Cairo - Part 1

After a 25 hour journey, we landed in Cairo last night and caught up on a bit of sleep before launching into our first full day. This morning we joined Anne and her husband, Naji, for worship at Heliopolis Community Church, an interdenominational English speaking congregation. Music was led by young adults from South Korea, England and the United States and the sermon was given by a visiting Nigerian pastor. The church welcomes people from 25-30 different countries. It was a joyful experience of people gathering from East and West, North and South.

Anne and Naji gave us a quick driving tour of the area, particularly interesting because today is Good Friday for the Egyptian Orthodox Church and Friday prayers nearing the end of Ramadan for Muslims. After lunch in

their home with their two youngest sons, we also got a quick tour of the Evangelical Theological Seminary where Anne teaches and several PC(USA) co-workers are also a part of the faculty. This photo is in the seminary chapel reminding students that they are learning to be servant leaders.

After riding in a few cars in Cairo (taxi, Uber, etc) we are toughening up our nerves because people drive fast, completely ignore the lane markings and most traffic signs, and seem frequently on the verge of crashing; and yet whatever system they are using seems to work. I'm grateful we did NOT rent a car for this leg of the trip!

Tonight we met up with our tour group which includes people from England, Australia and New Zealand so it will be a fun, eclectic bunch to explore with over the next week. We shared a traditional Egyptian meal tonight in a hilltop, outdoor restaurant overlooking New Giza, one of the many new sprawling suburbs on the edge of this 25 million strong booming metropolis.