My Daughter and I had a Smoke Together on the Way to School this Morning . .

Actually . ..we didn't have much of a  choice since we were in the back seat of a taxi, headed towards Grace's school, and the driver was having his morning     smoke before breakfast!

THIS, is one of the things I WON'T MISS about Egypt.

Yesterday, while sitting to have dinner, Gracie asked,  
"Mommy, what are some of the things you look forward to in the States?" 

We took turns sharing our lists!

We DO have so much to look forward to and to be grateful for

 on the 'other side!'

 Certainly, there are many things we will miss about life in Egypt, as well.

• Our spectacular friends!

• Donkey carts selling veggies

• Occasional herds of goats walking    down our street

• Our cleaning helper and ironing man!!

• Flexibility of life, work, and rules

• Ministry among the poor

• Chatting with precious friends in the    office

• Beanos Cafe!!

 .  .  . to name a few things.

Likewise, I've been reflecting on things that I won't be missing -

The SOUNDS of night time Cairo: 
   noises that come all through the night and JOLT me out of my sleep such as -
   children screaming at the top of their lungs
   taxi drivers angrily shouting at each other
   packs of wild dogs howling
   motorcycles roaring by
   low flying planes
   wedding drums
   fireworks
   rapid gunfire
   gangs of boys fighting
   the incessant honking of car horns
   the call to prayer

I won't miss the frantic feeling experienced as I walk through the streets daily, or as we hop into yet another taxi with an unknown driver and attempt to trust him, or the feeling of constantly being completely out of control in almost every situation!

YET, I am finding that it takes MORE faith for me to trust the Lord in returning 'home,' than it did to trust Him for our move to Egypt.

In both transitions,    He remains faithful.

And, we are grateful for every one of our experiences here, and for God calling us and allowing us to be a part of HIS plan here in Egypt, for a time.
My sister reminded me of the words of one of her favorite authors just today, and I'll close with those 

"Don't be sad because it's

over,

 be happy because it happened." 

(Dr. Seuss)

STUFF

HOW DO YOU pack 
     an entire house full of 'stuff'
             into a few suitcases??
 The answer, as you can imagine, is 

                       You Don't.

Something's gotta give!

     Where our beautiful sky blue sofa set used to sit, now sit 7 suitcases, bulging from overweight and over-packing. 
     Over the past few weeks, we've had the JOY of realizing that our 'stuff' is JUST stuff, and while it was there for us for the time we needed to use it .. .it was not meant for us to keep forever, to cling to or hold onto with a firm grip.

Getting rid of our 'stuff' isn't as hard as we might initially think!

There is such JOY with releasing .. .letting go and selling, passing on  to others what was once precious and useful to us.
Lightening the load not only brings with it the essence of freedom and release, but the exhilaration of recognizing that all of your things are NOW gifts from The Lord, to others . . ..and the joy felt within the 'transition of stuff'  is beyond compare!!

     ALL great gifts have a forethought, a waiting period, and a special time to be given to that special person. Grace and I have piled our former possessions into corners, prayed, and waited to see what special people they are now meant for! 

There is such benefit in awaiting God's timing, His perfect timing ... for His gifts to be released. 

     Gracie's precious possessions now belong to two little girls who seem to live, and play in the streets outside of our building.
     The baby girl clothes that were brought here for Naomi, were really meant for my dear friends Leah and Andy, and their miracle baby girl!
We have watched as He has guided, and we have been the ones blessed to watch and be a part of HIS master plan!
  Through this time of transition, God has reminded me that all of HIS special gifts for His children are prepared, 

                    stored,

                           and ready to be released 

                                           in HIS perfect timing.

"Christian hands never clasp and He doesn't give gifts for gain 

because a gift can never stop being a gift - it is always meant to be given."

-Ann Voskamp 

(One Thousand Gifts)

My Green Grocer Wears a Dress and Speaks Many Languages

Food Garden

 . . . is our favorite veggie and fruit place on Rd 9 here in Maadi. Outside of the tiny entrance sits the  store's most luscious looking fruit, welcoming you to step inside the small passageway leading to what appears to be a tiny cave filled with a variety of fruit and veggies. 

There,  I can pick out, pay for and have sent to our door anything I desire. This option is wonderful for those of us with bad knees, who live at the top of buildings without elevators, although I can be sure if they promise to deliver before 30 minutes, I MIGHT be waiting for the next three hours for my stash to arrive!

The alternative is to call in my order as clearly as possible, and then be surprised at what actually turns UP at our door.

I believe last week I requested 3.5 kilos of cucumbers and a bunch of other things. I received that bunch of other things, along with only 1 kilo of cucumbers, three large bunches of green onions and three packages filled with garlic. (that were NOT requested)

         Close enough, I guess -

 But actually visiting this teeny Mom and Pop shop is a great experience because the man who runs it, and his family members who help, are always quite friendly and extremely generous to Gracie, and that makes it fun.  Upon entering, you will always find incense burning and prayers from the Quaran gently being played from the speakers. The owner, who does NOT appear to be eating much of what he sells ... is a typical veggie-man here in Egypt ( all considered to be mostly uneducated, working class folks) YET he deals with customers from around the world. I do not believe he's had a language lesson in his life .. however out of necessity he has impressively picked up an assortment of languages in order to make his sales work with all of his customers. I've heard him speak English, Arabic, French and Portuguese! (I think?)

   I have studied Arabic on and off for YEARS in various school settings, memorized lists of words, bought and studied numerous Arabic textbooks and have had private tutors, and still struggle to get a point across.

   Whenever I visit his shop without Gracie by my side, he always asks about her and sends me home with a yummy gift of bananas for her, or small package of some other fruit.

   Upon hearing that we were leaving Egypt for the States, he rounded up and handed me a massive bag of lemons saying, "These are for YOU to take back to your family, from me."

  This is one of the things that I will surely miss about Cairo!

The stores we visit daily are all small, and run by the same people who have always run them and always will. 

The faces never change, and we are known by the folks who serve us. 

 For me, it's true that - "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came ..." 

(Cheers, in case you are wondering!)