From February 27, I think

Tonight we had a “farewell” for one of our students and one of the former students. Beshoy and his family are moving from Alexandria to London. His sister was severely injured in the bombing that happened New Year’s Eve/Day 2010/2011. She has either been in England for surgeries since then or has been back and forth between Egypt and England. He told me about her at the beginning of the year. At 4:45 Peter, the SA Vice President, came to me and said that we were going to have a farewell in the church at 5:00. For who? For Beshoy, who was leaving for the train station at six. Wow. I had just taught him in class that morning and had no idea. That’s kind of typical. “Surprise! I’m up and moving to Toronto.” “Surprise! I’m moving to England in thirty seconds.” But it’s sad nonetheless. Unfortunately, they are used to goodbyes here. My friend Deng has not seen his dad in ten years and his mom in eight. Wael went to America three years ago to join his American wife, and he is not able to come back until he exceeds the maximum age that the army would want him. He’s young. Twenty five, I think. Rafic moved to Canada in November, I believe. When in the world are his best friends ever going to see him again? It just makes me hurt. When I graduate from where and we all go our separate ways, we can still see each other. When my best friend moves to Colorado, I can work extra and fly out to see her. It’s not as easy, but it’s nothing like it is here. And that hurts. I hurt for them. That’s not how things were supposed to be. I feel like every deep down ache is a sign that things were not supposed to be that way. People were never supposed to die. Couples were never supposed to break up. Friends were never supposed to say goodbye. Dogs were never supposed to run around the streets starving to death. But this is a broken world. Last night I was reading with one of the ninth grade boys in Romans 8. “…the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. And now only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:21-23) Sobering things just happen sometimes. And it just makes me thankful that the Earth and us will be glorified. We will be restored.

In the midst of that Bible study, some other students came in and one noticed my hand. He kept reaching out trying to get a better look at it—to which I kept pulling my hand away. But the thing that he found interesting about my hands was that they are fat/flabby, I guess…? To which his friend responded, “They’re like pump it up.” What. In. The. World.