Biblical Understanding

I apologize for not writing anything in such a long time. I have a blog typed out on my computers (I'm using Krista's) to post, and so I am planning on posting it later. I just wanted to give a quick update in the meantime.

I am still loving it here. The weather is ridiculous, and I am being eaten alive by fleas, but that really doesn't matter. I thought about hiring a student to scratch my legs all day while I teach. Then I realized how creepy that is.

I love Krista and Jessica. I couldn't ask for better girls to be with.

I need to cut back on eating spoonfuls of Nutella. I didn't even like Nutella in America. What am I doing? I do really like the food here though. The bread... eh... I could do without it, but I am really happy with everything else. Except guavas, I guess. They sound like such a nice fruit, but to be honest, they taste like garbage. Literally. I am trying to get used to them because the people here love them. I'm working on it. My favorite food here is koshary. Ah. So good. It is rice and lentils with a couple different kinds of pasta, topped with tomato sauced and deep friend onions. I probably just made it sound disgusting, but I'm a fan--a big fan. 

Every Tuesday night instead of study hall, we offer fine arts classes. We offer guitar, sign language, PowerPoint, drama, praise sing (for song services), and... I think that's it. Michael and I are teaching a drama class. We're going to work on some musical skits with them and also a Christmas play. The students really love to act. They're not as shy and self-conscious as the kids I'm used to. I'm really looking forward to working with them. I just don't have much time to prepare. If only Andrew Crane was here to help with the improv games.

One thing that I was really impressed by was how much these kids want to learn. For vespers on Friday night, we printed out song sheets so that the kids could follow along and not have to read the words from the screen. We put guitar chords on them so that the kids who wanted to learn guitar could practice using them. I printed 70 copies so that we could share them. I expected to have to pick them all up off the floor, but at the end of vespers, not a single paper was left. I was so impressed. They keep them in their pockets and try to learn the words to the songs that we teach them. Most sing intensely off-key, but they sing at the top of their lungs, and I love it. They sing like they mean it, and that really hits me. I'm just a little bit tired of singing "I Surrender All" and "Shout to the Lord," however. :)

These kids are like kids all over the world, and they are really struggling to understand God and how they relate to Him. I love talking to them. I have to be careful about how many one-on-one conversations I have with male students though. That's kind of unfortunate because I feel like I am much better one-on-one.

Addressing someone in Arabic, you add "ya" before their name. I love the sound of people calling, "Ya Miss." I love it.

I have had a better understanding of some Biblical principles since I have been here. 

• I understand that footwashing is disgusting. In the States, we take off our socks and feel embarrassed because our pedicure is not perfect. My feet have been eaten by bugs, and I have scratched all the bites like a madwoman... so now I have red scabby feet. (Great visual, eh?) They are dry and covered with dust. Praise God I have sandals and there's not an incredible amount of animal poop on campus. If we were to wash each other's feet now, we would surely be humbled.
• In one of our staff meetings, we were discussing situations with students in which we would need to inform Pastor Tom. One of the SMs asked about if a girl got pregnant. Isaac, the Egyptian pastor and boys' dean here laughed and said that that would never happen. "Sure... it's highly unlikely, but what if...?" "No. It wouldn't happen here. Her family would kill her." Can you imagine how the people must have treated Mary? And how they must have treated poor little Jesus? They looked at Him with hate and disgust because His mom was a "filthy whore who deserved to be stoned."
• If a couple does not have kids within a year of being married, people start to talk. It is very very shameful to not have kids. Then I consider Sarah and all the other barren women.
• I understand how important it is to visit the sick, as the Bible tells us to do in Matthew 25.
• I have a better understanding of hospitality as is shown in many stories in the Bible.
• I still can't imagine the shame that Mary Magdalene must have felt, caught in the act of adultery... or the shame that any prostitute must have felt. In Egypt, a girl's reputation can be ruined if she is seen out with a guy, not in a group. It would strongly deter people from marrying her.
• I have a better understanding of the importance of eating with people.
• I fully believe that the people here actually would give me the "tunic" off their back if they needed to.

I have been here for just over a month, but I know that I will never be the same. And I don't want to come back the same either.

Read Acts 16 if you get the chance. It's about Paul and Silas in prison. The story is incredible. If you have Acts of the Apostles, read the corresponding chapter. I underline so much in that book.