A-Salaam a-Leekum! Kayf al-haal?

Greetings from Cairo, Egypt. I'm getting settled in, and will spend the next few weeks working here in Cairo. I arrived today and had quite an adventure getting from the airport (on the eastern edge of the city) to our hotel near the center of the city. The entire trip took well over an hour and transferred us through run-down industrial areas and crumbling shanty apartments to tree-lined and police-lined boulevards that guided us through immaculate and opulent architecture.

Cairo is such a city of contrasts! There are men in traditional clothes with turbins walking with men in stylish western suits and shiny shoes. Many women coordinated their hijabs with brightly colored western clothing. Women were walking and driving by themselves in all areas of the city, and some went without any head coverings at all. I also noticed lots of rosaries hanging from the rearview mirrors of cars on the road. Centuries-old mosques and Coptic churches dot a skyline riddled with skycrapers and cranes and satellite dishes. The pollution and dust is so thick that the sun burned a hazy bright red in mid-afternoon, and no stars or moonlight are visible after dark.

I absolutely loved seeing all the neighborhoods -the contrasts, the ability to see people doing life in such a different way, and the history. While it would be easy to focus on the dirt, the rubble, the tight quarters, noise or seeming lack of amenities; it is also easy to see the fingerprints of God in these people. I felt myself wanting to know if anyone knew Jesus, if muslims and Christians mixed, and if they shared their faith with each other. This is a land that has been in the heart of so much history and change. I can't help but be amazed at the Nile River when I remember this was once turned entirely to blood, yet how many here in this city know? This land of Pharoahs and grand empires, has also been at the heart of so many of God's works.

I recently learned that the International House of Prayer (based in Kansas City, MO) launched a House of Prayer - Egypt (HOPE in Cairo), and next week (15-17 Oct) it will be hosting a young adult conference to exhort, encourage, and teach Christian men and women in Cairo. IHOP's 24-hr prayer ministry has had a huge impact on my life, and continues to be a great source of teaching for me. I'm excited to see this ministry growing in Cairo as well. While I'd love to attend the conf, I don't think it will be logistically possible, but I'll be lifting it up in prayer just the same. Would you join me in praying for the Christians in Cairo and the bold meeting that will happen next week? Pray for the Holy Spirit to move men and women to boldly step out in faith and attend the conference, for the Lord to call new missionaries and prayer warriors from among them, and for the teaching at the conference to be used to build new ministries throughout the city.


Here's a few pictures from my trip so far:

Traffic, miles and miles of traffic!

Hazy skyline under the late-afternoon sun


Coptic Church

First glimpse of the Nile River...the shores are lined with riverboat docks, casinos, and hotels


Apartments along the highway, lots of satellite dishes on the roofs and clothes drying on the balconies. This was a common sight along the road - old dilapidated buildings, rubble, trash, and lots of satellite dishes.

Jess