Recharged

I stare through the crack windshield of the taxi cab,
Removed now, what once was a terrifying ride has become an everyday routine,
In the corner of my eye I catch glimpse of the dust covered air freshener,
The stale dust covered pine tree sways with the rickety old engine that struggles along the roadway,
Cars swerve around hollow shell that is my taxi,

I chuckle to myself thinking of my family's first ride in one of these steel coffins,
White knuckled (no pun intended), gripping the seats as if to let go would be to let life slip through their fingers,
Faces frozen with fear as each near miss with pedestrians and other cars,

In the 5 months I have been here I have learned at least one important lesson,
The right taxi driver makes a world of difference,

Alright so I have learned a lot more then just that,

I think back to my familys visit here,
How quick it came and went,

The excitement and culture shock,
Frustration and a sense of adventure,
The double edge sword that is Egypt drew them in,
And I was glad for the visit,

The embrace of home and family while thousand of miles away brings a lot of comfort,
And while they have left now, I feel a recharged,

I am now ready to take on my next challenge here in Egypt,
And it comes in the form of a Young Mens Bible study group,

A group brought together under the dim lights of one of Cairo's few refugee schools,
Within the walls of pain and despair, there are a group of young men that are searching for something better,

The idea was spawned after much thought and prayer,
A calling for the time I have left here in Egypt,
A charge to help answer some of the more difficult questions then young men of this world face,

The questions they face, but face alone because no one dares to bring up the topics,
Things such as Sex, Sexuality, Relationship, and Money are things which most young men of this culture struggle with on their own.

Some of the life's most daunting topics, and they are left to fend for themselves.

So what is my role in the matter?
Why me?

In no way do I feel equipped enough to answer some of the harder questions I expect to be raised,
In no way do I feel I have all the right answers nor the experience to tackle some of the tough issues,

To bring these men of the future together,
To talk it out, to think, to hear others opinions and to bring knowledgeable leaders into help stir their minds.

The darkness seems overwhelming,
They don't have to be alone in this struggle,
To bring the light of God into the matter, the darkness shall flee.

The taxi veers to avoid what could have been a fatal collision, and I'm snapped back into the present.
The dusty, old pinetree still swings, in the corner as my eyes and other senses focus once again on my surroundings.
Engine grinds, and my driver mutters something under his breath, as if to coax the failing, steel beast along.
The smell of gas stings the the nose as it seeps through the rusted engine compartment and the cool Nile breeze whips through the open window and against my face,

Egypt is home for now, and I intend to enjoy it,

Grace, Peace and Blessings
Brent

A New Year Ushered In

As the hands of the clock pass 12 morning, so ushers in a new year.

2008 marks a new chapter in my life,
Half way across the globe, I find myself once again reflecting, this time on what the future holds in store for me.
It's with confidence I can say I am excited to see what God bring about.

I have 5 months left here in Egypt and I plan to finish strong,
I have a renewed sense of urgency, as time ticks away, that I need to stand up and continue on with the work I have started.

After my time in Egypt has past,
I imagine I will leave with a certain sense of accomplishment, regret, heaviness and excitement.
Accomplishment because of the tasks I took on and completed, and regret that I couldn't do more,
Heaviness will fade as I leave the battle that wars over Egypt and excitement will remain as I venture, once again, down to Uganda,

I continue to be grown here,
I've been asked to give the opening prayer this week at Maadi Community Church.
It is with a certain amount of hesitation and reluctance that I excepted,

Hesitation stems from the fear of public speaking, reluctance, from the idea of writing out a prayer that will be repeated no less than 3 times.

Prayer should be a conversation with God,
The idea of a rehearsed speech bothers me slightly,
The intimacy and the flow of ideas is ruptured by the correct placement of words and grammar,

But never the less,
The finished and polished product is here,

May God transform my heart,

When I praise Him, may my praise fill His heart with Joy,
When I thank Him, may He continue to pour out His blessing,
When I ask Him, may what I ask be the wants of His heart as well.
And when I speak to Him may there be an intimacy with Him that only our Father God can grant,


"Lord Jesus,

We come before You now full of thanksgiving and awe.

Lord, there is none like You,
No God so strong, no Savior so loving, no Spirit so true.

We thank You for Your presence,
We thank You Lord, that You continue to seek us out and Lord that Your light floods the darkness.

You pursue us when we’re stubborn, and You pull us out of the muck and mire Lord,
We are so truly unworthy,

We take this time Lord, to recognize that without You, without Your love, justice and mercy, we are forever lost.

Thank You Lord for this new year you have ushered in,
Thank You Jesus for all the amazing and powerful things You are going to do this year,
And Thank You Jesus, that another passing year only brings us closer to the day when You return for us.

So Lord, with this new year fill us again with an urgency for the lost, your children in the darkness,
Equip us to reach out Lord, may Your light shine through us, and may it draw others near.
Continually remind us of Your calling Lord, and reaffirm in our minds that we are Your hands and feet here Jesus.

Lord we thank you for our host country Lord,
We pray that you continually bless Egypt with an abundance of your love and mercy,
Shower her leaders with knowledge, discernment and a want to serve You and serve your people.

Thank You Lord that this church is growing,
Thank You that You know exactly where we will expand to Lord,
Lead us there, and give us open eyes and ears so we follow without question.

Thank you Spirit that you gift us uniquely,
Gift us with a pastor who will lead this church through this new adventure,
May he be strong in you and may he be called here by you and you alone,
Gift to us as a church body discernment to know that he is the one, and do likewise for him.

Lord we thank you that you are a God that feels our pain,
You are the God that mourns and rejoices with us Lord,
And You are the God that consoles us,
Jehovah Rafa be with those in our congregation that are hurting or mourning Lord,
Bring about Your peace and reach down Your healing hand into their lives.

Lord, allow us to grasp this year with a renewed desire to give our all to You and the furtherment and strengthening of Your Kingdom. For You are our Lord Creator, You are the selfless Savior, You are the Spirit the leads us on.
And it’s in Your Name that we pray,

Amen"

Happy New Year to you and yours!

In His Name,
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent

Reflection

As we squeeze the final days out of another year,
I sit and reflect and thank God for all that has come to pass,

Thanks in part to my travels, my friends and family, the churches I have come to call home, and all the Glory be to God,
In this last year I have grown, been shaped and experienced more than I could have imagined.

So here are just some of the many memories of this year,
A couple favorite photos from each spot.

Walking Like An Egyptian...Round 1














From Egypt I stopped over in Barcelona for a wee bit...













And then there was pain, backpacks, travel and full body burns DO NOT mix



After some rest and relaxation and a lot of Aloe Avera cream, I was on the road again, this time to 'The Pearl of Africa', Uganda, the place that has stolen my heart.







3rd World Bungee...Into the Nile















If anyone tries to tell you goodbyes are easy...they're lying.
But we push on, and there is nothing like some animals and team time to raise the spirits.







And then came the mountain,
The rooftop of Africa, Kilimanjaro,
A big mountain, a lot of elevation and a good friend.









And so the story goes, the mountain was conquered,
Matt and I escaped Tanzania by the skin of our teeth, leaving nothing more then my finger prints behind.

I returned home for what was just over a very short month and then back again to Egypt...
And here I've found myself, basking in Gods glory, found in the most unlikely place.

I'll leave you with a quick word of thank you to all those who have helped make this dream a possiblity through prayer and financial support.
Your love is a huge blessing to me and pray that in the following months I can continue to do you proud by being the hands of feet of Christ here in Egypt.

Here's a couple of clips from Egypt...round 2.














In His Name,
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent

Christmas In Cairo

It is true,
The older you get, the faster the days turn into years.

Christmas is once again on the doorstep,
But it seems, for me, it's not knocking quite a loudly as it has in the past.

Cairo, 19 degrees today and sunny,
The streets look the same as every other day, cleanly swept yet still dusty.
There are no decorations lining the street lamps, no tinsel in the store windows, no "Merry Christmas" sign shamelessly hung from the balconies.
The only lights that are hung are those that have yet to be taken down from Ramadan, but you know what, I'll take it.

Needless to say, Christmas just doesn't seem like Christmas this year.

Now I sit and reflect on that thought and it scares me,
What is Christmas without the decorations, the songs and the friends and family?

Why is it that without all the consumer nonsense, the fancy packages and the flashy lights, without jolly Saint Nick and the tree adorned with presents, why is it that Christmas feels like just another day?

As I walked to work the other day, I bumped into a familiar face,
My neighbours boab, greeted me with a smile and a Merry Christmas!
My first "Merry Christmas" of the year and it was said through broken English by a Muslim...

Did he truely know what it meant?
Probably not, but he knows I am a Christian and it's important to me.

His smile told it all.

I was so caught up in my first Christmas away from home, so caught up in having my host family and Joy (my girlfriend) head back to England, I was so caught up in what I was missing this Christmas, that I had forgotten what I do have.

Shameful really,
A day to remember the birth of Christ, our Savior, God incarnate and I've seemed to forgotten.

Christ was born in Bethlehem, The Son of God, to live as the ultimate role model, to teach us of the Father and His abundance of love and then in the end, demonstrate it to us, obedient to death on the cross.

Christmas is here again, and this year I'm going to focus of the truth, the reason.
I'm going to dig beneath the glitz and the glam and I'm going to find my Savior there.

Merry Christmas Everyone,
May God Bless you abundantly and may you and your families have a moment to reflect on the truth of Christmas.

Grace, Peace and Blessings From Cairo,
Brent

Battle Cry

"Suit up soldier, We're going to Egypt!"

It's a picture etched in my mind;
God standing there, speaking to my heart and myself eagerly nodding.

I got here to Egypt and dove into things just as eagerly as when I left home,
Things worked, weeks flew by, but I grew tired.
Nothing had changed to my work load, and while yes, it is a challenging place to live sometimes, Egypt itself hadn't changed any since I'd been here.
I got frustrated, I got angry with myself.
I continued to trudge through, not knowing why this tiredness was happening or what had caused it.

I failed to fully recognize that when God sent me here, He didn't send me alone.
I began to grow tired because I was fighting through things under my own strength alone.

Looking back at the picture now, I hear the words, "WE'RE going in."
I hang my head in shame, stupidly I had jumped the gun.
I forgot one of the most important truths of my faith, God is always with me.

I broke ranks, and as soon as I did, I was surrounded, exposed and outnumbered.

Our God is a God that lets us learn our lessons,
He doesn't let us take on more then we can bear.
Our God is great.

Just when I felt helpless, I realized why.
With my mind focused on God's strengths and truths the fighting got easier.
Nothing compares to Gods strength, darkness cowers at His voice.

God has been fighting here much longer than I have,
He has been using others in more powerful ways then I could have imagined,
and that Truth is humbling.

God has lifted my up and set me on a rock now,
I'm spending time with Him and learning more about His character as I do so.
As I spend some time reflecting I go back again to the picture of God instructing me.

"Suit up soldier, We're going in!"

I was suited up, I was strong, but when I stumbled, I found the holes in my armor,
The things I thought were hidden became my weakest points.

With God at my side, I have started on re-crafting my armor.

As part of my internship here, it was required that each of us take "Cell Pastor Training."
A course which focus' on raising up cell group leaders for the purpose of leading new church cells.
An aspect of the church which works on the Upward, Inward, Outward and Forward life of the church body.

Through my time in the course and through this newly focused time with God,
He has made it blatantly clear to me that I need to start a young mens study group within the refugee schools here.

The weakness that have been exposed are those that every young man struggles with on some level and with the insight and training that God has been granted me through this experience.
In no way am I set apart for this task, in no way do I have all the answers, but I have some experiences, some mistakes others can learn from.

The goal will be to provide a group in which these young men will feel comfortable in talking about the challenges they are wrestling with and through God's word and body, find restoration and a battle plan against that.

This time I suit up in confidence, with careful consideration for my weak points and a knowledge that God is fighting with me.

Thank you to you Jehovah-Nissi, The banner I carry forward.
Thank you to you Jehovah Shammah, The Lion at my side.

Onwards and Forwards,
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent

The Lonely Wanderers

Welcome back to Egypt,
Allow me to set the scene.

The unforgiving Summer sun has given way to it's meeker Fall counterpart, as a warm breeze gently wafts down the Nile valley.
A vast assembly of vehicals continue to jockey about the tiny streets of the city, time after time sounding their horns in a chours of disapprovement, humbled by nothing less then looming mounds of pavement placed in less then strategic spots admist the streets.
Mosques litter the skyline, spewing opression over the city 5 times a day, shouting skywards to their deaf god.
The streets bustle with smiling people, chatter of Arabic and shouts of, "Welcome to Egypt!"
My replies of "I live here," fall short.

It's a short walk to the church every morning.
Familiar faces, dodging traffic, the little things in life that qualify as routine.

I have long since begun my work with the refugee community here,
And as I've sunk my teeth into the situation, I've realized in many ways, I've bitten off more then I can chew.
I've established relationships within the refugee schools, met with such organizations as the UNHCR, Caritas Egypt and Tadamon group, but the most impacting thing is hearing the personal accounts of war, famine and flight.

Refugees flock to Egypt from all over Africa and the Middle-East, and while each story is similar, they are all unique.
Some have come to escape war and perscution, others thinking Egypt will provide work and opperutnities, while more hope to make the seemingly short jump to Europe or North America, the much anticpated, just out of reach, "lands of milk and honey."

It's the footballer hoping and praying he'll be signed by a major team, each day passing him by as rent and cost of living compound.
The story of a grandmother and her grandchildren, fleeing an never-ending war, hoping for a chance at an education.
The journey of a million people, thinking that Egypt will provide them something more,
A million people, lost in a country, a system, a shattered dream.

It's a sea, a flood, and we've just made a ripple on the surface.

I do not mean to say that all is hopeless however,
Our God is a God who provides, Jehovah Jireh.

Each day it seems a new organization springs to life here in Egypt,
The want to help is strong, but often lost in the sea of despair.

It seems it's much easier to focus on the negitives in life, the faults, the failures, the short-comings.
It's a broken world, it's a more then a sea, more then an ocean and it has a vicious under current.

But God has ordained us, He has set us apart, He's lifted us out and granted us the ability to walk above it all.
Carefully we seemly tread, afraid to fall back in, unsure of the new ground me stand.
And while we may slip, we may begin to sink again but when we cry out Our God lifts us out.

Our God Who Walks With Us, Jehovah Shammah.

While we still remain with the tide beneith us, we are set apart.
And as we stand up straight, we are able to see the amazingness that is this world, the beauty within it, the good, the true and the tested.

The same is true here in Cairo,
In knowing God is true, and seeing the good that He has already accomplished,
The sea seems a little bit smaller.

With countless organizations working towards refugee rights, education and access to healthcare and affordable housing, we can approach the situation from all angles.

And while the stories of hurt and heartbreak will remain memories, may they be numbed by the breaking light on the horizon, the knowledge that someone cares and the peace of Jesus Christ.

No matter where we seem to find ourselves, God is still there with us.

Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent

Ramadan Halas

The new moon marks the end of fasting and ushers in a time of celebation...
Fire crackers pop, mosques echo and Muslims find satisfaction in a full table.

Ramadan Halas...
Ramadan is over for yet another year.

Let there be eating in the streets,
May there be flowing water,
And let us enter the chaos that is عيد الفطر (Eid ul-Fitr), 'The Festivity of Breaking The Fast'.

For Muslims, this is a week of eating with friends and family and reflecting on god.
For everyone else, 'it's time to get out of Dodge.'

Eid ul-Fitr presents a time of rest for all, as it is a week long holiday for most Muslims.
Meaning most stores and business close.

I took advantage of an opportunity to hike through the mountains and valleys surrounding Mount Sinai.
Climbing with friends, encountering God in the amazingness of His creation.

It was a time of much needed rest, quiet contemplation and fellowship as we weaved our way through dry river valleys, climbed and scampered our way up and over daunting mountains, and discovered the secret beauty of hidden garden oasis'.

Our three days in the mountains was guided by a local Bedouin man, who we affectionately gave the title, "Bad Ass Bedouin."

A man who spent the first day hiking without food or water, never missing a step as he gently tread over loose rock and up steep slopes in nothing more then a humble pair of sandles.
This is a man with feet like leather, hands like asbestos and a worn face that tells the tales of a life in the mountains.

A man that is constantly surrounded by the awe of God's creation and yet continues to bow before idols.

Islam, Lucifers twisted creation, a chilling deception.

How can something point so bluntly towards God and yet be steered so far away.
So far away from His true love, and mercy and sacrifice.

For many here, the end of Ramandan is God's great mercy, a sad extent.

Time on the mountain is reflective, quiet praise and contentment...

*Enter Cairo*

It's nothing short of astonishing...the vast differences and the subtle similarities.

Life here is busy, days are never the same but things are always entertaining...depending on how you spin it.

The only things you can rely on here are your friends and call to prayer.

The echo from a dozen minarets encompasses the sounds below.

I never knew God was hard of hearing... until I arrived here. (Excuse my sarcasim)

The sound of oppression...it's scary how to some, it sounds like freedom.

God is always good though, and while their god refuses to act,
Mine is constantly at work, constantly pursuing, standing ever faithful, and loving.
My God hears my whispers and humbles me at my shouts...I need not shout,
While their god sends only prophets, mine sent Himself and remains with me still.

Who could ask for more?