2013:5 - New Words

Yesterday at lunch there was quite the conversation going back and forth between Atef and Sameh. The seminarians were scheduled to play football (soccer) after study hall and there’s nothing that spurs more conversation at the seminary than football. Sameh is the leader of sports for the summer course and since his team has won every game so far I’ve been joking with him that he’s stacked the teams in his favor and is paying the referee a little something on the side. Atef and Sameh are two of the best players and are on the same team but yesterday Atef said he would play for the other team.

At lunch they sat at opposite ends of the table with me in the middle and traded insults about the other’s lack of skills and lack of teamwork. As I listened back and forth I taught them a new phrase: “talking smack” and gave them multiple examples of how talking smack happens in my parents house to this day among my siblings.

Atef loves his new phrase!

2013:4 - On my trip to Fayoum . . .

 Friday afternoon our 17 seminarians, two priests, three nuns and my colleague Rita and I traveled to Fayoum by bus for a mass celebrating the taking on of priestly garments by a former student of the summer course. Egyptians call the black garment a soutane. We know it in English as a cassock and by the beginning of the second year of theology studies, the deacons at the seminary must begin to wear this garment. Near as I can tell it’s one of the symbolic gestures of assuming the role of a priest and preparing oneself for ordination.

The pictures on my Amy in Egypt Facebook page give you a sense of our cozy, two-hour bus ride there and back and also the mass we celebrated. Along the way we drove through Giza so got to see the pyramids on the Giza plain with the city encroaching from three sides. They are like mountains rising out of the floor of the desert and they never cease to amaze me.  

The Coptic Catholic Mass we celebrated was largely sung and lasted over 90 minutes. The seminarians served as the choir for the mass and lead the singing of the congregation. They all processed in wearing their white albs embroidered with red and gold. Maybe 10 priests and deacons stood around the altar throughout the service and shared leadership of the service.

The language of the mass is in a combination of Coptic (the ancient language of Egypt that has it’s roots in pharonic times) and Arabic. I heard some familiar words, recognized songs and was generally able to follow along with the flow because I’m familiar with the English translation of the mass that we do each morning of the summer course in it’s most simplified form.

If you’ve ever experience worship in an Orthodox church you understand the sensory richness of what I experienced on Friday night. Every sense was engaged as we heard music that mimics chant but carries a different tonal quality, we saw icons and images of saints and disciples covering the iconostasis, we inhaled the smoke from incense that was spread over us four separate times during the mass, and ate bread and wine. The mass was filled with symbols and imagery that I have only begun to notice and understand. But as Abuna Bishoi explained to me every movement, every action has a meaning and altogether it is a rich feast!

But of everything that I experienced in worship on Friday, my favorite moment might have been watching Fady’s mother, who was seated across from me, when he put on the cassock and turned to face the parish. The face of a proud mama transcends culture and was maybe the most beautiful thing I saw in Fayoum.

2013:3 - Up and Out

Some of you may remember the blog that I wrote about my student, Wa'el, 3 years ago (below). Wa'el is the student who preached a sermon to me one day when I declared, "I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here."

Tomorrow we will celebrate the Feast of Ascension. I will again preach during morning mass. Wa'el has given me the best illustration I could use for the day. Ascension is all about Jesus going up so we can be sent out.

From 2010:

Wael is a student who is new to seminary this year and new to English as well. Like Atef, he is in my Level 1 class. Wael’s English is difficult to understand – he struggles with basic grammar, his vocabulary is quite limited, and yet he wants so much to learn and to communicate. Sometimes when I am explaining something in class I’m certain that he has no idea what I’m saying. And yet at other times he surprises me with what comes out of his mouth.

On Saturday as a reward for their very hard work so far, I showed a short DVD to the students in Level I about prayer. After the video we had a discussion. It was difficult because while they have many ideas, they struggle to find the words and grammar in English to communicate. In the course of the conversation I noticed Wael take out a piece of paper at one point and scribble some words At the next lull in the conversation he spoke two relatively clear sentences about his ideas about prayer. It was amazing.

At the end of study hall on Monday Wael surprised me again. For the last week the more advanced students have been offering homilies in English in the daily mass. This is one of the things that I work with them on each year. They’ve done very well. Wael said to me, “Pastor Amy I want . . . no I NEED to preach in mass. Next week I preach?”

“Wael if you work on your English very hard in the year ahead maybe next year you will be ready to prepare a homily.”

“No. I must do.”

“Wael preaching is very, very difficult. You must know grammar and you must know vocabulary and you must know correct pronunciation and you must be able to put your ideas from Arabic into English that is clear. This is very very hard.”

“No. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit send apostles to all nations and use all languages. I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.”

The conversation continued for some time. The truth is that Wael is not ready to prepare a homily in English just yet. He has a lot to learn. Through their hard work, his brothers in Level 4 have made it look easy and Wael and other students want to try as well. What Wael doesn’t know is that he preached a sermon for me today.

“I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.” 

This is good news indeed spoken to me by a young man who doesn’t know the proper usage of the verb “to be” but who trusts with all his heart that the Holy Spirit has been sent to him to preach the good news of Jesus to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has every confidence the Holy Spirit will use his broken English. Oh to have such confidence, such determination, and such faith!

Thanks be to God!

2013:2 - Thy Kingdom Come

Sunday morning after my breakfast I walked along Road 9 to do some shopping. As I walked along a familiar stretch of sidewalk a young boy, maybe 12 years old, sat on the edge of the sidewalk and watched me approach. As I walked by he spoke, just loud enough for me to hear, “Go to hell. Go to hell. Go to hell. Go to hell ...”

I was not threatened. He was not going to hurt me. I am not in an unsafe situation. More than anything his words were heartbreaking. I have always known and experienced Egyptians as the kindest and most hospitable people. For years I have been welcomed by friends and strangers wherever I go. I have been protected and guided by strangers as I’ve tried to cross the road through Cairo’s infamous traffic. On the Metro, strangers have greeted me and invited me to dinner at their home. The words of this boy were a stark reminder of how much things have changed in Egypt in just two years.

His was a voice of pure contempt. This was a quiet cry of a child longing for justice in a country that has become even more unjust and more inhospitable to its own people. The curse of a boy to a passing stranger was a cry for the Christ’s blessed kingdom to be known in this place. This boy saw me as he would see any of you, as one of the powerful who benefits from this injustice and seeks to keep hold of the power and wealth that we have.

Every year when I come to Egypt I am reminded of just how unfair this world is. As an American, I have been given abundant opportunities, a good education, the freedom to study where I want and learn anything I choose. I can work and earn a living that allows me to travel, to live in a house, to drive a car, to have access to technology and comforts that make my life easy. While I may bemoan the ineffectiveness of our government, I do not worry that the police will not come when I call, I consider it a given that when I flip the switch the electrical currents will flow, I don’t live in fear that the faith I confess will one day lead to my death. For my friends in Egypt, none of these things is a given. I am no more deserving or hard working than my students. I simply benefit from having ancestors who were given the opportunity to come to American and build a life for themselves, an opportunity most Egyptians would gladly take if offered to them.  

Every day since 25 January 2011, I have prayed for peace, justice and security for ALL Egyptians. The quiet words of this boy remind me of how much more must be accomplished before my prayer is answered and Christ’s blessed kingdom comes.

2013:1 - Welcome to Egypt!

These are the words you inevitably here when visiting tourist sights around Egypt. “Welcome to Egypt” are considered the polite precursor to “Do you need a taxi?” “Come and look in my shop.” I heard them before I had reached baggage claim today.

They are also the shorthand people use when they want to explain why things are the way they are. “Welcome to Egypt” people say with a shrug of their shoulders with the unspoken “that’s just the ways things are done around here” implied.  

Flying Egyptair from New York City to Cairo is a “Welcome to Egypt” experience. If you’ve never been to Egypt the flight will give you a foretaste of what’s to come. If, like me, you have a strong familiarity with Egypt, a flight on Egyptair will remind you of what awaits you at the other end of your journey, in case you’ve forgotten.

“Welcome to Egypt” was my thought as I watched the people surge the lines at JFK to board the plane. It didn't matter what rows were called, Egyptians just smash together and see who gets through the funnel first.

“Welcome to Egypt” was my thought on the plane as standards and aviation rules that I’ve grown accustomed to – like turn off your electronic devices, please stow all carry on bags, please have your chair in the upright and locked position – seemed more like suggestions than hard and fast rules.

“Welcome to Egypt” were the first words out of my mouth as I walked down Road 9 today to see what had changed. As I approached a brand new hotdog cart I noticed three cans marked “Plastic” “Trash” “Recycling.” Unheard of! And then I looked down, garbage strewn all around on the ground as though no receptacles even existed. “Welcome to Egypt.” I said to myself with a knowing nod. I guess I’ve arrived!

Amy In Egypt adds Facebook!

If you're a Facebook user, consider liking my new Amy In Egypt Facebook page. I'm hoping to post more pictures, daily happenings and shorter, more frequent reflections through that page and save longer posts for here. I may also start hauling out some "best-of" blog posts. In my seventh summer it may get hard to find anything new to say.

I'm scheduled to leave next Friday, June 7. I welcome your prayers as I attend to last minute tasks.

And no ... I haven't started packing yet.

2012:10 - Doing Business

Daily business is always an adventure in Ma’adi. In all but a few shops that I frequent, bargaining is par for the course. Prices are often posted but even those are subject to change from day to day depending on the mood of the person behind a counter and their judgment of how friendly I am to them on any given day. I’ve learned that a smile and “good day” in Arabic goes a LONG way!

I’ve come to realize that when I’m bargaining, the difference is usually less than 50 cents and so while I want to honor the proprietor by caring enough to want to bargain for his goods, I try to keep in mind what the stakes are in real terms for me. I know that 9 times out of 10 I will pay more than an Egyptian for whatever I’m buying and I’m okay with that. I just don’t want to pay more than another foreigner would pay. I know I’ve not done well when a proprieter throws in something extra for “free!”

That said, I am still occasionally surprised! Badran Bookstore is my stationary store of choice. The postcards I send usually come from Badran and when I need pens, paper, folders or other teaching supplies it’s the first place I go. The other day I bought 4 postcards that should have cost me 6 pounds but the kind owner would only take five. Today I went in to by an envelope, an admittedly small purchase that probably wasn’t even worth 25 piasters. As I went to the counter to pay the owner saw my purchase and said, “nothing today.”

There’s a reason I keep going back!