Marcie and I are leaving Cairo tomorrow morning and heading back home to Minneapolis. Before we do, we want to express our thanks to Bekah Davis, the current pastor of St. Andrew’s; to the congregations and staff of St. Andrew’s, and the St. Andrew’s Refugee Ministry (STars). We are so grateful to once again be…

Our time in Egypt is winding down. Before we return home, I want to tell you again about two people who embody the ministry of St. Andrew’s refugee ministry (STars). The first is Nivella (pictured below) . She came to Egypt from Sudan 25 years ago with her family. In the early 2,000’s, there was…

In 2003, when Marcie and I were first in Cairo at St. Andrew’s and working with refugees arriving from Sudan or Ethiopia or Darfur, we had reasonable hope that it would be only a matter of time before they would be able to move on to safer lives in countries such as Canada, Australia, and…

One of the big events to come in Cairo is the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). It’s been a long time in the making. The museum was announced in 1992, construction began in 2005, and will be fully completed by its official opening near the pyramids of Giza on November 1st. Together…

Today we made a trip to the big Cairo market, the Khan Khalili. It’s basically a medieval mall (it began in the 14th century) with lanes and lanes of shops over blocks and blocks of what is called, “Old Cairo.” Almost anything can be bought at the Khan; from gold to spices to kitsch to…

Everyone who comes to Egypt needs to take in the pyramids of Giza; the great pyramid of the pharaoh, Cheops, and the two pyramids of his sons. They are the only survivors of the seven wonders of the ancient world. And so, a few weeks ago, we took them in with our visiting granddaughter, Julia.…

Yesterday, Marcie and I met Nevilla, the manager of the one of the campuses of St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (STars). This location provides community outreach services and a learning center for young children, services unavailable to refugees otherwise. Nevilla’s story is not unusual here. She came to Egypt with her family-father, mother, sister, and three…

Today, like four other days of the week, Marcie and I came through the church gates to see 150-250 refugees waiting for assistance from St. Andrew’s Refugee Services. It was hot; another 99 degree day. Along with those in the courtyard, there are hundreds of other refugees meeting in classrooms, old shipping containers, offices, and…

On the edge above Garbage City is the church for the zabbalin and other Coptic Christians, the Church of St. Simeon the Tanner. It was built in the 1970’s into a large cave on the ridge of the Mogattam Hills. The church is thought to be the largest church in the Middle East, seating between…

Looking around Cairo, you might think that garbage is never picked up–but it is, by 65,000 people of the Coptic Christian Zareeb community, known as the zabbalin, the “garbage people.” The Zabbilin are descended from farmers who migrated to Cairo from Northern Egypt in the 1940s. They settled in camps on the city’s outskirts and began collecting…