It has been so long since I have written. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Istanbul was incredible. I don’t know if I have the time to backtrack and write all about it. Maybe I will later. At the end of break, Taylor, Phil, Chris, Jeff, Austin, and I went to Alexandria.
There has been a lot of energy at the school ever since coming back from Christmas break. I feel like things are going to be very different spiritually this semester, and I’m very hopeful.
Before the break I started having Bible studies with one of the sophomore guys who tends to get in quite a bit of trouble. We read through Philippians because I was hoping that he could relate to Paul and channel his energy for good things. After break we started studying on the grass and people started coming by to see what we were doing. Some people came by and seemed to be making fun in asking what we were doing. I invited my senior student Mina to get his Bible and come join us. He said okay, and I thought that it was one of those Egyptian things where they don't want to say no so they just agree to something and don't follow through. But after five minutes he came out of the dorm with a cup of tea and his Bible (that I had given him three years ago) and joined us on the grass. I was self-conscious and hoping that he would get something from it even though he's the kind that usually acts too cool. After we had a closing prayer, Mina said, "I am free the same time tomorrow." So he studied with us a few more times. I was really thankful for that. I also made my way into the girls dorm, and read some stories about Jesus with them. I think that they are very open to God, but they just need someone to lead them. It reminds me of the verse that says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." I don't want to let this slip away. I want to be diligent about keeping up with them.
We had a week of prayer recently—it was actually a Friday through Tuesday because of scheduling with exam week. Herbert, an Australian SM who was here last year, (Feb. 4, 7:15pm), and four of his friends who study at Avondale in Australia were the guest speakers. It was such a blessing. I believe that in general, it is more effective to be a long-term missionary because you can learn the ways of the people and connect through history and shared experiences, but there is a lot that short-term missionaries can do that the long-term ones cannot. These guys brought energy and excitement. The students were much more willing to listen to them in the church than they are to most of the people who speak up front. The theme was "Image is Everything," and was about finding our identities in Christ. I was really thankful for the examples that these guys were to the students. In such a male-dominated society, it was really effective to see a group of admirable guys who were completely devoted to God. These guys were not weak or boring, as many people fear they will become if they surrender to Christ.
The last night of the week of prayer was really powerful. I made decision cards for the students, and they could check any of the following options: I want to commit my life to Jesus, I want to recommit my life to Jesus, I would like to study the Bible with someone, I would like prayer, I would like to be baptized. The response was huge. There were 27 people who said that they wanted to be baptized. I do believe that some of them were confused ESL students who didn't fully understand--though the card was translated into Arabic as well. Jordan--one of my closest friends from high school, who came in January to fill the chaplaincy position--and I are working on having staff give baptismal studies to the students who requested them. We're also starting student-led Bible studies in the dorm, which I am very excited about. I was involved with that in high school, and so much good came from it. That is how my best friend in the whole world--Jessica--and I became so close, it is how I learned how to give Bible studies, and where I experienced strong Christian fellowship. I may not even be here if I had never been involved with that in high school because Jessica and I wouldn't be as close, and we decided to be SMs together. And I would not have started Bible studies in my dorm room in college had I not in high school, which would mean that I wouldn't have known my closest group of friends in college.
This is Pastor Tom with the Aussies.
Jordan and I are teaching English night classes to community members. He does the advanced level alone twice a week for two hours, and I help him with the beginner level twice a week. I'm really thankful for the experience. I had wanted to last semester but was given other responsibilities, which was fine, but I am really excited to be involved now. The class is small, and we have three or four people that come consistently but others who come off and on. The core group is young, and they're fun to talk to. Mina is a 20-year-old Christian guy, Mohamed is a Muslim guy who just turned 16, and Heba is a 22-year-old Muslim girl. Saher comes most of the time, and I feel like I know him well, but I don't know who he reminds me of. They seem to enjoy the class. Monday was Mohamed's birthday, and during the second half of the class we had a party for him. We bought junk food :-/ at the little student association store on campus called The Canteen, and we brought hot water--because nothing says party in Egypt like tea. Jordan busted in with his guitar and enthusiasm, and they were all so excited. Mina recorded a video of us singing, and then the guys took pictures pretending to play Jordan's guitar. So funny... Jordan and I always have our Bibles with us, and most people don't know what they are, but I think that they think we act different. We prayed for them before the class started on Wednesday. That night Mohamed was asking about my religion on Facebook, so I got to tell him many of the similarities between Adventism and Islam--and there are a lot.
Read this article from Adventist World. It is very interesting. I sent the link to Mohamed today.
http://www.adventistworld.org/article/708/resources/english/issue-2010-1002/adventists-and-muslims-five-convictions
Things politically feel the same in Gabal Asfar. I have heard more gunshots, but I am not sure if it has always been this way and I just hadn't been aware of it or if it's getting worse. I think that people just shoot the guns into the air sometimes. It's not very close. Who knows what they're doing. The other night Austin, Jeff, Mary, and I went outside the school to pick up food, and two separate groups of young people threw rocks at us and pretended not to when we turned around. I told them, "AHtermu nefsuku," which means "respect yourselves" and is not something that is said unless people are really out of line. It may have just been an off night because that hadn't happened before, and it didn't happen today when Jordan and I went out.
Every time I pass a group of girls I smile or wave at them. I can't smile at the guys are talk to them, but if it's a group of girls, I know that they want to talk to the American girl, so I try to be as friendly as I can with them. They seem really sweet, and I'd love to get to know them better outside the school.
I am exhausted. Going to bed.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." We are all in this together and we all have a part to play. Who can you reach for God around you?
