Changes

The McDonalds and our favorite coffee shop in our suburb. Still closed the last time we checked.

During the past two weeks we have been living our lives with a few changes. Some would say these changes would make life more difficult, and in a way, they are right, but some of these changes have been blessings in disguise. Up until now, I have been teaching kindergarten at the school our son attends, and while I love being around these precious little ones, it has been difficult at home. With my husband teaching in the high-school, our daughter teaching in the middle-school and me teaching in the elementary, our home has not been receiving the attention it deserves. So, starting the 2nd semester, I will no longer be teaching. I will become a full-time housewife again. I am greatly looking forward to it.

Little did I know that I would be spending much more time at home and getting to much more of those housewife chores than I had bargained for. Most businesses shut down during this time, and that means restaurants and fast food chains. If you have been reading my blog for long, you probably read the one about how restaurants and fast food chains deliver. Well, that was one change our family had to adjust to. All of our meals had to be cooked at home. Now that has not been a bad thing because we are home and not going to work/school. This has been one of those "blessings in disguise", except I think my son may be having McDonalds withdrawals. ;o) I am also missing our favorite coffee shop.

Another thing that happened was that our cleaner was not able to come this past week. Ok, I can hear alot of you saying "You have a cleaner come to your home?" Well, what you have to understand is that we do have someone come once a week. He gets paid somewhere between $11.00 - $12.00 for about 6 hours of work. He is a Sudanese man named Deng, and this is how he makes his living. Also, it is very helpful for him to come since we live where the sand and dust can build up in homes very fast. So, there is more of those "housewife chores" that had to be done, but fortunately, the whole family has been home so everyone has chipped in and helped out a little, plus, Deng should be back tomorrow. :oD

It has been nice being home with my family, but I can't wait till things get back to "normal". I just wonder when that will be, and if it will get back to the "normal" we were used to before, or if there will be more changes.

Focus on the Good

A widely circulated photo of Christians surrounding Muslims during their prayer time to keep them safe.
Egyptians are using whatever they can find to make barriers into neighborhoods to protect the people and their belongings.

These next 2 photos are of the men who have come together and are protecting the streets, literally around the clock.


The whole world is watching what is going on in Egypt. It is kind of surreal being here at this time. As my younger son said "It's kind of cool being here right now." For those of you who know him, you understand. Our family has received so many emails, phone calls, and posts on Facebook to tell us they are praying for us. There is nothing like being in a country going through a revolution to help you get thrown to the forefront of peoples' minds. We are so thankful for all of the prayers.

The sad thing is, in lots of cases, people who have reached us have told us of things they have heard on the news that is not true or are over exaggerated.

For one, someone told us they heard on the news that the US was recommending all US citizens should get out of Egypt. A dear friend of mine called Washington, and my husband called the US Embassy here. They both told us the same thing. They said they are advising Americans, if they have enough food, to stay put. They did not know why people were getting the idea the US was promoting the idea of "getting out". There are reportedly somewhere between 50,000 and 90,000 Americans in Egypt, and the last I heard, there had been only around 2,000 that have left.

Another thing that had been reported was that the violence had turned towards foreigners living here and that foreigners were being hunted down, kidnapped, etc. This is very untrue. The Egyptians are very focused on the revolution. They are very focused on coming together, Christian and Muslim, young and old, rich and poor, for one reason: their freedom. They are not even thinking about the foreigners living here right now.

One of the things that can really hurt is the way the media goes about reporting the news. Usually they focus on the bad things that are happening. They fail to focus on the good things. There are so many good things happening here. Neighbors are helping each other. We have met neighbors we may have never met before. They are asking if we are doing ok and if we need anything. We had neighbors bring us water one day when the water had been turned off. This has never happened before. Neighborhoods all over Egypt have formed "Neighborhood watch" groups, to protect their homes, families, and friends.

As a Christian, I read from the Bible that we go through trials. Those trials come into our lives to make us stronger. This is our prayer for Egypt right now. We are praying that what they are going through right now will make them a better and stronger nation. There have been inspiring pictures of people helping each other and putting their differences aside, such as the picture above of the Christians surrounding the Muslims to keep them safe as they pray. This mirrors what happened a few weeks ago when Muslims surrounded churches to keep them safe after a bombing of a church in Alexandria.

How ironic as I am sitting here writing this that CNN is doing a report on how people are helping each other with food and drinks down in Tahrir Square. It is showing how everyone is bringing food and drinks and sharing it with each other. They even offered the reporter and the camera man some. I hope that many across the world see this report of acts of kindness amid all of the reports of violence and anger.

So, even though there have been very rough times during the last week and a half, there is a lot of good coming out of the situation as well. As we say in Egypt, elhumdulallah (sp?), which means "the praise goes to God". This is our prayer.

My Bi-Polar Week

This post is a little longer than my usual posts, and I have posted no pictures because frankly, I'm tired of the images of the demonstrations, and there are plenty of other places to find pictures if you want to see them.)

Wow! I don't think I have ever experienced a week filled with such a range of emotions. It all started more than a week ago really. We started hearing about a "calling" for Egyptians to gather in Tahrir square on Tuesday, January 25th to hold a peaceful demonstration calling for the resignation of Egypt's president.

Tuesday, January 25th: We decided we should cancel school, after all, it was a national holiday called "Police Day", and all other schools would be out and even most businesses would be closed. So, my first emotion of the week was "happiness" at the thought of having a day off from school, after all, we don't get snow days.

Wednesday, January 26th: Wednesday started out pretty typically. Awoke early, got ready, and went to school. Everyone figured it would be a normal day, but around noon to 1 PM our principal got a call saying the demonstrations were starting up again, and it was rumored some would take place in the suburb where our school is. So, again, a little happiness, but this time with some dread at the thought of what might be starting to take place.

Thursday, January 27th: Nothing extra-ordinary happened this day. The demonstrations grew, but they were still peaceful. I was again happy and content to have a full day off from school. Plus, Thursdays are the last day of our school week here due to Fridays being the Islamic holy day, so this meant a long weekend.

Friday, January 28th: This day also started pretty typically, but we had heard that a lot more people were planning on joining the demonstrations after the Friday prayers. So some concern began to creep in. We were all advised to be in our homes starting around 1 PM. The demonstrations still started off pretty peaceful, but this was the night things started changing. As most of the world knows, there was quite a fight between the police and the protesters. I have to say it was at this point my emotions were starting to take a nose dive.

Saturday, January 29th: I awoke with anticipation to find out what had happened the night before. I'm an early-to-bed kind of person, and I could not stay awake long enough to hear President Mubarak address the nation. We had to drive across town to pick up our kids that morning. They had gone to a different part of town to watch a friend in a school play, which was cancelled because of the 6 o'clock curfew which had been instituted. They ended up having to spend the night with friends because of this curfew. It was eerily quiet that morning. There were people out, but one thing was missing: the police. That was a strange feeling. Usually there was police officers everywhere. On our way home, after picking up our kids, we actually passed a department store that was being looted by what looked like hundreds of looters. Later that evening, we were called and told to beware of looters that were now breaking into homes. My emotion then went to being terrified. Even though I was still scared, I later was relieved to hear that most of the men were taking to the streets to form a kind of "neighborhood watch". At that moment, I was very "proud" of the Egyptian people that were taking a stand to do what was right. A lot of these so-called looters were caught by these normal men of Egypt and turned over to the military.

Sunday-Tuesday, Jan.30-Feb. 1: Things grew more peaceful on these days. People were still panicking though. There had been a run on the grocery stores and shelves were clearing fast. We were doing ok though. We had stocked up on groceries and gas earlier in the week, so we just stayed home and enjoyed a few quiet days.

Wednesday, February 2: And that brings us to today (our first day with internet in several days). It started off as a beautiful day. For the first time in about a week, Tim and I headed into the area where our school is. Imagine our surprise when we saw lots of traffic and what looked almost like "business as usual". So different from the little suburb we live in. Store shelves were stocked and people were out everywhere. One thing we noticed was how happy the Egyptian people seemed. Once again, my emotions were heading for the mountain tops. But, things, and sometimes emotions, change quickly. If you have seen today's news, you know the tragedy that has taken over this once peaceful demonstration. The so-called Mubarak supporters have changed the whole atmosphere here. In just this one day my emotions have gone from the mountain tops down to the low-low valley. I am so sad and sickened at what is going on.

I don't know what is in store for the people of Egypt for tomorrow, for the next week, months or even years, but there is one thing I do know, and that is that God is still in control. Our God is bigger than any situation, and I would like to ask my readers all to pray for the situation here. There are many, many lovely people here who we have come to love. Please pray that God will take this situation and turn it around and use it to glorify Him.