I had really wondered if staying 2 months in a city of 20 million was going to be too long and feel too crowded. Nope. It actually felt like home...as long as I didn't let myself dwell on missing my family. It helped a lot that we could talk to them often via Messenger. Especially when the grandkids were calling and messaging us!
Being with the refugees & the Refuge Egypt staff, I constantly felt needed, useful and appreciated. Each morning I had the privilege to walk into the courtyard and mingle with the refugees sitting there waiting. Just to offer them a smile & the kids a balloon felt so good.
The variety of "jobs" we did kept us busy and gave us the opportunity to be involved with many different RE staff members and see how much RE does for the refugees. It also made us realize just how many difficult obstacles the refugees face. My heart aches for them. To be able to help was our honor. To have our home church send donations through us was humbling. To know those donations will allow food bags to be distributed for 2 more months is so rewarding.
We had to remind each other to leave RE every so often and see the sights! We actually never ran out of remarkable things to see and do.
Our accommodations in Cairo were great, a wide variety of ethnic food was readily available, transportation was easy and prices were relatively cheap...less than 50% US cost.
Being able to soak up Athens & the Holy Land were tremendous bonuses!! How inspiring & sacred to be where Jesus was!!
Of course, I would have liked warmer weather & a beach close by. There were a few Airbnb's I'll drop from my memory. And there were a few scares: Cairo train station fire just a half hour after we'd left there, two Gaza bombs hitting Tel Aviv two days before we got there and we couldn't tour the Dome of the Rock due to heavy protesting.
Traveling to us is adventurous, enlightening, enriching, rewarding and we love doing it together! But we're always really ready & happy to go home!!
Sent from my iPhone
