Our Egyptian adventure started one year ago when Bishop George contacted us about the opportunity.  It took us all of about five minutes to decide that this was the right thing to do.  By the first of July we had packed our bags for an initial exploration of the ministry possibilities here.  Me, Jenn, and the four kids landed in Cairo where we were taken to the All Saint’s Cathedral residences.  It was upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit that month.  We figured out how to eat locally, what to do with the kids, where they would go to school, and where we would live when we moved for good in October 1.  Bishop Samy Shehata showed us lots if hospitality, and gave us a sense of what we would be up to.  

So we headed home to pack up our house in August and September, and to prepare for a new life of ministry in Cairo.  Mercifully the heat died down by the end of October.  I immediately jumped into teaching systematic theology; Jenn into learning Arabic.  She has a Middle Eastern background, so she has advanced incredibly quickly - she’s even beginning to counsel a few people in Arabic.  I, on the other hand, still struggle with basic vocabulary.  Thankfully I have a great translator during class.  Matta is himself working on a masters of theology, and it’s been particularly rewarding to work with him.  But teaching isn’t all I do.  The Alexandria School of Theology, where I work, is going through an accreditation process, and I’ve been drawn in to write a detailed self-study of the institution.  The diocese and college have so much going on, that their administrators are stretched rather thin.  So I’m happy I’m able to give them some relief on a project that will immediately benefit the students.  

Speaking of students, my two oldest kids are almost done their year of school here.  It was quite a battle to settle them into a new school, but we’re incredibly blessed by God that the community is so supportive.  Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  It’s been a busy year, a year of a few hospital emergencies, never-ending chest colds, and a little bit of culture shock.  But it’s so good to be following Jesus where he takes us.  

Jeff