never a dull moment

This afternoon we left an hour early for ch'ch. Saturday afternoon traffic is usually extra bad so we wanted to leave plenty of time. After one hour in a taxi, we decided to get out and walk because we were at a complete standstill. We weaved in an out of crowded streets and at one point a very nice man stopped us and warned us that there were gangs up ahead and lots of demonstrations. He didn't tell us that there was tear gas! All of a sudden we saw mobs of people running toward us with their mouths covered, some choking and others vomiting. We immediately began to feel the effects of the tear gas and our eyes and throat were on fire. I could hardly see and had to hold on tight to Darrell, lest I fall over. We started running and stopped to ask a policeman if we were running toward the trouble or far enough away from it. He said if we stayed on a specific street, we should be OK. The gas was just awful and we walked as fast as we could toward the ch'ch. I was so afraid after all that, that the service would be canceled. Thankfully it wasn't. It was like a refuge as we ran in there and were free from the tear gas & mobs outside. We had a lovely service with communion and then everyone left really quickly. Some offered us a ride but we declined and said we'd take a taxi. A young girl from the congregation walked with us. We were only 2 minutes out and saw huge crowds of people screaming and running toward us. We darted into a doorway and about 10 people piled in with us. They said that an old man had been beaten up. When we went out, it started all over again and a guy told us not to go down a certain street because there was a dead person down there. Oh my goodness. We were turned away from 3 different streets that we tried to go down. It was freezing cold and there were NO taxis anywhere. We finally got our friend delivered to her ride and found a taxi, only to get out immediately when he told us it would cost us 20 dinars! (5 X what it should) We walked some more and eventually found an honest taxi who took us home. What a wild afternoon!! I wish I could have stopped to get some pictures but it was too dangerous and we were running. I did grab one which I'll post here. It just shows rocks everywhere and how they dug them up from the railroad tracks. The streets were strewn with trash and piles of burning garbage and broken glass everywhere. What a mess. Things are definitely not settled here but we feel in no danger at all. Life goes on. Just never want to get caught in tear gas again!

where push comes to shove

Our weekly Saturday afternoon walk to church is always a challenge since the open market shares the streets with cars and 1000's of pedestrians. Yesterday however, added even more fun as the demonstrations continue & people are out in mass to participate in the ongoing revolution. We literally had to push with both arms through the crowd and shove our way to our destination. It was unbelievable. I had my purse around my neck and clutched it tight. You can see from the video clip how ridiculous it is to think of driving a car through that, but many do! The wonderful time of worship with fellow believers was well worth the fight to get there!

spaghetti with octopus??

The video clip is just a taste of what downtown looks like these days. We met friends there for lunch today and stopped to see what all the protests were about. Those young people can get really loud & rambunctious. They spontaneously spring up all over the boulevard downtown and it's kind of fun to watch it all happening. We went to an Italian restaurant and our local friend ordered octopus. Darrell was ready to order whatever he did but quickly changed his mind when he heard his order! I had spaghetti with "fruit of the sea" thinking it would be shrimp, fish, scallops?? Wrong. My spaghetti was covered with tentacles of octopuses (?) and squid; very hard to chew, by the way:) The appetizers are usually a plate of olives and a plate of mayonnaise & hot pepper paste which they dip French bread in. Very different but I'm sure we'll be getting used to it and loving it after awhile. I love hot stuff so I don't mind the food here. The French bread and pastries are wonderful and available on every corner. Yikes. Danger. This is certainly a different country & culture from the other Middle Eastern countries we've lived in. And with this new revolution, it is changing drastically by the day! Fun to be here and watch it evolve before our own eyes.

A Saturday afternoon stroll

Yesterday was Darrell's birthday. We began the day with a brunch with friends here at our little apartment. In the early afternoon we headed downtown to attend the weekly Arabic ch'ch service. It was a great blessing as always and growing in number weekly as people's fear subside and they begin to venture back to their routines. After the 2-hour service, we headed out to walk down the main boulevard and see what what going on there. The crowds are just incredible; so thick you can hardly push through. People sell their wares along both sides of the streets. On the main street, there are still large crowds that spring up spontaneously and huge shouts & cheers as speeches are made. We stopped by a restaurant to have cous cous for dinner and enjoyed watching the crowds down below. We ended up walking for over an hour after dinner toward our home since the taxis were scarce and the weather was nice and we needed the exercise! This city went wild the other night when Egypt's president stepped down; the horns honked late into the night and people cheered & waved flags & danced in the streets. The atmosphere around here is just one huge celebration. The region certainly is in flux and everyone is nervous about what the future holds. Meanwhile, we are forging ahead with our language studies and enjoying the beautiful weather. Most days are sunny and in the 60's. Soon we should be able to show you pictures of our new van!

sweet fellowship

Here in Long Beach, we attend the Saturday afternoon gathering of believers. Yesterday I went alone because Darrell was sick. Sat. afternoon traffic is awful and it took me more than an hour to get there in a taxi. Then I had to get out and walk another 10 minutes. Even though I was 15 minutes late, they still hadn't started so that was good. It was an amazing experience to worship with these people who have suffered so much for their faith. The service began with a woman playing the Oud (Arab guitar-like instrument) and singing a solo that sounded almost like a funeral dirge. It was eery and beautiful at the same time. She had written the words about her country and the fear that has gripped people's hearts and the blood that has been spilled to buy freedom. From that they exploded into vibrant worship that was so wonderful. The leader was overwhelmed and started dancing down the side isle, grabbing first an old woman and dancing with her and then a young man. There was a drum, guitars and keyboard. The songs are all familiar ones to us so we can join in the worship and it is a rich experience. After almost an hour of singing & prayer, they preached for another hour, then had communion. Everyone stood along the walls in a big circle and they served us there. At the end, people began breaking out in song and finally had to stop as the worship team for the Sunday service was arriving to set up and practice. Everyone goes to the back porch area afterward to drink coffee and talk. It is a sweet time of fellowship. We are privileged to be welcomed into this fellowship.

more blessings

A line of an old song says it well. "If it keeps getting better & better O Lord, I don't know what I'm gonna do"! I know that the Lord gives and he takes away and I hope my heart would choose to say Blessed be His Name in both situations but right now he is just giving and giving and we are overwhelmed at his goodness. Another Divine appointment...we stopped by the kids' AWANA club on Wednesday to meet up with some friends and go out for coffee. The director of the program mentioned that there was a family leaving the country and wanting to rent their house and sell all their furniture. We called the family and went the next day to meet them & see the house. Everything was perfect about the situation; we couldn't pass it up! The only piece of furniture we'll have to buy is a stove. We took everything else in their house and the best thing is that we were a huge answer to THEIR prayers. Imagine how much easier their move is now that they don't have to take apart wardrobes and empty out kitchen cupboards and have a dozen people coming through their house buying random pieces. We bought it all! The house has a garage, a beautiful yard (they even had a gas grill)full of fruit trees, (I have my very own bay leaf tree), a swimming pool (which we may or may not use), large entryway, living/dining room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, large eat-in kitchen. It is just wonderful in every way. The people are leaving the internet in their name for us so we can avoid the hassle of re-applying for a new line as that can take 4-6 weeks. Although this house is a huge answer to prayer for us, I also love it when we're a huge answer to prayer for someone else. There's still more!! This group rented office space right around the corner from their house which they use for small group sessions, for meeting language tutors, for all kinds of things. We could just imagine how God could use this place and the rent was very affordable so we also took that on. It is 2 rooms, a reception area, small kitchen and bathroom. After thinking that this house-hunting thing was going to take weeks of looking at different places and then buying all the furniture and having it delivered by truck, we now have a house and all the needed furniture and it just kind of dropped in our lap. The location of this house is wonderful; right next to the Metro station and right near a large grocery store and open market. We will now keep our eyes & ears open for a place to start our business! I know all of this was the direct result of YOUR prayers. We can take no credit. Ultimately, God gets all the credit & glory and that's where it belongs. Thank you, God!

all in a day

I'm realizing that my thinking about blogs has been wrong. I don't have to wait until I have something big to write about and pictures to go with it; I can just write a short blurb about my day and some of my closest friends and family would enjoy that. Why should the constant feeling of guilt be associated with a blog?? I shall change that and write little bits more often! Yesterday was another rainy day here and I hate taking taxis by myself anyway, but standing in the rain for 15 minutes waiting for one, is just the pits. I don;t know my way around this city yet so I never know if the guy is taking me way out of the way to get to my destination or not. My fare to get to my language class is usually 4,000 dinar. Yesterday, when I saw that the meter was more than 5,000 I started to get worried. I had no idea where I was and the taxi dropped me off and said the school was right "over there". I started walking down obscure alleyways and finally asked someone. I was going in the completely wrong direction! I can't wait until I know my way around and everything is familiar! I am going to switch to an afternoon class because the morning one was not suitable for my needs. I'll be glad not to have to fight the 8AM traffic. In the afternoon, we met up with our friends and went to a coffee shop and visited for a couple hours. After consuming a chocolate/almond crepe, we decided we should walk home! Today we are going to look at a house that will be vacated in March. They even have all their furniture for sale! If that works out, it will be an incredible blessing. Darrell has moved closer to actually ordering our van and hopefully before too long, we'll be taxi-free! More later...