Welcome to Egypt!

My time in Egypt has been amazing. I'm reminded daily of the Lord's faithfulness, protection, love and ability to surprise me with amazing opportunities. I have only been here 11 days but have packed in meeting locals, service projects, sightseeing and fun. It was during these last few days that I've recognized the pure joy and peace of serving the Lord. I can't believe that I'm here! I wish I had a chance to share with you all the day to day details of the trip but I'll have to narrow it down to a few highlights.
We were able to visit the "Cave Chruch" in the Garbage City. The church is carved into the cliffs of the dump and is the biggest in the Middle East. The best part of the visit was spending time with the young girls outside of the church who flocked to us. About 10 girls spend an hour with us, taking turns sitting on our laps, touching our hair, taking pictures with our cameras and teaching us playground games.

Riding camels in the desert was an amazing highlight. It has been a dream of mine and an awesome gift from the Lord. We were able to crawl into one of the pyramids and visit the Sphinx nearby also. I never dreamed as I listened to the Lord's call to "go" that he would surprise me with this! Go God!
I had the opportunity to share a part of my testimony to a small congregation of believers in Cairo. One year ago, I had prayed that Psalm 40:3, "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put thier trust in the Lord.", would be my testimony. As I stood in front of the congregation in Cairo, I realized that the Lord, once again, answered my prayers and allowed me an opportunity to praise Him for His work in my life. It was an incredible experience!
A cruise down the Nile River in a river boat, gave us an opportunity to pray for the city, the people and for the Lord to have His hand over this nation.

The most challenging but most rewarding experience in Egypt was serving at the Mother Teresa Orphanage in the Garbage City. Elisabeth and I helped in the toddler room, where we were placed in one room with 30 beautiful children. As we sat on the floor, the children swarm to us wanting hugs, kisses and to be held. I wish I had more hands to hold them all.
My last visit to the oprhanage was the hardest. As I began singing a Christmas song to a small, tearful boy and held him, I realized that while I get to be home to my family for Christmas, this child will be in this room in the middle of a dump. My heart broke as I realized my good fortune and blessings. I don't know why the Lord chose me to live where I live and give me the family that I have. All I know is that because of all He's given me, I want to use the blessings He's provided to serve Him more.

As I and others have prayed, out team unity continues to improve. I have been blessed with some awesome friends to share the challenges, sights and many times of laughter with. Again, the Lord is faithful and has answered my prayers to not serve alone in Africa. Here's a picture of me, Haley and Elisabeth at the Red Sea where we spent a day swimming, playing volleyball and enjoying the African sun.

Praise be to God. Salem from Egypt!

Getting a Life

Has anyone ever thought about the words Jesus said in Luke 9:24-25? It states: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” I’ve thought about these words in the past and what came to mind was not exactly a life of joy and excitement but of pain and suffering for Jesus sake. Sounds appealing, right? Jesus sure knew how to stir a crowd to flock to him. However, recently these versus have come to mind in conversation, reading and prayer so I’ve thought about them more in depth and have come to a new revelation… Jesus was right! As I look at the last few months of my life since I’ve begun this blog, the Lord couldn’t be more clear that by losing the life I thought I wanted and following Him, I have gained more “life” then I ever expected. The last few weeks here in Israel have proven that. Here are the highlights.
Olive Harvesting and manual labor in Bethlehem.


Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. Jesus birthplace.
Herodian Ruins near Bethlehem, Herod's hometown.

Gilgatha and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. The place of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection



Road trip to the Dead Sea and En Gedi.



The City of Jericho where the walls came tumbling down!
Visit to the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, where Christ came rode in from on Palm Sunday and will return again!
The Garden of Gesemene where Jesus prayed, "Lord, if you are willing, take this cup from me.
The Golan Heights in the Galilee area. The peak over looks Syria, Jordan and Israel.
Caperium, the small fishing town in the Galilee where Jesus performed many miracles.
Playing in the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the lame man.

A nighttime cruise on the Sea of Galilee. Perfect weather and a clear night!

While in Galilee, we spent two days harvesting olives for a local family. After harvesting, we were able to taste the oil that came from our labor. So good!

And now, Welcome to Egypt! A city of 90 million people. The streets are crowded and no one drives without honking their horn but I can't wait to fulfill my dream of seeing the Pyramids. We have already had a chance to help in the Mother Teresa Orphanage in what is known as the "Garbage City". We spent all morning playing in a room with 16 babies, holding and loving them. So amazing. Today we will be off to the "The Cave Church" also located in the Garbage City. It's holds 20,000 members, the largest church body in the Middle East! This is going to be amazing!