crayola bombs

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air, explode softly, and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth, boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap either. No little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get that little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination."

school kits

"In ev'ry job that must be done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and *snap!* the job's a game! And ev'ry task you undertake becomes a piece of cake!"

We made 1500 school kits. Some of which were also school/hygiene kits. They will be distributed to a girls orphanage downtown, sudenese refugee kids, and to whoever else needs them here in Egypt! We got them done in two nights thanks to the people who showed up and helped put them together! We all had fun and hope that the kids appreciate their bag filled with new school supplies and maybe even a towel wrapped around a new toothbrush and soap...things that they can't really afford to buy regularly.



picture: Heidi, our nigerian friend Debu, and I looking like we're hard at work!

Trek through the Middle East: Dahab, Egypt

We spent our time at the red sea in Dahab drinking iced tea, eating koshari, seeing millions of fish in different shapes and sizes as we snorkled, and lounged on pillows around low tables playing scrabble and talking.

Trek through the Middle East: Mt.Sinai, Egypt

Back in Egypt again, yet still far away from Cairo, we explored the barren lands of the Sinai. This is the place where the Israelites wandered for 40 years. We took small walks around the monestary (saw the bush that once burned for Moses) and guesthouse we were staying in before supper but these small meanderings up the side of a hill were nothing compared to the hike up Jabel Musa that night.















Jabel Musa is the mountain that is said to have been the place where Moses was given the 10 commandments. We woke up at 2 in the morning, got to the top by 5 am, sat wrapped in blankets trying to warm ourselves from the cold morning air, and watched the amazing sun slowly rise. Millons of people do this hike though and we were part of a large crowd standing in awe as we had this reminder of how amazing God's powers are that he created a sunrise like that and makes it happen every day.
















(yes that's me)

Trek through the Middle East: The Wall

When will this all end?

Trek through the Middle East: Jerusalem

This is me standing in the garden of Gesthemane. This is the site where Jesus is said to have been betrayed. We also visited the site where Jesus was crucified, the road that he carried the cross on, the site where he was born in Bethlahem, and we were actually staying right at the very top of the moutain where he was said to have ascended in to heaven. I've been to these places many times in my life but every time i go to them, the older and more appreciative i am of them. (below: the center of Jerusalem from the church where Jesus wept for Jerusalem)

Trek through the Middle East: Omm Qais, Jordon

We stayed in Amman for almost a week. Though our time in Amman was mostly filled with visiting MCCers, eating pizza with MCCers, and going to water parks with MCCers, we also visited an ancient Roman city in northern Jordon called Omm Qais. From top of the moutian that Omm Qais sat on you could see the mountians of Syria and the sea of Galiliee in Israel! There was a rumbling off in the distance that sounded like thunder every now and then...that's how close we were to war.

Trek through the Middle East: Dead Sea, Jordan

The dead sea experiance I had was not the best. I remember trips when i was a kid to the dead sea that were much better than this one. This sea is the lowest point on earth and the Jordan river flows in to it. The problem with the dead sea is that water evaporates faster than it flows in, leaving it more of a sea of salt instead of water. The salt lifts you up quickly, making it very easy to float though! The problem was my legs were covered with bruises and scratches from climbing around mountains and forts. It stung! I was in for about a minute.

Trek throught the Middle East: Karak Castle, Jordan

We drove from Petra to Amman (the capital of Jordan) via the Kings Highway. There are many crusader forts along the ancient winding road. We stopped at Karak and walked through the castle there. I saw the view of Karak hills through arrow slits, tiptoed through the dark dungeons below a courtyard in the castle, and discovered many passage ways leading to more passage ways creating a narrow maze that you could have lost yourself in!

Trek throught the Middle East: Petra, Jordan

Petra was amazing. The massive temples carved in the sides of mountains took your breathe away. We hiked all day between colorful walls of stone, and up mountains to staggering heights! I climbed in to caves, over odd rock formations, and had lunch in an ancient tomb. We also made friends with some bedouin kids who gave us rocks and flowers, their grandmother served us tea.