Off to Egypt

Yep, I'm off to search for the lost tomb of the pharaohs. No, not really. Actually I doubt that I'll do any site seeing in this trip. I have never been to Egypt, and the opportunity came up to go with one of my co-workers here in Lebanon. I have to leave Lebanon by the 14th of March anyway, because my Visa is going to expire. So this friend and I are going to go to southern Egypt to try and meet some people and share some good news. I am also hoping that it will give me a feel for the Egyptian culture and what kind of conditions they are living in. We'll be there 10 days, so it should give me enough time to get a taste of Egypt. It will probably test my Arabic, because Egyptian is very different than the Levantine dialect which I am used to speaking in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Egypt is the most populated Arab country with 77 million people. Cairo is one the largest and most densely populated cities in the world, with about 18 million people literally living on top of each other. Personally I hope we don't spend much time in Cairo. Beirut is bad enough. Plus every tells me the only place which has worse traffic that Beirut is Cairo. Thanks but I'll pass, my sanity is wavering as it is.
Hopefully it will be a break the busy schedule I've been living here in Lebanon. Well, actually I hope that I will be busy (actually I know I will), but it will be nice to change the scenery a bit and get a breath of fresh....oh wait Egypt is one of the most polluted places on the planet...well a change of scenery anyway.
I doubt I'll have much internet access while away because the part of Egypt were going to is most poverty stricken and probably doesn't boast many internet cafes, so if you don't here from just trust the Lord that He's taking care of me.

I'll try to bring back a piece of the pyramids for a memento, or maybe a piece of mummy wrapping.
Which reminds me of a cartoon I read. Here's what it would look like if Alaskans made mummies (compliments of Tundra):

Book Review

I just finished reading this book, after it was recommended by a fried. It is the true-life story of a young Palestinian boy who grew up at the time which the state of Israel was formed, and Israelis forced him out of his home. Of course, this is not a new topic, hundreds of books have been written about it, but what separates this book is Chacour's reaction to the events. Instead of turning to hatred, violence, and revenge he instead turns to forgiveness, tolerance, and the hope for peace. Although he is not a born-again believer, he applies the teachings of Jesus Christ to one of the world's most intense conflicts. It is quite well-written and very interesting. Definitely worth reading, but I must warn those who have only been exposed to the standard western view of the conflict that it will probably challenge your viewpoint and knowledge of the events.

There was a quote I found in the book that describes almost all international conflicts, and especially this one:
"If there is a problem somewhere, this is what happens. Three people will try to do something concrete to settle the issue. Ten people will give a lecture analyzing what the three are doing. One hundred people will commend of condemn the ten for their lecture. One thousand people will argue about the problem, and one person -only one- will involve himself so deeply in the true solution that he is too busy to listen to any of it"
I think this quote is very accurate in we understand it from the viewpoint of the gospel.

Tribute to Godly music

hymns that we enjoy today. When you listen to the words of a hymn like Amazing Grace, When I survey the wonderous cross, or And can it be that I should gain, you know that God was working through the penmen of these marvelous works of art. In my opinion there is not even the illusion of a comparison between their beauty and the generally oversimple, repitious conglormerates that we call contemporary worship.
We, here in the middle east, lack the rich history of hymnology which exists in nearly every hymnal in western churches. What a blessing it is to have godly music.
So for all those whom God has richly blessed with musical talents I encourage you to stir up the gift which is in you, and provide the forthcoming generations with a legacy such you have inherited.

This a hymn which I don't think I've ever heard sung in person, but have loved it from the first time I heard it. So rich in meaning and truth.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

I love sports

I've realized something about myself while living in the Middle East: I love sports. Actually I love anything that involved physical activity, and the more strenuous it is the better. But the be honest, I already knew that about myself, I just realized how much I miss it, because I don't have the opportunity to play many sports over here.
However, since I came back from Alaska I decided that I was going to start exercising more and stop eating sugar. I've always exercised alot, but because of my back injury I had to stop. So for the last 3 or 4 months I've been going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week (usually two due to time constrains). But the times I don't go to the gym I do some sort of exercise in my apartment, or where ever I happen to be. All of the exercise, even in the gym, is based on a Cross-Fit philosophy, i.e. it's not about how long you exercise or how much you lift, its about how much your work the body as a whole and who dead tired you can make yourself.
Anyway, with the combination of the exercise and eating right (I've not had any soda now for 3 months) I've almost got up to long-saught-after 200 lbs (197), with no noticable fat, I feel stronger, and my back pain almost never surfaces. So, this is my tribute to Cross-Fit style exercise and health-conscience eating.

busy holidays

I knew I hadn't posted for a long time, but I didn't think that it had been a month...oh well, time flies when you don't have any of it.

Things here have been super busy. I've made a lot of new friends and aquaintances recently from one of the refugee camps here. Things are going well with them and they are happy to have me visit them in the camps, which is not always the case with foreigners. Some of their neighbors don't like me so much, so I quit driving my car into the camp, so as to avoid bringing un-needed attention to my self...you never know in this part of the world.
The Christmas holidays brought alot of activity at the orphanage. It seems for about 3 weeks a year the people here are willing to recgonize that there are lots of dis-infortuned children. We had universities come and make parties for the kids. We had politicians come, and we even had some famous actors and singers come. It was pretty funny, one of the singers, Mariam Faaris, came and there were cameras crews and reporters, and when she arrived every one started shouting "Mariam Faaris is here!". I've never heard of her, so I asked "who is Mariam Faaris? some news reporter?" You should have seen the looks I got, as to say, "do you live on Mars??". I could care less about some silly pop singer...
I just came back from a week-long trip to Jordan. I can't write much about the details of the trip, for one reason or another. It was nice to visit old friends again, as well as meeting new ones. I also had some meetings with the University people I used to work with. I even got to see some old friends from Alaska. Esam and Lena were in Amman visiting family. Esam is the first arab person I ever met. He works in the hospital in Fairbanks. It was really cool to see them in Jordan...the world can be very small at times.

Here are some pictures of Wadi Manshala, in the dead sea valley (it was a short, one-day trip with a couple friends). I can't go to Jordan without doing at least a little hiking, because as you can see, there are some amazing places.

The mouth of the Wadi (wadi = valley/ravine), which drains into the Dead Sea

One of the six waterfalls inside the wadi

The view from the top of the wadi: the Dead Sea and Israel. They say on a clear day you can see the mount of olives silhoutted on the horizon