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
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Update 71 by Roger
A few days before leaving Cairo we were the featured speakers at a special meeting. After driving around back alleys in the dark for what seemed like an hour, our driver once again stopped the car. Calling out to a random person beside the road, "Where is the meeting?" , he asked.
We had already stopped and asked this question about ten times and we were starting to wonder if this meeting was ever going to happen.
Francine had asked us to speak to the parents of the school where we had visited classrooms in this mostly Sudanese area of Cairo. Student behavior was to be our topic.
We finally arrived and were quickly led up several flights of a dark stairway to meet the parents. They (mostly men) were seated and patiently waiting when we entered but immediately smiled and reached out to shake our hands to welcome us. Their hopes were high.
The strains of being a refugee here are multiplied when you have a wife and children whose lives have also been uprooted and then placed here where everything is different and difficult. These parents hoped that we would be able to help them fix their broken families.
First the teenage choir joined us and sang two songs...their harmonizing was beautiful and their voices were strong. We could almost imagine them singing in their home village.
Now it was time for the parents and kids to listen to us. We told them that students are usually better behaved if do better in school. To do better in school they should get enough sleep, eat meals with their families, feel loved by their parents and parents should have high expectations for them. We also suggested that the parents work together as a support group to encourage each other in raising their children.
Every dad there had a question or two for us and each began by first thanking us for coming and offering our time and thoughts to help them. This was very humbling as they had been up very early and worked twelve hours, then they came to this meeting and waited for another hour or more to hear from us.
The questions they asked made us aware of the difficulties they face....
"I work twelve hours each day and get home at 8 PM. How can I make sure that my child is not getting high on drugs or having sex when I am not at home?"
"How can I control my child when they misbehave? My parents beat me when I was bad but it is not OK for me to beat my child here in Egypt."
"When I tell my son that he cannot use his phone to view porn or play violent video games he tells me that he will just leave home and do what he wants to do."
"My son wants what his friends have but I can't afford it."
"Should I let my daughter spend the night at her friend's house?"
It seemed that every parent there was struggling to find answers.
We learned from them that the community support network that once held their families together does not exist here. Children are out of control. Even many wives have given up as each refugee tries to make their way in this land that is foreign to them. Racism was not directly mentioned but we know it exists here and many are abused or mistreated because of the color of their skin...another huge obstacle.
How many trials must they endure?
They spoke glowingly of the beauty of their homes in Sudan, but sadly say it is too dangerous for them to return.
We left feeling that we were the ones who learned from the them.
Our hope is that they will continue to meet and support each other to set guidelines and standards of behavior that will serve their families well and keep them safe as they continue their search for a new life.
Sent from my iPad
We had already stopped and asked this question about ten times and we were starting to wonder if this meeting was ever going to happen.
Francine had asked us to speak to the parents of the school where we had visited classrooms in this mostly Sudanese area of Cairo. Student behavior was to be our topic.
We finally arrived and were quickly led up several flights of a dark stairway to meet the parents. They (mostly men) were seated and patiently waiting when we entered but immediately smiled and reached out to shake our hands to welcome us. Their hopes were high.
The strains of being a refugee here are multiplied when you have a wife and children whose lives have also been uprooted and then placed here where everything is different and difficult. These parents hoped that we would be able to help them fix their broken families.
First the teenage choir joined us and sang two songs...their harmonizing was beautiful and their voices were strong. We could almost imagine them singing in their home village.
Now it was time for the parents and kids to listen to us. We told them that students are usually better behaved if do better in school. To do better in school they should get enough sleep, eat meals with their families, feel loved by their parents and parents should have high expectations for them. We also suggested that the parents work together as a support group to encourage each other in raising their children.
Every dad there had a question or two for us and each began by first thanking us for coming and offering our time and thoughts to help them. This was very humbling as they had been up very early and worked twelve hours, then they came to this meeting and waited for another hour or more to hear from us.
The questions they asked made us aware of the difficulties they face....
"I work twelve hours each day and get home at 8 PM. How can I make sure that my child is not getting high on drugs or having sex when I am not at home?"
"How can I control my child when they misbehave? My parents beat me when I was bad but it is not OK for me to beat my child here in Egypt."
"When I tell my son that he cannot use his phone to view porn or play violent video games he tells me that he will just leave home and do what he wants to do."
"My son wants what his friends have but I can't afford it."
"Should I let my daughter spend the night at her friend's house?"
It seemed that every parent there was struggling to find answers.
We learned from them that the community support network that once held their families together does not exist here. Children are out of control. Even many wives have given up as each refugee tries to make their way in this land that is foreign to them. Racism was not directly mentioned but we know it exists here and many are abused or mistreated because of the color of their skin...another huge obstacle.
How many trials must they endure?
They spoke glowingly of the beauty of their homes in Sudan, but sadly say it is too dangerous for them to return.
We left feeling that we were the ones who learned from the them.
Our hope is that they will continue to meet and support each other to set guidelines and standards of behavior that will serve their families well and keep them safe as they continue their search for a new life.
Sent from my iPad
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