Girl Power 2010:14

I’ve always known there’s a reason why God made us with different gifts and abilities, but I’ve seen again why it matters.

Many of you know that Hans, my husband, and Jen, my sister, arrived last week. They’re presence has been great. It’s really fun to share Egypt with someone for the first time and to see it again through her eyes. Some of you know my sister, and if you don’t let me just say that we’re about as different as two people can be – at least by external measures.

I’m a girly girl – Jen is not. Some of you might remember a comment I posted on facebook a few months back about how there’s nothing like a new pair of black pumps to make you feel like a girl. My sister Jen would NEVER say those words, let alone think them. You get the drift.

So I’ve been trying to explain to my students that my sister is different from me. So the line I’ve come up with is, “She’s an athlete.” (Even Level 1 knows all of these words!) So last night they asked her, “Will you play volleyball with us?”

She doesn’t really like volleyball but who can turn up an invitation like that. So she said yes. I went down to watch (in my ever-present skirt!)

May I just say that Jen ROCKED! She served out the first game with something like 10 straight points. It was beautiful watching the opposing team increasingly frustrated and unable to return a single serve. Her team just got more and more proud every point. By the end of her fifth straight point everyone could say “Jen” as opposed to the more common pronunciation “Jeanne” (ala francaise).

What was even more beautiful were the four level one students who came and sat with Jen and I at breakfast this morning and began to ask her more questions about her athletic prowess. When I told them that in America she was a coach – a leader of a team – they’re eyes got big and they were impressed. Atef asked if he could be her assistant.

Walls are chipped away in all sorts of ways - sometimes in words spoken at a worship service, sometimes in games played on a court. In this way my sister and I share MUCH in common.