Desert Rain

Last week I was working on the website at the seminary when, from outside, came a rumbling noise. It was a sound familiar to me, but I hadn’t heard it in a while. It was thunder. Brice, my fellow American cohort and I stood at the window with our jaws hanging wide open, staring at the massive amount of rain that was falling from the sky. Brice and I both commented that it was just like a tropical thunderstorm from the southeastern U.S. I heard another muffled sound and opened the window so I could hear it better. I heard hundreds of children from the school down the street screaming and squealing in delight at the sudden wash of water. An Egyptian student came scurrying into the building with his shirt completely soaked. He asked out loud, “Is this my country?”

The same thing happened the next day. A huge amount of rain fell from the sky in a short amount of time and flooded the streets since there is no drainage system in the city. There’s never really been a need for one. It rarely rains. What’s even stranger is we are well out of the rainy season. January and February are usually the cooler, wetter months while April is when the air warms up and dries out. More evidence of global warming? Who knows?

I am looking forward to next week very much. My mother and brother will be arriving in Egypt on Monday evening, accompanied by Teri’s father and brother. They will be here for about a week and a half and we have lots planned for their stay. We’ll mix a good bit of tourism with some interpretation, showing what we are doing here.

My friend Andy in Atlanta informed me by email a little over a month ago that he had sent a package to me. I didn’t know exactly what he sent me, but I figured it was going to be a care package. I received it this week and boy, did he outdo himself. He had taken pictures from my web site, put them together with very appropriate music (including Steve Martin’s “King Tut”) to make an incredible DVD. Our group is planning to get together for a back to back to back showing of the Indiana Jones movies on Saturday night and I plan to show the DVD to everyone then. I can’t wait.

My recent difficulties and frustrations have calmed down a bit. I’m feeling much better about them and I hope that continues for the coming days, weeks, and months. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for all of us over here in Egypt, and for all the other YAV’s, wherever they are in the world. Take care.

Peace.

-Jason