Cairo is a big city with 18 million people living there and two million people coming into the city for work. We visited just two churches, but it was a long day, leaving the seminary at 9:00am and returning about 7:30pm, with quite a few hours of driving.
Today being Sunday, we had the privilege of worshiping at the first church we went to, Moassat El Zakah. To get there, we drove an hour and a half, turned off the main paved road onto a divided dirt road full of trash in the middle.
Read MoreIt's hard to believe that today has only been our third full day in Cairo, I feel like I have already learned and heard so much from the people here. As I reflect on the last three days I find myself in awe of the many ways God is working in the church in Egypt.
On our first day we heard these numbers from the missions department at the seminary...there are roughly 3,000 churches in Egypt, 376 of those are Presbyterian. But there are 4,000 communities in Egypt that have Christians living in them, and only 900 of those have any church presence (Coptic, Catholic, Presbyterian). That leaves over 3,000 communities of Christians who have no church to which they can belong.
Read MoreIn our group reflection after dinner Thursday, the question was asked, "How have you encouraged someone or been encouraged today?" While a clear response did not come to me at first, my day wasn't quite finished yet. About 10pm and not ready to fall asleep, I heard the sounds of young people laughing and shouting above the city noises which drew me down to the seminary courtyard near the entrance to the dormitory. To my surprise, about 30 young Egyptians were gathered around the makeshift volleyball court. This was a group of both current seminary students and recent graduates who were on campus for their annual celebration the prior evening. I decided to investigate...
Read MoreGreetings from Cairo. We left on Tuesday, and today is Thursday. What happened to Wednesday?! It does rather seem like that given we left on Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Cairo on Wednesday night. We're all here despite a Lufthansa strike that rerouted half our team. After a much needed night's sleep, we had a terrific day today at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). This school is a long time and important partner of The Outreach Foundation and recently celebrated 125 years of service to God's kingdom. There are more than 320 students here studying for masters degrees in divinity and theology and a unique program in organizational leadership. They prepare and send pastors all over Egypt and beyond.
Read Moreby Tom Widmer
In slightly more than 48 hours, the Outreach Egypt vision team will be departing for Egypt – at least most of them. Several will be following later in the week. We’ll arrive in Cairo Wednesday afternoon/evening after nearly 24 hours of travel! The beds will be most attractive when we arrive at the seminary (where we’ll be staying) later in the evening.
Our team is 12. Our leader is Marilyn, who has more trips to Egypt and the Middle East than she can count! Others on the trip include Bill from Chattanooga and with ECO, Peggy and Deena from West Hills Church in Omaha, Kimmy, Sara and Tim from Claremont Pres in Decatur, GA, Russ from First Pres Boulder, Hubie from Eastminster Pres in Marietta, Roger and John from Redeemer Church in Snellville, GA, and me, Tom, also with The Outreach Foundation and Third Church, Richmond, VA. Unfortunately, Janice from Boulder broke her hand and is unable to travel with us, as is Joni, also from Boulder. Please be praying for us by name and for healing of Janice’s hand.
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There really is no final word on our Rwanda journey, inasmuch as it was about initiating and sustaining relationships with partners there, but we did have a final day together before heading home, or in the case of Ebralie and Ken (from Ventura Presbyterian Church), before heading to Uganda and Kenya for more partner visits.
Following breakfast we joined the staff from the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda's (EPR) head office for morning devotions. Vice-president Rev. Julie Kandema shared a message based upon the Gospel account of the cleansing of the ten lepers and invited us to each share a theme from the text that we might preach on. The same exercise was part of the examination given to students applying for entry to the seminary program at PIASS this year. Our discussion focused on the themes of faith and gratitude. During the devotions we shared joys and concerns, prayed together and sang in English and Kinyarwanda. Julie even succeededin getting our group of U.S. Presbyterians to raise their hands over their heads in praise to God! (Note to readers: Watch out for these folks when they get home!)
Day 8 began with breakfast, then off for a visit to Pastor Cyprian who, for the last 8 years, has been the Director of The Street Children Ministry. This french name of the center translates into "Love for Young People." There are 40 residents at this center.
The center was started by the Presbytery in 1998, after the Genocide in 1994, many young people were left without parents. Some of the parents were involved in the Genocide and were imprisoned, others fled the country or died. The children were left with nowhere to go. They lived in the streets and went to the dumpsters to look for food.
Here in Rwanda the pineapple gets sweeter and sweeter every morning, and the hospitality continues to overwhelm us. After another nourishing breakfast, we joined the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda staff for their daily devotional. Rob shared a powerful message, speaking of mutual encouragement in mission. In what served to be a good snapshot of the day, and even the entire trip, he challenged us: "to be in mission with God is to be in relationship with others." After singing some hymns and praying with our brothers and sisters, we departed Kigali.
Read MoreWe started out today with a quick breakfast together and off in the cars to attend prayer time and a meeting with the Protestant Counsel of Rwanda (PCR). The PCR is a group made up of leaders from different church denominations such as Anglican Church, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Salvation Army Church. We shared with their devotional and prayer time. After each of them (20 members present) did introductions, we shared a cup of tea together. During this time, they gave some history of the PCR and then shared with us a presentation of their programs for providing a common Sunday School curriculum for all churches of different denominations that belong to the counsel. Very impressive. U.S. churches could definitely learn from this program!
Read MoreThe night's rain stopped in time for our two-hour trip to Remera Presbytery for the dedication of the Karangara Church temple (as Rwandans call a sanctuary building). To build such a large building is a tremendous challenge that requires a great deal of work and sacrificial giving on the part of the local members as well as by the broader church across the entire country, and even the world. When they are building the walls, poorer members of the church bring their offering of a brick to worship each week. The roofing material and pew benches were a gift of First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, since those are simply out of the reach of the Rwandan churches. A year ago, this congregation faced a major disappointment when the walls they had been building up brick by brick fell down because there was not yet a roof to protect them from the rains.
Read MoreAfter the long, intense day of visits yesterday, today was a welcome sabbath. We stayed in a beautiful Presbyterian-owned guest house (resort, really) on Lake Kivu in the far West of Rwanda. The weather could not have been more beautiful, nor the scene more majestic and restorative. It was well after dark when we arrived, so we didn't see where we were until the sun rose in the morning, but nearly every member of the team arose by 5:15 to go to one of the balconies to watch the sunrise over the mountains and reveal bit by bit the beauty of the place. We are so grateful for the income the guest house generates for the church, but also for this calming place for groups of pastors or others to gather for renewal. The international guests, judging by the languages and accents, are truly global.
Read MoreFriday travels took us to the two Presbyteries in the western region of Rwanda. We were first welcomed by Rev. Celestin Nsengimana, president of the Gitarama Presbytery, and his staff. Later in the afternoon we visited with Rev. Albertine Nyiraneza, president of the Rubengera Presbytery, and her staff. The mission of both groups is similar: first, make disciples in all the world, as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 28: 19-20. But their second goal is also a key component of their vision and mission: "To manifest the love of God through the concrete actions of human and social development".
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