Ok so you want to know what the name Khadeega is all about. Well It was given to me by the friends I made in Egypt. I keep it so they know I still think of them and remember them. Some people you never want to forget. They are some of those people.
My first experience overseas was an adventure to say the least. The minute we got off the plane and stepped onto the unknown land, we all felt the difference in culture. We kept being herded in different directions, none of us really knowing what was going on. They didn't like our group stopping to regroup after being confused about where to go. At one point two of our people's passports were taken at the check point and not returned. This created a problem for us because we then had to leave them and our leader behind and keep walking or risk more problems from the airport security. Getting out of the airport also was a source of some concern as some of us were carrying things we shouldn't...such as car engine oil for our contact and medical supplies...this type of thing was not allowed. And then leaving the airport after finding our contact, Dr. Hany, was also an experience for the girls on the team. We weren't counted as people when they asked how many were in the car.
Finally we made it to the hotel after a very long day of traveling. Little traveling tip - DO NOT ever go on an airplane congested! VERY bad idea!
Most of the time we were there I felt like a tourist more than a missionary. Mainly it couldn't be helped because were there under the disguise of being a tourist so we had to do tourist things to be convincing. So we made the trips to the Great Pyramids and went indise the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, visited the Mosque of Mohammad Ali and the Citadel, went to the bazzar and ate at TGI Fridays on the Nile...oh yea and don't forget our boat ride on the Nile too and the day at the Red Sea! Whilst we did tourist things, we made sure we also visited areas such as "Trash City" on the way to "The Mountain." Trash City was a place were the trash collectors lived. The government didn't really care about these people so they didn't care if we shared the gospel with them. The living conditions for these people were terrible. I never imagined people could live in an area like this and still be alive. I couldn't smell anything as a result of my congestion, however most of my team members made remarks about the stench. One girl got really sick from it one night. I took it as a blessing in disguise that I was congested. The mountain was a place just past Trash City. It was where the Christian had their church meetings - inside a cave dug out in a huge mountain the middle of a desert.
The most important thing we did while we were in Cairo was to plant seeds in the hearts of the Egyptian people and inspire hope for them. A hope without disappointment. The hope of Glory - Christ in me. So much pain was written all over their faces. Pain that held them captive to it. And I felt the love that God had for these people. Islam had taught them that if they believed in Jesus, that they would be killed. If a muslim gave their life to Jesus, His own family would hunt them down and try to kill them. We had 2 visitors at our hotel from an underground church who shared their stories with us and helped to talk to us about how to talk with the muslims. It was like a horror movie that they had lived. Their closest friends and family betrayed their trust all for the sake of a religion. But religion isn't what being a Christian is all about. It's more than mere acts and duties and tradittions. It is a relationship that grows into a great love. A love deeper than the deepest part of the ocean or farther than the farthest reachings of the sky. And this is the hope that we shared with the people living there. One night we went to another area which was also called Trash City. This "city" had it's own church which housed the only bathroom in the entire community. It was basically a hole in the floor kept locked and used only for visitors and the pastor and staff of the church. While we were at this church, we held a free medical clinic for the people who lived there. We gave them vaccinations and took care of various medical conditions. We played with the kids who were ecstatic to have some strange new foreign visitors there to play with! We gave them all Beanie Babies....most likely the only new toy they have ever received.
Upon departure from the new "home" we had found in Egypt, there was not a dry face on the team. All of us were saddened by the fact our time there was over and we had to go back to where we were from. Saying good-bye was not easy to do. Dr. Hany, Bassem, Micheal....such good friends. It was hard leaving knowing we were going back to a place we were free and they had to stay behind and live life not knowing what the next day would hold or who they could trust. They are continually in my prayers. I will never forget!
Team Egypt 2001 |
