to the metro so we didn’t have to walk and get lost trying to find the metro…which was a long, long ways away…we took the train back to the hotel street and we went yet again to GAD for dinner. We were pooped, we had a long day, in the sun, with lots of walking (and running for our lives). I think the rest of the night will be spent in the room.

May 20 (Leah's)

May 20

            Well again today we walked, walked and walked. We walked the streets of Cairo for about 4hours today.  We ended up walking down some pretty obscure streets that I am pretty sure “white” folk don’t walk down. We walked down a welding and metal fabricating side street, we were in the midst of men carrying long metal poles, welding, and donkeys pulling carts loaded down with metal pieces. We walked under and underpass that was so busy. Traffic was crazy! Horns honking in every direction. We walked down many streets lined with vendors.           

            Thankfully we found our way to a place where we could find our way back to the area where we are familiar with. We found the grocery store we went in the first day and we bought some goods (nutella for Spencer, a traditional hot drink mix, milk and cereal, yogurt and orange juice!). We also bought some more yummy peaches from the fuirt market.

            For lunch we stopped at a pizza place and we shared a small pizza loaded with cheese and some small veggies -15EP (less than $3). We had quite a few people say “welcome”, “hello” and the like to us. Again not that much hassling!

            We stayed in the room from about 4-6pm. We skyped with mom and dad Gray! We love Skype- especially when it works good. It is nice to hear about the news going on back “home” in Canada.

            I was able to have a cup of nice tea with milk since our purchases at the grocery store- so nice and relaxing!

            For dinner we went to the same place as last night, the chain restaurant called GAD. It is cheap, clean, has a toilet, and has a huge menu. We had a small dinner. I got 2 big falafels and a plate of raw veggies. Spencer got a not so yummy baked pasta, but it wasn’t too too bad! We walked to get some dessert to share in the room along with our drink mix we bought at the grocery store. Tomorrow I think we are going to attempt to go to the Pyramids via local bus. I hope we can make it there, hassle free, and “pain” free!

May 19

May 19

We hiked around Cairo and tried our best to avoid getting run over.  So far I actually quite like this city.  Even though Leah and I are probably two of maybe ten white people in a metropolis of about 15 million people, it’s easier for us to get lost in the crowd here and so we don’t get hassled nearly as much.  Still, it’s impossible for us not to stick out like a sore thumb and accordingly we’ve received numerous welcomes from onlookers.  “Welcome to Egypt!” 

 We saw some interesting things today: a vendor selling pigs’ feet, a whole cow freshly slaughtered and sprawled out on the sidewalk, a cyclist with an enormous tray of pita balancing on his head weaving his way precariously in and out of traffic, etc. etc. etc.  In a city this big in a country like Egypt in the continent of Africa there’s really no end to the variety of sites, sounds, and experiences.

What else?  Leah bought an English nursing textbook at a local bookshop to brush up on her medical knowledge.  We ate lunch and dinner at Gad (cheap Egyptian fast food chain with a great selection that includes Western and Egyptian cuisine).

We wandered around a bit at night.  A guy with a bucket of paint came up to Leah and started painting her arm without asking if it was okay.  I guess he was going to give her some kind of painted tattoo and then ask for money.  He got aggressive and grabbed her arm.  We escaped unscathed.  Weird experience…

I keep realizing how fortunate we are.   Since arriving in Egypt we have seen for the first time in a long time the reality of extreme poverty and its devastating effects.  For instance, tonight we saw numerous street people including a beggar woman with a grossly swollen leg, crying street children dressed in filthy rags, and another beggar woman dressed in niqab (popular all-black Islamic outfit that covers a woman’s entire body with the exception of a slit left for her eyes) who looked me directly in the eyes and said in English “please help me” as I quickly passed by.  It happened so quickly and there were so many people and there was so much commotion I didn’t really have time to react but I felt guilty about it afterwards and I really shouldn’t attempt to justify my neglect.  My heart is truly broken for these precious people.  They are hurting, they are suffering, they are dying, and many of them without hope, without Christ.  It is almost inconceivable to me to think that many Christians today somehow find a way to turn a blind eye to the horrendous poverty and overwhelming need in the world.  We need to wake up and to rise up.  We need to stop living for our comforts, our children’s comforts, our stuff, our pension plans, our retirement plans, and all the empty enticements and fading commodities this world has to offer.  It’s all vanity.  It’s all meaningless.         

The Journey Between Jordan : Hidden

 ** Sorry this one is a bit late as we are in Egypt... but check it out**

  

The Journey Between: Hidden

            Jordan for me has been an eye opener into the lives of women in a Muslim country. Although I have encountered women from this faith many times and have been around them, each time I learn more and more.

            In Jordan women are mostly covered. The more strict women wear a head shawl, long shirts that cover their elbows, and a long dress or skirt that comes to their ankles. Some women wear “Western” clothes with their head shawl (still elbows and ankles covered though- perhaps with jeans and a long sleeve shirt). Some women even are covered completely by a burka, all you can see of them is just their eyes through a small slit in their head covering, and most women in burkas even wear gloves on their hands! To not wear some sort of head covering brings about a lot of hassling and comments not only from men but also from other women.

            An American woman we stayed with gave me some insight into this. Her friend, a local Jordanian woman, was surprisingly not forced by her husband to wear the head shawl, and for most of her years she didn’t wear one. It wasn’t until recently that she started to wear one; only for the sake of “shutting up” the women around her who kept nagging her and trying to convince her (out of modesty?) to wear the head covering. Her husband didn’t talk to her for one week. This is one of the few cases where a husband supports his wife’s free identity. It is very common to have a husband who demands the woman to be covered, or, hidden.

            Most women have the “freedom” to uncover their heads in their own homes, only when a male outside of the family is not present. Also at “women’s” meetings they are allowed to dress however they like, with their heads uncovered. When they leave the house (either theirs or their friend’s) they cover back up, headscarves and long coats or dresses are put on.

            I had a very interesting experience when I was in Aqaba, Jordan. The American family we were staying with works for an organization that runs a community center in Aqaba and they have Well Fit programs for men and women. I joined in the Zumba class for women. When we got to the building and up to the workout room I was surprised to see Jordanian women uncovered and in “workout clothes”. It was like they were in another country and had obtained a sense of freedom! They were just like any other women. I felt delighted for them. That in this safe place they could truly be women without the oppression and strict rules forced on them by their culture, religion and country.

            The only sad part was, as soon as the class was over out came the headscarves, long jackets, and dresses. The freedom they experienced was only temporary. For about one hour they could have their hair showing, their arms showing and not be restricted by a tight piece of fabric around their heads and part of their faces.

            I couldn’t imagine having to wear these. However, for some women, I have heard, it becomes an easier way to escape what is happening.  For some women this custom of wearing head coverings and even burkas is a way for them to remain hidden. They can escape reality by hiding behind their “masks”. It is such a sad reality that so many women face. I heard from another American worker in Jordan that a lot of these women are faced with depression, and you can see why. They are oppressed, restricted, hidden, and treated unequally. To find “safety” and “security” from wearing a head or body covering to me seems very sad. I feel so bad and sorry for these women who are hidden from society in a sense. Most of the time you encounter men on the streets. Women are there, but they aren’t as “valued” as the men. It is the men who make the decisions and the men who lead the family. Most women aren’t even allowed to talk to men outside their family!  It is such an oppressive culture-religion.  It makes me sad for the women who are required to live under these conditions.

            Seeing these women brings so many questions to my mind. Why are these rules enforced on them? Why doesn’t someone stop it? What can I do to help? But I feel helpless. As a white-foreigner woman, who compared to them shows way too much immodesty, how can I do anything? Sometimes it is even hard to talk to some of these women, unless they are alone or are in a safe place. I am so appreciative of this organization that is enabling these women with power, freedom and life. They give them opportunities to have a safe place to chat, laugh and share their feelings. They have a business that makes jewelry and they teach the women some of these skills. They teach them English and help them with their studies. If only there were more opportunities like this for the hidden women of Jordan to partake in. But most of all, if only more would see the light of Jesus and the freedom and peace that He brings.

            It is hard for these women to come to faith in Christ because if their husbands or families find out they can be beaten, condemned and even kicked out of the family. I don’t understand how a religion (Islam) can have such oppressing rules and regulations forced upon people. I pray so hard that these women can come to find Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I couldn’t imagine not being able to make my own decisions or being oppressed like they are. It is not right and it is not Biblical at all.

            I continue to thank God for the Christian people that He has placed in these countries so that His light may shine forth. It is such a hard place to be and even more a hard place to be a Christian worker. Especially as a “white” woman in these countries it is hard to see the oppression of the local women. It is also hard because you to some degree have to “comply” to the rules. You can’t go out dressed in a t-shirt and shorts (or worse) and expect to have respect from others. You have to “conform” in a sense to some of the rules in order to gain respect and leeway. You also don’t want to do anything that would offend the women you are trying to work with.

            I really pray for God’s love and mercy to be shown in these restrictive and oppressive places. Especially to the women, who are forced by their culture and religion to conform to the rules in place. As a Canadian, American, European etc. we take so many things for granted, even the simple things like what we can wear and when we can go out. I pray that the women in these oppressive places will come to know Christ’s love for them. There are so many hurting, scared, depressed, lonely and confused women in these Muslim cultures and I pray that Jesus will penetrate their hearts.            

            Please remember these women in your prayers. May you send a prayer out for them today; that they would experience God’s love, peace, joy, and mostly His freedom. Remember today as you go about your day to keep these women in your thoughts! May Heaven hear our prayers and send a mighty wave of God’s love to rest on these women! Also, remember to thank God for the grace and freedom He has shown you, and pray that He would reveal Himself in supernatural and natural ways to the women in Jordan!

May God’s Blessing fall on these women and may they experience a love and peace that only comes from our Father in Heaven!