On Saturday, The Outreach Foundation’s “Team Liverpool” assembled from far and wide to say hello both to one another and to our wonderful partners, Shapoor and Yasamin Ahmadi. David Rice returned from his visit to the United States as well and both he and his wife Susan quickly helped to get us settled. The first day of our visit brings together people in various stages of jet lag so we wanted to keep it simple and provide many opportunities for coffee!
Read MoreOur last day here!
Friday is a busy day around most Presbyterian churches in Egypt with Sunday Schools often rockin’ the sanctuary on what is a day off from school and work in this part of the world. And indeed, the church in 10th Ramadan City was no exception!
Read MoreToday we visited ETSC (the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo). What an incredibly full day of connections! We met with President Hani Hanna followed by a meeting with a group of seven professors (including the first and second female professors at the Seminary) facilitated by the Academic Dean, Darren Kennedy. We then attended chapel, enjoying worship and a powerful word from Marilyn Borst reminding us to tell the stories of the faithful heroes whom we meet. We next gathered for a delicious meal where we were able to chat informally with members of the faculty and a few students.
Read MoreWe spent the better part of the day at the Synod of the Nile, hosted by the General Secretary, Rev Refat Fathey, learning about the many programs and committees they have formed to reach out to the people of Egypt and to the world.
Read MoreLove covers and moves in this village like the warm sun and comforting breeze. All these are palpable here. Love for the village; love for family; love for the church; and love for God.
Read MoreBy Brady Clark
Today was a little bit of a “recovery day” after nonstop travel from the states and visiting churches in and around Cairo. We took the day to go and experience the rich and ancient history of this amazing country by visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. To see these incredible monoliths and antiquities firsthand was truly an unforgettable experience. One of the things that I was struck by was the ancient Egyptians commitment to the afterlife and their dedication to ensuring that they would be taken care of after they passed from this world.
Read More(After a day spent in Old Coptic Cairo, visiting historic churches whose roots go back to the first years of Christianity, we divided into two groups for evening worship with local Presbyterian congregations.)
Read MoreRain peppered down on us as we snaked our way between the rows of looming apartment buildings in New Cairo, 5th Settlement. I was reminded of our good-humored tour guide, Mourad’s, words, “It only rains 15 days out of the year in Egypt!” Undeterred, we reached a beautiful cemetery that opened up in the midst of the buildings. It was filled with a maze of walls topped with cross after cross - Protestant, Catholic, Coptic - all pointing upward into the heavy clouds toward heaven. On the edge of the cemetery, facing a busy square in this poor area of the 5th Settlement, sits a steep area of sand, waiting. It is waiting to be the foundation of a new church plant building to bring glory to God and transformation to this city with the love and witness from God.
Read MoreMutually Encouraged
It is, after all, the essence of these journeys with The Outreach Foundation— guided, as we seek to be, by Paul’s words to the Church in Rome: “I long to see you …that we might be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.” (Romans 1).
Read More“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say that I am?” – Matthew 16:15
This blog began in the last hours in Damascus as I lay in bed, the concept keeping me awake most of the night. The next morning we began the return to Lebanon, recrossing the border I wrote about one week before. I had composed the entire thing mostly in my head, but waited until today, Tuesday, to put it down. My responsibility in reporting was to cover Monday and Tuesday, and even though I had the words given to me on Sunday, I needed to be fair to our final days as a team here in Beirut. As it happens, what I saw and heard today fit beautifully in the framework already established. Of course. Jehovah Jirah...God provides.
Read MoreIn 2015, Rev. Boutros (Peter) Zaour, pastor of Damascus Presbyterian Church in Syria, was in San Diego, preaching at Rancho Santa Fe Presbyterian Church, where Rev. Dr. Jack Baca is pastor, and as the key international guest for a Presbyterian Fellowship Community Gathering. While there, Pastor Boutros received terrible news from Damascus that his church in Damascus had been hit by stray mortars. Many of us on this team were with him when the photos of the devastation began to arrive from church members, showing the gaping hole in the church ceiling, damage to the chancel area, and the complete destruction of his pulpit. He and his wife Wafa were in deep shock and grief, and far away from their congregation, but they were with family, and Jack’s church along with The Outreach Foundation promptly pledged and followed through with help in renovating the sanctuary. This past Sunday, Reformation Sunday, we gathered to worship with the congregation in that beautifully renovated holy place.
Read MoreOn the third and final leg of our trip to México, we left the heights (7,349 feet to be exact) of México City and descended to the steamy tropical lowlands of Yucatán. Our destination was the San Pablo Presbyterian Seminary located in the bustling commercial city of Mérida. We were blessed to spend a day and a half on campus with Rector Amós Cahuich Yam and his faculty and staff. San Pablo Seminary is a long-time partner of The Outreach Foundation and trains theology students from 20 Mexican states, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Chile, and Colombia. A number of their students are fluent in Mayan and will pastor churches that speak that language in Southern Mexico and Guatemala. San Pablo’s degree programs include B.A. in Theology, B.A. in Sacred Music, Diploma in Biblical Counseling, Masters of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry.
Read More
