This past Monday night the team of people who will be going to Egypt from our church met for the first time. There is about 16-18 of us who are committed and there are a couple of openings if anyone else wants to join. I was informed that being too specific about the trip details had the potential to jeopardize the people we were going to minister to so for now I'll have to be kind of vague. I can tell you that the main purpose of our trip is to assist a local church, with whom we have created a partnership, with a variety of things like computer labs and painting and other items.
Another aspect of the trip will be nightly ministry meetings where we will share music and the message of Christ with believers and non-believers from the Cairo community. For some insane reason the leader of our expedition has asked me to preach one night. I agreed but hesitantly. I have such a passion for communication but because of an underdeveloped sense of self worth it has been relegated to writing and blogging. However, because I am working diligently on becoming a full time writer and I know that public speaking comes with the gig I have been praying that God would present opportunities to hone this unpolished skill. Standing on a stage for forty five minutes sharing my heart and, hopefully, God's heart in front of almost 200 Egyptians is what I take to be the first response to that prayer.
We have been told by our liason in Cairo that the gospel is being received like never before in Egypt specifically and the Middle East specifically. What a powerful tool we can utilize in the diffusing of religious and ethnic hatred, particularly in that area of the world which has historically been a hothouse for such animosity towards the gospel and us. I remember in 1999 when I was in Jericho, which is about an hour outside Jerusalem, a conversation I had with a man of Muslim faith. He was the owner of the market in which our tour group was shopping. We were sitting in front of the market sharing a water pipe (they use tobacco soaked in molasses) and he began to tell me of his intense hatred of America and Americans. He said that we had robbed his people of their land and their legacy and any war against us and the Jews was holy and justified. And yet as he was talking to me, a pasty white suburbanite from Atlanta Georgia, he was always kind and softspoken and always maintained eye contact in which I never detected any disdain directed towards me. He even offered me some free fruit and told me jokes. It was surreal. The most amazing thing element of that discourse was the absence of all tensions. We had a wonderful time just chewing the fat for a half hour. I knew where he stood and he knew where I stood but it never affected how we related to each other. I feel confident that this will be the type of thing I will run into in Cairo and I am really looking forward to it.
The part of all of this that is most difficult is the asking for funds. No one likes doing it and I certainly wouldn't be but I believe that there is a great work going on in the Middle East and I desperately want to be involved in it. The cost of the trip is $2700 dollars and the total is due by October 6th. If God leads you to give I would be so grateful to Him for the leading and you for your obedience. We have five or six more meetings and we will be given more details each one. I will try and keep you as informed as I am. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for investing in my writing and my life. Sincerest thanks.
josh
Another aspect of the trip will be nightly ministry meetings where we will share music and the message of Christ with believers and non-believers from the Cairo community. For some insane reason the leader of our expedition has asked me to preach one night. I agreed but hesitantly. I have such a passion for communication but because of an underdeveloped sense of self worth it has been relegated to writing and blogging. However, because I am working diligently on becoming a full time writer and I know that public speaking comes with the gig I have been praying that God would present opportunities to hone this unpolished skill. Standing on a stage for forty five minutes sharing my heart and, hopefully, God's heart in front of almost 200 Egyptians is what I take to be the first response to that prayer.
We have been told by our liason in Cairo that the gospel is being received like never before in Egypt specifically and the Middle East specifically. What a powerful tool we can utilize in the diffusing of religious and ethnic hatred, particularly in that area of the world which has historically been a hothouse for such animosity towards the gospel and us. I remember in 1999 when I was in Jericho, which is about an hour outside Jerusalem, a conversation I had with a man of Muslim faith. He was the owner of the market in which our tour group was shopping. We were sitting in front of the market sharing a water pipe (they use tobacco soaked in molasses) and he began to tell me of his intense hatred of America and Americans. He said that we had robbed his people of their land and their legacy and any war against us and the Jews was holy and justified. And yet as he was talking to me, a pasty white suburbanite from Atlanta Georgia, he was always kind and softspoken and always maintained eye contact in which I never detected any disdain directed towards me. He even offered me some free fruit and told me jokes. It was surreal. The most amazing thing element of that discourse was the absence of all tensions. We had a wonderful time just chewing the fat for a half hour. I knew where he stood and he knew where I stood but it never affected how we related to each other. I feel confident that this will be the type of thing I will run into in Cairo and I am really looking forward to it.
The part of all of this that is most difficult is the asking for funds. No one likes doing it and I certainly wouldn't be but I believe that there is a great work going on in the Middle East and I desperately want to be involved in it. The cost of the trip is $2700 dollars and the total is due by October 6th. If God leads you to give I would be so grateful to Him for the leading and you for your obedience. We have five or six more meetings and we will be given more details each one. I will try and keep you as informed as I am. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for investing in my writing and my life. Sincerest thanks.
josh
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