Christmas in Egypt!!!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2: 13-14

As my own life demonstrates mankind is in rebellion with God, whether or not it is spoken or intentional. We are all in desperate need of a savior which brings us to the purpose of Christmas, the birth of Christ, the arrival of God in human form, the purpose of Easter, which is the crucifixion, and then the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, put to death, and resurrected for God to reconcile his people with himself, his people with each other, and his creation with himself. It is hard to separate Christmas and Easter, because the two go hand in hand. Because from him and through him and to him are ALL things. And “all things” includes God sending his son and sending him to die.

We hope that this Christmas God brought forth more joy and peace in your hearts, and the desire to glorify the One who sent his son to save the world, for His glory and our good.

First of all, December is Melissa's birthday month, so Happy Birthday Melissa!!!! :)

This sweet girl is one of the many reasons I love my job. She teaches me arabic, and she is 3. And when I say teaches, I mean translates back and forth from to english to arabic...amazing.

Christmas eve service at Maadi Community Church

At first, we were not going to spend money on our own stocking, so we borrowed two from the lady I work for. As the spirit of Christmas began to sink in we no longer wanted to be Jerry and Caroline. I found this talented, nice egyptian man named Mahmoud Farag, and he hand stitched stockings for our first Christmas together. Names in English on top, Arabic on bottom.

Unwrapping presents. Ben got a tabla!!! (egyptian drum)

And I got a bike!!!!! I had been wanting one since we moved here, but I forgot about it when Christmas came around. Ben hid it with our boab, Hassan, and surprised me on Christmas morning!!! It now has a basket on the front so I can put groceries in it!!!

However, we will be investing in a helmet. On my first day to ride it around, I got lost in a village for 2 1/2 hours trying to find my arabic school, I rode by an all girls school and a mean one threw a rock out the window at me, and then as I go around the microbus that stopped right in my path, a car comes flying from around the bus and almost hits my front tire, I jump off.

For Christmas dinner we went over to Skip and Bonnie's. AND we had ham, it was amazingly delicious! They graciously opened their home again to about 5 or 6 family's who had nowhere else to go for Christmas. Here we all played white elephant.

This picture represents Team Long. The gift I chose was this skirt in the picture, and I loved it!!! Ben happened to open a toy scorpion, haha. So if anyone stole my skirt in the game, I would steal Ben's scorpion and he would steal my skirt back. We ended up with it. Team Long.

We now have a new Christmas tradition, bottomless chips and salsa from Chili's. Man, do we miss mexican food. Chili's is the only place with bottomless chips AND they actually taste like tortilla chips! :)

I have saved the best for last. My sister and her fiance sent us a Christmas package filled with skittles, starburst, beef jerky, pringles, candles, christmas socks and the list goes on and on. I cannot describe to you in writing how excited we were and are when this happens. We consider ourselves extremely lucky that we have family that goes through the trouble of doing this for us.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ben's parents on Friday. They are going to be the first family members we have seen in 4 months!!! We are going to show them all around our town and then travel to where Moses received the ten commandments, and then to where Jesus spent most of his life on earth...eek!!!! T-minus 48 hours!!!!

Merry Christmas,

Sarah

Update on Matt Chandler: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/

John Piper teaching on hope, at the village church: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/200912271115FMWC21ASAAA_JohnPiper-SubjectedInHope.mp3

We have been counted worthy to fight and suffer this battle. Suffer well church.

Thanksgiving at the Red Sea

Thanksgiving in Egypt was new, different, but overall an awesome time for Sarah and I. Being here for nearly 4 months now, God has gone beyond answering our prayers in finding friends to walk through life with. He has given us friends who feel more and more like family in each passing day. As the pictures display below, we got to enjoy an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with great company. A few weeks before we were trying to think up some ideas for food to eat on Thanksgiving to try to make it feel like home. But fortunately we were welcomed into this home where turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and all the other Thanksgiving food items where there for us. Following our meal, 17 of us headed out to the Ain Sukna, a small town on the Red Sea, for four days of nothing but board games, football on the beach, and an occasional game of reverse hide and go seek (i'll explain later). Its always great to get away from the loudness of Cairo. It doesn't matter how much you love it, everybody needs a break from the unique elements of Cairo.

I don't care where I'm at in the world, nothing beats throwing the football around.

Caleb and my beautiful wife enjoying the sand.

One of the great games we played while at the beach was reverse hide and go seek. Basically one person hides. Then everyone goes and looks for that person, and once they find them they hide with them. This goes on until there is just one person left wandering around by themselves. Its hilarious, well if your not that person. If you listen to the video below, you can hear Amy explain the rules in a blues like fashion as I play the guitar and Caleb displays a few of his dance moves.

Caleb, Sofia, Annie, and Sarah getting ready to play the game.

Here we have 6 of us trying to hide behind one little flower pot as a few have yet to find us. Gets a little uncomfortable after awhile. I would like to take a moment and brag about my hide and go seek skills. When I hid, my spot was so good after 30 minutes of not finding me Sarah was beginning to think I was kidnapped. I was extremely proud of my hide and go seek skills, but unfortunately I had to feel the pain of laying in a ball under a bush for nearly an hour.

Sarah and I enjoying the sea. Looking at a map, I'm almost positive this is where Moses had to have parted and crossed the sea. To bad he didn't have a GPS or mapquest, he would have known he could have walked a few miles north and gone around, crazy Moses.

One of the hundred ships we saw a day headed out of Egypt.

Even a relaxing weekend can wear some out.

This is a separate occasion. My wonderful Sister and Brother-in-law sent Sarah and I an awesome care package. It was filled with numerous items. Things we just can't get here in Egypt. As you see, Sarah was excited about the beef jerkey. Lets just say it made both of our days.

Pray for The Chandler family

I was saved and reborn three years ago in June, while sitting in the 2nd to last row at a baptistism service, at The Village Church. I am confident in the teachings of the scriptures that God called me to His kingdom, in His time, and not by any acts of my own doing, but by His grace alone. It was not The Village Church, or Matt Chandler that saved me, but Jesus Christ. All glory be given to His name.

Matt Chandler and Beau Hughes have been our lead teachers of God's word and have pastored us from day one all the way to our move to Egypt.

On Thursday, Matt suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital. He spoke with a Neurologist yesterday and as a church body we anxiously awaited the results. Matt will have surgery Friday afternoon to remove a tumor located in the frontal lobe of his brain. The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Barnett. Dr. Barnett told Matt that he was positive about recovery but won’t know the full results until the surgery is performed. The doctor was uncertain about the malignancy of the tumor, and a biopsy will be performed as part of the surgery.

Here is part of a letter written from the elders concerning prayer for Matt and his family.

The outpouring of support and prayers from all over the world has been overwhelming to Matt and Lauren. Continue to pray and fast on behalf of the family. The church’s monthly prayer service will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Highland Village, Denton and Dallas Northway worship centers. We encourage you to fast throughout that day and join us to pray that evening. If you cannot join us, pray wherever you are.

We continue to rest in the knowledge that Matt is in the sovereign hand of our heavenly Father who loves him immensely more than we can comprehend, and He alone understands the reasons for this trial. Along with your prayers, continue to give Matt and Lauren and their family time and space for their continued rest.

Certainly pray for Matt’s healing, and pray that he and his family would experience great peace during this time. But don’t stop there. Ask God to reveal what work he plans to do in you, in Matt and in our church through this trial. Although it may be easy to see the hand of the enemy in a situation like this, remember that God is sovereign that he may ordain trials to deepen our faith, draw us closer to him or to accomplish some other purpose. Therefore do not fear.

One thing to consider would be to send Matt a written note. His words and actions faithfully point to how lives are changed through the gospel of Christ so it always encourages him to hear what God is doing in you. The time and effort to reflect and write out your thoughts on God’s goodness in your life could warm your soul and allow Matt to hear, see and celebrate the work and blessings of Jesus. Bring your notes with you on Wednesday night. If you cannot be there, mail them to 2101 FM 407, Flower Mound, TX 75028.

Lauren Chandler has been a reminder to me....

The Sunday before the "event," I opened my Bible intending to study a specific text in John. When the pages fell open, the title page of the book of Job stared me squarely in the face. I'm not normally one to play the magic eight ball game with the Bible but I'm also not one to believe in mere coincidence. The Lord--in His sure presence--was readying my heart. He was reminding me that nothing, absolutely nothing, can happen to Matt, the kids, other loved ones, or me without first passing through His hands. Satan had to ask permission to sift Job. The prince of this world is but a pawn in the Lord's plan. Them Chandlers

Father, You are worthy of our affections, in the presence of sorrow and joy. Let your Will be done. You are our great reward, our only portion, Lord. Our hope and trust is found only in You. We are trusting You...

Those who deny Christ do not Love, Honor or Know God

For the sake of forthright, honest, biblically faithful, Christ-exalting, trust-preserving dialogue, and for the sake of truth-based, durable peace. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:22-23). When Jesus says, “Honor the Son who sent him, he means honor the Son for who he really is as the divine, eternal Son of God who laid down his life for the sheep and took it up again in three days. The person who does not honor him in this way, Jesus says, does not honor God. -John Piper

For obvious reasons of where we live, I think it would be in everyones best interest to let John Piper explain the flaws behind the Yale written document, "A Common Word", that states a shared love for God, between two religions.

http://ow.ly/EGvB

This weekend is the muslim holiday, Eid Al-Adha. ("The Feast of the Sacrifice") commemorates Abraham's willingness and obedience to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God (and God's mercy in substituting a lamb for Ishmael). The day begins with the sacrifice of an animal (in their front yard or the street, or our back porch ). One-third of the meat is given to the poor, and the remainder shared with neighbors and family members. SOOO we will be celebrating thanksgiving with a group from the church, at the Red Sea. We will be praying for all of you as you gather and celebrate with your families. I hope you have sweet, sweet moments worshiping Christ together. We wish we could be there. Happy Thanksgiving :)

SL

You thought Cowboy fans are rowdy

Saturday night Egypt needed to beat Algeria by two points to tie them in the overall standings to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. They did, 2-0. This gave them the opportunity to play Wednesday night to decide who would go to the World Cup. The pictures below show you how our somewhat quiet community turned into a crazy scene of passionate Egyptians showing their support for the national soccer team. People chanting, cars squealing, and fire projecting, this put any pep rally or tailgating party I've ever been to, to shame. BL

You would think with cars pealing out, people climbing on top of cars, and then fire thrown into the equation, which consisted of lighters and aerosol cans, someone was bound to be injured. But that didn't stop the 60 year old women or the 7 year old boy from joining the festivities.

When Sarah and I walked up to this circle down the street from our flat there was probably 30 to 40 people. Once the game officially ended 5 minutes later, that 30 to 40 people turned into 300 to 400.

Seeing the daily routine of this culture for 3 months now, I've seen faces of hardship and frustration. Not that everyone walks around depressed, but that the day to day living for most is an all out effort to provide food for their loved ones. Saturday night put all this aside as you could see a community as a whole chanting and cheering over the victory of their soccer team. But for these Egyptians it was more than a soccer game, it was a victory for their country, and they proudly let everyone know.

Update

I want to first thank you all for your constant prayers and support. It is such an encouragement to hear about people praying for this place. MCC is has jumped right back on their feet, and now are just hoping for God to stir up affections for their needs in everyone again. I talked to my mother-in-law, Cindy, for a good bit today about African Hope and their needs. The Lord is working through us to do something for their long term, and short term needs. He has spoon fed me a way into these children lives, I am just not sure why. His will is what I am after, and He is faithful.

On a lighter note, I wanted to share with you some of the fun fun fun times we have had with the youth, when we see them. If you are not sure what we are doing with the youth, we are too. If you are not sure why we are in Egypt, we are too. I like to call her my mentor/role model/sister/most amazing person i've ever met/Amy, is the youth and children's pastor at MCC, kind of threw us right in to leadership roles with this international group of youth. We both never thought in a million years we would be working with youth, let alone in Egypt, but we are. God has a sense of humor doesn't He? Anyway, we love being able to walk with this group through all the hardships living overseas brings, as well as having a blast following Christ. We were fortunate enough to have gone with them on a retreat out in Sakara.

Ben and I may or may not have provided the youth will an amazing show on talent show night, at retreat.

Gustapo.

Gustapo team that hid while the youth tried to find us. The game is pretty well known at church camp, but I was not a church camp kid, so it was all new to me! The kids tried to find me, and if they did, I traded them their "passport" for a "secret document". But, if Ben or Tara jumped out with a flashlight and called "Gustapo", you had to go to jail. It was awesome.

This has nothing to do with anything, except for the sole reason that our zipploc baggies have arab family's on them. Gosh, I love Egypt.

The Lord is good, all the time. And all the time, The Lord is good.

It has now been two months since we have moved to Egypt, and we could not love it anymore. The swine flu outbreak is over (for now) and Ben is right in the middle of a test, a research paper, over 500 pages of reading a week, and contemplating a thesis. I am still working with my preschoolers in the morning and I go to African Hope school in the afternoon. My first week with them was tough, because I so badly do not want to be "The white teacher that pulls them out of class and ask them to read". Right now they just want to shake my hand and know my name. I crave relationship with every single one of them. Everyday I hear them repeat "The Lord is good, all the time. And all the time, The Lord is good". Amen.

On my third day I was doing some work and I heard a joyful noise coming from across the hall. Christ is alive and active, and I was glad I brought my camera that day.

Every day I tend to wonder if they are going to teach me more about life and following Christ than I am going to teach them about the ABC's.

We had the chance to hang out with some of God's children here in Cairo.

My classroom at school

We really thought you would all enjoy seeing how our Egyptian cornbread turned out, as you all tell us how wonderful the weather and fall food is back home.

We are missing home now with the holiday season around the corner. We are meeting people and finding a touch of everyone in our new friends, but you are all irreplaceable and we pray for you and your lives daily. We miss you.

Grace,

SL

Swine Break

Egypt's decision to "combat" swine flu failed after slaughtering 300,000 pigs. Now, all the schools have been shut down for two weeks while the government thinks up another idea....

What does this mean for us? Well, we got to go to Alexandria for the day while Ben took a break from the 500 pages of reading a week he has. And it means that we got to engage in new relationships with new friends. We were able to play broomball with the youth at the only ice skating rink here. I was able to go with Amy to a village in Sakara where we enjoyed wonderful food and laughter with a Egyptian family she has known for about 18 years. We barely spoke Arabic, and they barely spoke English. It was awesome.

Last year over 7,000 people died in traffic accidents in Egypt. So pretty much we are about 10 times more likely to get hit by a car than die from swine flu. See below....

*Cindy and Dale, don't watch. :)

Alex trip:

Train station in Alex. Melissa and Justin, show Jackson!!!!

This is one of the biggest libraries in the world, and one of the main sites people see in Alex.

I thought the "end poverty" sign was interesting in the million dollar library, that also charges you a fee to enter.

Tara, me and Brenna. My new friends I mentioned above.

Enjoying God's beautiful creation.

These girls giggled at us for a few minutes because they had never seen Americans before. Then they wanted a picture, with my camera. :)

Great story: This picture was taken in front of the castle we couldn't get in to. Well we could, for 25 L.E. while Egyptians only pay 2. We asked Egyptians to buy us tickets and they did. But the guards would not let us in. Then the argument began, and lets just say they got an ear full about discrimination, not being an international team player, and that they are just trying to pocket our money because we are foreigners, after they changed the price 3 times. We got them to admit how wrong it was, and then we left when we saw their AK47s.

Beautiful Coptic Church

Our train was full trying to get back to Cairo, so we had an hour to kill. We stumbled into this Coptic Church, and everyone was laughing at us. We thought it was because we were westerners. Then we realized Ben was sitting on the women's side with us.

In that same hour, we also saw a wedding.

Outside the train station in Alex.

Sakara trip with Amy:

Sunset in the desert. One of the most humbling experiences.

My horse, Imira. I later found out this was the same horse that Amy fell off, broke a bunch of ribs and had to be hospitalized. Thank you God for keeping me safe.

Best meal i've had in Egypt.

Even better, we got to eat on the floor.

This is Ramadans youngest daughter, Sara and Caleb

Amy is the Youth and Children's pastor at MCC. It is hard for me to describe to you through a blog how much we love Amy. But our lives are filled with twice as much joy now. And that is Caleb with her.

Broomball with the Youth:

A great excuse to wear our Cowboys jerseys. I am a little ashamed of my "Romo" jersey, but it is all I brought here.

Broomball champions.

Broomball is similar to hockey with no puck, no skates and no stick. Just a broom, a ball and your shoes on ice.

Was I a little competitive, yes. But my team won :)

Grace,

SL