Floatin the Nile

first, a glimpse at this morning's pre-game photo opportunity!
GOOOOOOOO HOUSTON! They tied against an undefeated team today! Good thing about losing sometimes is learning grace....yikes that other team had SCARY players and parents....almost got thrown off the league! YIKES! they're KIDS people?!

Our friends' here have his parents visiting from Hawaii - we actually all got cold in the breeze tonight - GLORIOUS feeling!!

Enjoy the photos!!

Gpa Bob goes home VERY early Mon morning (4 am) - please pray him safely home...and pray for our hearts to let him go.....................THANKS GMA KAY FOR LETTING HIM COME TO US - YOU CAN'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT HAS MEANT!

Bob Goes to Giza

This photo needs some explanation ;) It was taken a couple of days ago. I am absolutely fascinated by these trees and have been simply unable to try to get photographs to show them to you - nor to figure out WHAT they are called!

Here I am in the branches. I know, you think it's a root system. Well...this tree grows and then it's braches - do their thing and branch out, then they drop "root systems" and a whole new tree grows THERE too and they are CONNECTED IN THE AIR BY ROOTS?! these trees are entire cities really! ok, small villages not entire cities. I wish I could show them to you! I understand they are unique to Africa, so perhaps those who have had the pleasure to come to Africa, have seen such amazing creations from God!!


ha ha - I have to tell you all that honestly sometimes when we get way out there, I do worry they won't come back HOWEVER, the people we work with over and over know I pay well above standard rates and I do not pay until I get home and we're all out of the car! ha!! So, it may seem freaky in photos, but I've got them by the wallet ;) ha!

The weather has been SO great! Today was the clearest day out in the desert. We had a great breeze that actually made locals COLD in the shade! (not me, I'm not "that" local I guess). The humidity was very low - actually our bread turned to toast in the last few bites of our picnic!

We are having a SUPERBLY FABULOUS time with Gpa Bob! Not only did Joshua and I need a vacation from school (way overdue - lol - 9 weeks of school down! hooray!! A's in every subject except math was a C). Not only did we need that break, but we needed to see Gpa Bob! What an enjoyable time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GMA KAY! WE MISS YOU! WE HOPE YOU'RE HEALING UP IN N MICHIGAN!! WISH YOU WERE HERE! YOU'D HAVE LOVED THIS!! (excluding the horse and camel abuse)

Well, without further mumbo jumbo by Wendy - here's the great photos! I have hired a car and driver for misc outtings, today we had one of THE best drivers yet! We'll be using him for my mom's visit FOR SURE! as well as the owner who got Bob from the airport in the middle of the night HOORAY FOR HIM TOO!!










so clear, we not only saw Dashour and Saqqara but Giza looked quite neat from beside the pyramids as well!


above and below - the workers tombs and residences - Gpa Bob definitely enjoyed finding heiroglyphics around out here!



Cheop's (King Khufu) solar boat (museum)




ABOVE - the limestone blocks the way they laid atop the buried boat




No good way to "see" the smallest pyramid w/o trekking 1/2 mi thru the desert...we stopped at the roadside and took a short glimpse and photo.

Bob Goes Coptic

how fun to return to Coptic Cairo!! For all the symbolism and details, you'll have to search for my original Coptic Cairo post....do a bit of research here - tee hee!

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!!!!

Excluding that Rob ate a salad against my advice, earlier this week, so Pharoah's Revenge is upon our home. Glad Bob heeded that warning ;)

Enjoy our photos from today!!!!

Zamalek

In Cairo, Zamalek is an island - it is a "part" for lack of a better word. Just as Maadi is a part/suburb of Cairo. We decided we are glad we did it, it was interesting, but there's really no reason to do it again..nor any reason to urge others to go. But we did enjoy it! If you have your own car, you'll want to check out the Cairo Tower (yes, I went up, yes I hated it, yes it was the highlight for everyone else!) ha!

First interesting spot was the Marriot. This was originally a palace for a French queen or something..then the current President Mubarak cristened it's opening as a Marriot in like the late 80's. GORGEOUS what a neat stop!!!







next was a riverboat restaurant - Chili's! Mmmm!!!




An amazing VERY old church - saw a small sign said Somalia and other S African countries. AMAZING architecture, seating inside, lighting, etc.....


ABOVE! bottom center - see the church from the top of the tower? :)

See our shadow? :)

below - see Mohamed Ali mosque? cool!



above - at the entrance
below - from a distance

hope you enjoyed the glimpse of our long, hot, dusty WONDERFUL day together!!!

Gpa Bob got to do something that rarely ANY foreigners do - HE RODE THE METRO ALL OVER!! he's not sure he should remember it tho - lol

for HIS glory

There are so many things I passionately love about being here in Egypt. One of the biggest enjoyments is my two hours/week at a local refugee school. You saw the kids and I tackle some really unkept space and reorganize it, but I have yet to show you the work WITH the kids. Today I took the camera.....the kids were eager to let me photograph them to share with my American family and friends.

When you look at these kids, look into their hearts!

The biggest meal most of these kids will have had today, will be their foot-long bread with chopped mushrooms (last week I saw 3 pcs of salami each). Their families have been torn from homes they wanted to keep in countries like Sudan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, but for EXTREME reasons that we as Americans could not begin to fathom, they are here against their will....making a life for themselves.

It has been proven that Americans and most Europeans will not react to extreme poverty without a "face" to put with it. Well here are PLENTY of faces!! Faces of hope....African hope....as you look upon their faces, rejoice in and pray for refugee schools where they can get food and fresh water, where a handfull of adults can find paying jobs, for the volunteers who come in for a week, month, half a year, 2 yrs at a time to work together to provide a future. If after praying you think you might have some extra money....I can tell you privately how to donate and receive your tax deduction.

There are villas for families, extra beds for singles if anyone wanted to devote volunteer time to build phonics into young kids or tutor high schoolers.

$415 educates one child for an entire year

$115 pays a teachers salary for a month - the only paid teachers are also refugees, so this is REALLY a great program all around! instilling pride and building up on the hope they have!

$55 will feed one child for the school year

The president of World Vision said that many American families trade traditional vacations to work together..perhaps Africa seems out of reach, but I'm sure Guatamala is not! I just can't help but encourage you to share some of the joy I have in serving together!! It's not about pity, but about loving!

Today, Bob, Rob and Joshua did some site work at the secondary school. Come see their work...and the work God is doing in the kids' hearts and smiles at the elementary school as well!

inside the high school - NEAT villa they acquired with donated funds!!!! Now to get teams in to fix er up!! will it be you?


The library - I love the potential here! Desks!!!! Bookshelves to complete filling!!! and all the fresh air and natural light!

Parade is held here every morning - parade is when the kids and staff and volunteers gather to pray and sing together.....a team from our church just painted this area with some of the students, to cover the bloody handmarks left by the Muslims who originally built the building and put a blessing over it. As Christians, we are covered in the blood of THE Lamb - THE Christ - so covering it is a reminder of that for the students there....who are not all Christian and this is NOT a Christian school, but....I'll leave it at that ;)


Christ instructed us "suffer not the little children" - I think Joshua suffered a lot today serving! ha ha!!

below is Bob wrestling with vinyl wall coverings around a bunch of dead computers - the sand here is BRUTAL to technical equipment!


BEAUTIFUL entrance and exterior of the high school grounds!!

Had to sneak in a photo of my favorite school volunteer......our bud James! Here we are in the library today at the elementary school.


7th grade is below. The boy at the front desk which is on the left, but he is to the right in this photo....is our drummer at church!


Third Grade.......wish I could shoot the little grade 1-ers - they are age 4-6 AND THEY ARE PRECIOUS! but everytime I go in, they sorta lose control of the class while each of them hug me and kiss me.....precious wee ones!!

Today, a friend sent 2 posters for the tutoring room - totaling $1 US! It brightened the "plain" room tremendously! Meet Ronaldino - a precious 3rd grader who is approximately 10 yrs old. He and I are working on phonics almost from the ground up, he is more and more confident in himself every week!

One of the kitchen staff's little sweeties...her brother is one of our 3rd grade students whom I get the pleasure of reading with. She may only speak Arabic, but we have VERY fun conversations! ha!! She wanted a photo of us together, so I did my best today...while she sat on my lap and the next girly girl read to me and 8 other kids outside under an acacia tree

This beauty is in 4th grade and she is proud to be working through Dick and Jane with me. I AM SO GLAD FOR ALL THE BOOKS I BROUGHT! I HAD NO IDEA WHAT MEASURES GOD WOULD USE THEM FOR!!


An office at the high school is stuck in here below


All the wallpaper is off! BRAVO D-MEN!!

Below, are our priviledged children.......at art today! WHAT FUN!! self portraits! Jasmine's is the far right top one (not the one w/ Ja)


Joshua's is the blue background and all white shirt - voted best painting by the 3 artists there and the mom's - we were REALLY surprised it was Joshua's!! I will be framing that one! yes, I'm one of those mom's that doesn't think every project is 100% perfect and oozing praise-worthy ;) I appreciate something about each pc...but sometimes extra attention is required....

This is recycling at it's best! a dead tree branch used to "notify" drivers of the open manhole in a busy road......