On the runway; so close, yet so far.

Yes, that's our plane...sitting still - a "live" shot out the window. We left Cairo at 530 am - that's 1030 pm yesterday EST. Now we sit on the tarmac in DC- a mere 2 hrs from home. Surrounded by thunderstorms and 30 other planes. I kid you not, we've been on this plane for 2.5 hrs already and no end in site. So, we wait.
We have been served survival rations of granola bars and lemonade to keep us pacified. Matt is sound asleep. I want to be.
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Sharm El Sheikh

Perfect last day for Matts graduation present after the conf. We flew here last night, snorkeled in the Red Sea today, and sit at the airport on our way back home, via Cairo.
This place is fascinating, people from all over the world, but very few Americans. We saw a muslim woman totally covered in black on the beach, with just the opening for her eyes. And there was the opposite from Western Europe. No need to elaborate.
This trip with Matt has been so amazing. I just feel grateful as we sit here and prepare to leave. Words are inadequate.
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Great 24 hrs

It started last night bumping in to a fancy wedding in our hotel. This morning we headed out to the pyramids, which included crawling in to a couple of them, a short camel ride, a horseback ride, the sphinx, pushing away lots of people who wanted to sell us anything and everything, taking tons of pictures, looking at papyrus parchments, and ending the day with a sailboat ride on the Nile and spotting a Sheikh in a hotel lobby. As far as cool days go, this one gets a 10. More pictures later. Its time to sleep.
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Beside the main drag in Alexandria

Matt and I are about to be beseiged by street vendors while relaxing at a cafe on Alexandria's main boulevard along the coast.
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Ancient alexandria ruins

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Touring Alexandria

Spending this afternnon in Alex, not a lot of time, but we went to the Bibliotheca Alexandria. One of the world's largest and definitely coolest libraries - with incredible architecture. Alex the Great pulled together all the worlds top literature of his day - then it got burned somtime after. Bummer. So this one was built in recognition of all that. Don't hold me to any of this though.
Also went out to the citadel, a big fort protecting the city. As well as to some ruins ofthe original Alexandria. There you have it. Tourist day in Alex.
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Egypt Campus Conference

That's me with luther our National diector. About 50 campus staff are meeting here, somewhere near Alexandria. Awesome and intense prayer and praise, along with some messages on keeping our relationship with Christ fresh are what we are doing today.
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Egyptian rest stop

On our way right now to Alexandria, our driver Mo stops for chai. We've listened to Arabic music for 2 hrs while dodging and weaving through city traffic and now on a main "interstate". We also played "frogger" with pedestrians because that is just the way it all works. Watermelom must be big here, just passed 3 guys competing for sales abt a mile apart - or maybe its a genius sales strategy.
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20 F and G

We leave in 15 minutes. See you in the land of pharaohs and pyramids.
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16 years of waiting

Matt and I are at Dulles airport on our way to a campus leadership conference somewhere outside the city of Alexandria, Egypt. In Jan '92, when Matt was 6, I went to this awesome land, and ever since then we have talked abt going there together. So, you can imagine that I"m pretty excited at this becoming reality. I'll be trying to send some pictures and stories throughout our adventure. I will speak to some of our leaders on how to think differently about ministry and reasons why those who do what we do lose their vision and passion. Should be an awesome time.

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