Cairo, Egypt
I don’t know if we ever actually discovered how we feel about Cairo, Egypt. The feelings are by no means negative, it’s just hard to sort through the conglomeration of noise, trash, traffic, dust, dirt, sand, smog, pyramids, horses, and camels. Add 20 million aggressive Arabs to that equation, and it makes for quite an experience!
I’ll try to keep this short and recap the things that meant the most to us during this time (which may be biased since I, Nielsen, end up writing the blogs).
November 4
We went to the pyramids of Giza our first day here. It was an epic experience riding camels through the desert, right up to and around the pyramids and sphinx (although the overcrowding sort of takes away from the ambiance of the moment). It was a bit salty to do so, but in the end worth the experience. This was also the day I (Nielsen) met a wonderful man, a doctor, from Pakistan who is currently working and living in Saudi Arabia (we ended up spending a decent amount of time together here). We had a very long conversation in which he elaborated on some very disturbing things about Saudi Arabia. Keep that country in your prayers.
November 5
On this day we ended up walking down to the Nile from our hotel, which runs right through Cairo. It’s about a 15 minute walk. We went across the bridge to the other side and as we walked we just began to pray over the country, city and inhabitants. This day (Friday) was their day of worship so it was only fitting we worshiped the One True God. It was a powerful time of prayer and we could feel the presence of God as went. The area is very much in bondage to Islam and the best thing to do is pray.
November 6
This was the day we went to search for the believers and the church in a cave. We found out where to go on the Metro and set off to the Citadel (the famous Mohammad Ali mosque) in Old Islamic Cairo, which was really our only starting point. We went by faith, not really knowing where to go or what to do. It was a very long walk from the Metro station to the Citadel, so as we walked we just prayed and prayed. Once again, we prayed for the nation, that they would not be under the control of Islam. We prayed for salvation for the people of Cairo and all of Egypt.
So, as you walk towards the Citadel, which is on the left, there is a sort of mountain face on the right, which seems to include some cave-like areas. It seemed to be our best bet at the moment so we kept in that direction. Eventually, we entered a somewhat sketchy area, an area where they probably don’t see many American tourists. We were finally getting close to the bottom of the mountain, and suddenly we got stopped. The man who stopped us claimed to be a police man. He doesn’t speak much English, but we eventually gathered that we were not supposed to go any further and he escorted us back towards the Citadel. We didn’t feel threatened, but we were a little disappointed that we couldn’t get closer, since it was really our only lead. Devon thinks that maybe they thought we were spies (who knows). We still wonder what lies beyond that area, since we never really found out what we were being kept from. While we were in the area, we checked out the Citadel close up, then decided to start walking back. As we went we prayed for the Arab believers in the area, knowing that even if we couldn’t see them, we could at least pray for them. We prayed that they would be encouraged, lifted up, blessed and that they would persevere.
But the story doesn’t end there. As you walk back there’s a deserted and quiet area of tombs and graves right off the road (deserted and quiet is a rare thing in Cairo). We felt led to start walking through this area, wondering if maybe we would find something or someone. We passed a few people then came upon two men, who offered us tea. We sat and drank, trying mostly in vain to communicate. Two young boys eventually come over and we learned their names. We gave them some Kool-Aid packs and gum, and kept attempting to communicate through whatever means possible. I felt at peace around them and it was a special moment. This may very well seem like an insignificant experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s just the fact that we were having tea in an area of tombs and graves with a few Arab men and boys in Cairo, halfway across the world. So, we thanked them for the tea and said our goodbyes, and on the way out I felt satisfied and fulfilled.
Things don’t always happen the way we think, but God is good and faithful. We went by faith, did our best, and trust that God will produce something good from our obedience and effort.
November 7
Today was our last day in Cairo; tomorrow we leave for Uganda! It was a very laid back day (much needed) and we both got to spend some good individual time in the Word and in prayer, as well as together for the next leg of our journey in east Africa. One thing that stuck out to me (Nielsen) for today is a conversation I had with a guy here at our hostel. We started talking on the roof area and he ended up telling me his horrible story. I won’t get into all the details, but his name is Martin and he is from Belgium. He’s going through some very hard times right now relating to his girlfriend, young son, drugs, among other things. I could see his heart breaking as he spoke and my heart began to break for him and his situation as well. I was able to share briefly with him about the power of prayer and assured him that there is a God who listens to and cares about us. I pray that God redeems him and his situation.
I tried to keep that short and obviously left out some details, but hopefully can get an idea of our time here in Cairo. I felt like it was a time of many “small” blessings.
Now, there are a few more things I would like to say about some things we felt while we were here. The first day I (Nielsen) was here I started noticing all the mosques (they’re EVERYWHERE). As I looked at them, I felt oppression and darkness. In my spirit, I felt like God was revealing to me His Holy Anger. He is angry that these people have been placed in darkness and stripped of true freedom because of false religion and centuries of the spiritual bondage of Islam. He is angry that they have been kept from the Light. I almost wanted to weep because of the grief I felt over this. God loves all of these people and is so enraged by the sin and filth that keep them from Him.
Lastly, please pray for my doctor friend from Pakistan. He is a wonderful Muslim man, and I did get a brief moment to talk about Jesus with him. His circumstances in Saudi Arabia are difficult. I got to spend a lot of time with him here and I pray that Jesus would get ahold of his heart. Please pray for my friend Martin that I mentioned earlier as well. Pray for his situation and that his heart would be touched by the love of Jesus. If nothing else, I’ve realized thus far that relationships and conversations are by far the best thing about traveling and going to different countries. Sure, the sights are cool, but nothing is as important as an individual. Remember, it’s all about relationships.
It may seem like an uneventful time to some of you, but I have been blessed here in Cairo Egypt. I hope all of you have been blessed in some way through our stories here.
Stay posted and God bless.
