No Place Like Home.

I am back in the ATL! My plane landed last night at about 10:20 pm and i got home about 11:30.

The last two days of camp were pretty good. It was difficult saying goodbye to everyone. Which they actually wouldn't say, because apparantly I HAVE to come back next year. They decided. So all the Egyptians spread the word to tell me "see you later" instead of goodbye. It was funny.

Wednesday morning I was ready to go at 8 and the driver was supposed to pick me and another Egyptian counselor that was escorting me soon after 8. Well, he didnt show up until about 9:20. And i didn't get to go souvineir shopping because of it... not to mention i was so late getting to the airport that security WASNT GOING TO LET ME THROUGH! I would have been so upset. Luckily the Egyptian I was with did some fancy talking along with some begging and they let me through. So I got on a plane and spent the next 18 hours of my life either on a plane or in an airport.

But now I am home. And there really is no place like it.

Keep reading the blog over the next week or so.... I know a lot of you will want to hear some of the stories from my trip, and I don't want to be bombarded with phone calls and trips to get ice cream so i can tell everyone, so i will write them on here. Hope everyone has had a good two weeks! I missed everyone!

Camp #2 Begins...

Yesterday was the start of Wadi Sports Camp 3 which is for 14-16 year olds. I have enjoyed this camp a lot. I like the schedule better and the camp is just all around better put together than the previous one. But I haven't really gotten close to any of the kids this week. There are a few that were here last week that I have continued to grow closer and closer too, but for some reason i just can't seem to develop the same kind of bond with the new campers. I have been praying hard about this and please do so for me as well. 

However, there is one thing about this camp that I absolutely LOVE! Every night we have something called a Wadi Party. For you CAA people imagine a combined assembly inside of a small venue like midtown or uptown... but instead of campers being 4 yrs-8th grade, they are 14-16 year olds. Its essentially a giant Egyptian mosh pit. They sing worship songs, have dance offs, play games, and just simply rock out. It is so much fun. I came out of there tonight drenched in sweat like I had just come out of a hardcore show. 

The reason I think i like the Wadi Parties the most is that it is closest thing I have had to song worship in the last two weeks. I was struggling with not having something like that the first week and a half... so i have just kind of released during these Wadi Parties and it is awesome!

Also, I have been joined by a new team. This team is from Lake Point church outside of Dallas, Texas. They are all great and have welcomed me with open arms. I do miss the Orlando team, but the Dallas team has jumped right in and made the transition seamlessly. 

So one more day of camp, and then i will begin my trip home. It has been a great two weeks. I am ready to be home, but at the same time I will look over my shoulder as I leave. I have made some great friends and formed some amazing relationships. I wouldn't trade this trip for anything right now. 

Good Night. 

Back at Camp

So i have made it back to the camp to start the new camp. The kids arrive tomorrow. And it is definitely good to be back at camp. In cairo things are just so all over the place and you don't really know where you are going next and its good to just be back and it is just a lot more comfortable here. But I did get to go sight seeing today!!!

We started with the Cairo museum which was incredible. You aren't allowed to take cameras in, which was slightly disappointing. But the whole museum is just incredible. And to see Tutankhamen's sarcophagus was incredible! 

And then we went and saw the pyramids. I can not even begin to describe how cool this was. I was blown away by the sheer size of them. And at the pyramids i got to ride my first camel, which actually wasnt very fun at all. But hey, how many people do i know that have ridden camels? Not many. So thats cool. 

But that is all for now I believe. Just call me when i get back and i will be happy to go into more detail. Good night everyone! 

One camp in the books!

So the campers left today at about 3:00. Overall the camp was a huge success. I think i heard that somewhere around 40 kids accepted Jesus as their savior this week. Including 6 of the 8 in the cabin that i went and gave my testimony to. That is incredible to me and really left the camp on a huge high note for me. 

Tonight i will travel to Cairo where i will spend the next two days sight seeing. I promise to take lots of pictures. I do not know what my computer situation will be like the next couple of days so i may not get to post much. But I return to Wadi on the night of the 5th, so i will try to post then. As always, keep me in your prayers! Also pray for the kids that were here this week that they will not simply leave their faith behind them at camp but carry it with them wherever they go as it continues to grow!

July 1

The past two days have been very good. I have been getting to know more and more of the egyptians and they continue to amaze me. They are so incredibly friendly and nice and it is making my stay here so enjoyable. 

Yesterday i noticed during worship time that a lot of the boys i had in soccer were all in one cabin. They were the boys i had grown the closest to during soccer as well. So i asked their counselor if i could come during treasure time (Bible Time) and sit with them. He said yes and also asked if i would share my testimony. I agreed and this morning i went to their cabin and shared with them. I think they enjoyed having me, their American soccer coach, come in and talk about scripture and God. I hope that my being there will help them in their own relationship with God. 

It is incredible to see how God is working over here. I can see him through many of these kids, and I only hope they continue to grow closer to him. There are only two more days of camp left, so please keep these kids in your prayers. Thanks!

The kids arrive!

Yesterday the kids arrived at about noon. There was a big opening celebration and the kids were sooo excited. There are about 160 kids total, 12 each cabin w/ two counselors, and then about 14 american coaches that all live in the hotel that is on the camp. 

I am coaching soccer this week, which has turned out great the first two days. I have two people with me who are very talented and know the game extremely well, which was a huge relief to me. 

The first day was pretty crazy altogether. Just a lot of running around and no one really knew where they were supposed to be yet. The second day was better, but the second day was exhausting. I got up at 6:40 to go help with the morning session ropes, and then went back out there for 3 hours (11-2). That gave me new appreciation for the word "hydration". But again, the egyptians were so kind and thoughtful and brought us water bottlers since we could not drink from the water coolers. 

But Major Sports (when i coach soccer) was right at 4:30 and that lasted two hours. So I am utterly exhausted. I don't know if it is just exhaustion or the heat but I have not felt very well this evening. It is about 9:48 here and i am heading to bed. Thank you all for keeping me in your prayers. I love you!

The journey begins!

Hello everyone!

So i wanted to give you a more detailed description of my flight and my first two days here in Egypt.

I mentioned before that I had some trouble with my flight from New York to Cairo. There was aparrently a fire in the control in new york and we sat on the tarmac for an hour. And then when we got to Cairo there was an air show going on and we had to circle Cairo for an hour. So altogether we were about an hour and a half late landing. But i got off the plane and someone from the camp met me and I had no trouble getting a visa a going through Egypt customs. After I left the airport a counselor from the camp took me out to lunch in Cairo. I spent the afternoon in Cairo hanging out with counselors from the camp and waiting for another team to arrive. We then picked them up from the airport about 5:30 and got our first experience of Cairo traffic. It was ridiculous. Imagine downtown Atlanta if a concert, braves game, and hawks game has just gotten out but there are no red lights and no one uses signals. That might give you a small idea of what it was like. It took us 3 hours just to get out of Cairo.

So by the time we got out of Cairo and stopped to eat dinner ( at Mcdonalds by the way :) ) and got to the camp it was almost 10 pm egypt time (3 pm atl time) and I hadn't slept in 31 hours. I got no sleep on the plane. But of course I had to watch the end of the soccer match!.... no seriously, the Egyptians might have hurt me if i didnt watch the match and went to bed. They like their soccer, thats for sure.

So i finally went to bed and got to sleep in and spent all day Friday at a conference that is going on here at the camp. It seemed like a great conference, and i wish i could have attended the whole thing. \

Egyptians are incredibly friendly. The joke here is that the Egyptians bug the Americans because they are always joking around and not taking things seriously. Egyptians also do not really keep track of time. They will say something starts at a certain time, but they spend so much time just enjoying what they are doing and laughing they are always late to the next thing. I have really enjoyed getting to know them.

But today the camp has started. I am coaching soccer during the major sports time (caa people that is like our specialties time) and it lasts 2 hours. Throughout the rest of the day I just kind of help the counselors run games and keep track of scores. (They also have alpha and omega competitions).

So all in all it has been an incredible trip so far. I have had no problems with the food or with the time change (knock on wood). But please keep me in your prayers. Also, my roommate is having a pretty hard time. He has been in bed all day with a sick stomach. So please pray for him too! Thanks guys!