As I write it is 5:34am August 18th 2013 in
Cairo…well I should say at the Cairo airport in the food village better known
as food court to most Americans. The food village is slowly coming to life and
transformed from bedrooms to restaurants as the morning dawns.
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| Cairo Airport, Egypt |
I and more than 100 other passengers are on transit through
Cairo, and arriving here last night at around 6:30pm, we were all told that due
to the current insecurity in the city, no one can go into Cairo. The city is on
a compulsory 7pm curfew. Being very American I tried to argue my way through
this law…I was like "…but my hotel is less than 5 minutes from the airport”, but
the airport official raised his voice at me and said, “are you not
understanding what I am saying, NO HUMAN BEING can be found in the streets of
Cairo after 7pm. You get your boarding pass and go to your gate now.” “Yes sir”,
I said and felt bad for making his job even harder than it was in the current
situation. After all, I was just 15 hours early for my departure, I could
wait...the price for security was worth it.
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| The Pharaoh, Egypt's history at Cairo Airport |
I was not the only one, the airport was full of passengers
eating, roaming, buying and burning the midnight oil. Speaking to strangers,
sharing pictures of different locations visited…I was really trying to see the
bright side of the prospect of spending my whole night at the Cairo airport
with no internet.
After I had a Burger King dinner, I was beginning to reason
better. I think it was safer for us all to stay at the airport; it was not such
a bad idea to meet new friends who we would have passed by without a second
glance. I actually had a unique opportunity of meeting a new friend called
Martin from Zimbabwe, a PHD fellow at a university in the UK. He studied Peace
and development and was doing statistically research on program evaluations in
this area. We shared some common interests, which will help us in our current
projects, for this it can only be the hand of God.
So as life is very unpredictable, I have learnt one good
lesson being in South Sudan the last six weeks, which is, “relax, and be
flexible”. It was harder for me to do in Cairo, because I was sooo looking
forward to eating a good dinner at “Hotel le Passage”, and getting online to
assure friends and family I was ok being in Cairo for the night. I also wanted
to sleep on a bed and be fresh for my 12 hour flight from Cairo to New York in
the morning. However I had to, “relax, and be flexible”…taking everything with
as much grace as I could. It could have been worse. On hind sight this one
night in Cairo, was the safest night anyone could have in Cairo at this time.
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| Let us bank on Egypt by praying for them. Taken @ the Cairo Airport |
My dear friends pray for the people here in Egypt,
especially Cairo. The pictures we have all seen on T.V are live and unexaggerated.
Egypt, also known in history to be the beginning of the cradle of civilization,
is facing serious instability which is leading to the death of many lives. Join
me as we pray over Egypt, that our good Lord will cause peace to return to this
country and good governance for the goodwill of all of the people of Egypt.
Lord of all wisdom, Father of all comfort, may your
providence reign, may your will prevail, may your mercy be experienced and may
this country not know prolong conflict like many African countries have known.
May you intervene on behalf of our pride and arrogance, may you set justice and
peace in the hearts of the people, may you provide solutions from heaven that
will reign on earth. Only to you do we pray, because only you are the way, the
Truth and the Life. Only you, is the author of true peace. We pray all this in
the powerful name of our savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
As I write this, I am on my way back home to Dallas via a
pit stop in New York. It has been a very rewarding six weeks in South Sudan,
and as usual our God has been faithful all the way. Stay tune for two more post
about South Sudan (Stories from South Sudan and Reflections about South Sudan),
after which we will return to our normal chronicle Bible devotional. Until next time, I leave you with this Psalm as you continue to pray for Egypt, blessings.
Psalm 33:13-22
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees the whole human race.
14 From his throne he observes
all who live on the earth.
15 He made their hearts,
so he understands everything they do.
16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
and sees the whole human race.
14 From his throne he observes
all who live on the earth.
15 He made their hearts,
so he understands everything they do.
16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
19 He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
those who rely on his unfailing love.
19 He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
Great post; our hope is in the Lord. You clearly have a good attitude, but I'm still sorry for recommending that route! You're not alone in being surprisingly comforted by that Burger King. - John
ReplyDeleteJohn thanks for your comment, I really enjoyed taking this route. I would not have changed it for reasons you will see in a few posts to come.
ReplyDelete