> long since i last wrote you. i have been really busy and just
> haven't known what to write. first of all, i have three weeks left
> here in cairo. i am excited, but a bit overwhelmed. there is
> still so much that i want to do here. thanks for all your
> pray.ers, because we have been able to go to the island more than
> once a week (as we were before). we are even able to go without
> the woman we had to go with before. we still aren't going
> everyday, and we really want to.
>
> so a quick recap of the past couple weeks...
> we experienced a death on the island. crazy. women were running
> and screaming. i have never seen anything like it. we were able to
> spend the day of the funeral on the island with the women, and the
> boys in our group were able to go into the church and pra.y for the
> men. (women aren't allowed in the church during funerals). all the
> women wear black gallabayas (housedresses) for a long time after
> the death, so we all wore black and it was really a great time to
> spend with the people of the island. since most of the people in
> the community are related, they all felt the loss.
>
> my birthday was last week. it was really fun, i also got some nice
> gifts as well. another girl in my group had a bday a couple days
> after mine,s o we all went on this boat on the nile and (along with
> the people from our hotel) had a nice buffet dinner and watched
> some interesting cultural dancing. we even got to dance with some m
> girls on the boat as it cruised down the nile.
>
> our english teaching is going really well. the family that allows
> us to use their landn on the island to do teachings and stuff has
> been a part of the teaching as well. not only have we had a
> medical team come and do a clinic twice, but we are also doing
> health care seminars weekly. we have a children's program where we
> are teaching values and showing them they are precious. it has been
> really fruitful. our english teaching is with six girls, and they
> are amazing.
>
> i am really excited that our time is almost done, since i miss the
> ocean so much, but i am going to be really sad when we leave the
> family on the island. they are amazing, and we have really gotten
> to know them well. they don't know english, but we have been able
> to speak love to them. one of the leaders and i have been able to
> cook lunch with them every time we go. the three daughters (they
> also have four sons) cook for us every time, and i have really
> loved cooking with them, learning arabic from them. i know how to
> make so many amazing egyptian foods now, and hopefully i will
> remember so i can cook them at home.
>
> well, three weeks. please pr.ay for us.
> p.ray for:
> -health (most of us have been sick the whole time)
> -unity (with our group and with the woman we go to the island with)
> -more woman to come to the health care seminars (as the people on
> the island don't have a doctor, clinic, or hospital on the island,
> they don't know much about health)
> -that the girls really learn the english we are teaching, and grow
> closer to the father through it
> -that the kids begin to respect one another (especially that the
> christian ones treat the m..lim ones lovingly, and vice versa)
> -that the community gets money together so they can purchase a
> plethora of chairs needed for community meetings (we are helping a
> little, but we want them to get as much as possible, so they have
> ownership of the chairs)
>
> sorry this is so long. thanks for reading. prayi.ing. loving. i
> miss you all.
>
> peace and love, acacia
