Egypt Expedition

Well, I’m back from Africa!!!

I have now been back a week, and am slowly adjusting back into life in America. It is such a strange, but equally as sweet feeling to be back in my childhood home, with my family, seeing old friends, driving around my hometown, entering familiar grocery stores, worshipping in my home church this morning… it will certainly continue to be a season of transition, (and has already been bittersweet and hard at times), but I am grateful for the daily grace and peace that God has been pouring out into my soul through His Word.

As many of you know, on the way home from Kenya, I made an adventuresome detour, shall we say, up north to Egypt. Traveling with some dear friends through the country for a week and a half, we thoroughly enjoyed our tour of both popular and off-the-trail sights. I was amazed at the diverse landscapes (mountains, ocean, desert, city, river, sea, and countryside), the multiple modes of transportation we took (plane, car, foot, train, “faluka” boat, jet, horse carriage, camel, mini tour bus, old Mercedes Benz taxi, 4-wheelers, and even our “fins” under the water), and the incredible adventures we had along the way (sight-seeing, boat-riding, four-wheeling, snorkeling, hiking, eating, shopping, photo-taking, and so much more). Whether looking UP at the great, ancient pyramids of Egypt, or peering DOWN into the desert abyss from the top of Mount Sinai, it was all quite the expedition…and the trip of a lifetime.

Here is a summary of our time.

Jul 24—25, CAIRO

Lunch at Pizza Hut, where I discovered a pickled Lemon at the salad bar 🙂
Cairo Museum – King Tut’s tomb, antiquities, hieroglyphics, artifacts, mummies, jewelry, etc.
Dinner at Local Restaurant for bean dip, hummus, fresh pita bread, cucumber & tomato salad, chicken and lamb.
Pyramids
Sphinx
Camel Ride
Overnight Sleeper Car Train to Luxor

Jul 26—27, LUXOR

26th.

Carriage Ride to the East Bank – Karnak Temple
Poolside Lunch
Faluca Boat Ride on the Nile at Sunset
Dinner at McDonalds 🙂 (which, for the record, is MUCH better abroad than in the States!)
Early Morning Trip to West Bank – 3 Tombs of Ramses in the Valley of the Kings; Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb

27th.

Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple
Evening Flight to Sharm El Sheikh
One-night stay at a local hotel near airport

Jul 28, SHARM El Sheikh to DAHAB

Drove from Sharm El Sheikh to Dahab (the coast of the Red Sea)
Rested by the pool
Enjoyed an authentic Egyptian meal at the “Dahab Paradise” resort
Drank tea under the stars with Saudi Arabia in the distance inside a “Bedouin” tent (the Bedouin’s are a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group).

Jul 29 – 31, DAHAB

29th.

Snorkeling!!!
Lunch at Carm Inn – Tabouleh and Fresh, Grilled Fish with Tahini dressing and limes.
Shopping along the boardwalk
Back to Dahab Paradise for evening of books and pool.
Local dinner of grapes, cheese, bread, and other fresh produce.

30th.

Early morning Snorkel at “The Blue Hole,” one of the most famous dive spots in the world.
Pool-time and reading
Illy Espresso Café for iced hazelnut decaf coffee drinks
Shopping by the board-walk
Dinner at “Sea Bride” seafood restaurant

31st.

Quad bikes (4 wheeling) in the morning around Dahab; quick dip in the Lagoona beach area
Back to hotel for amazing Tuna Salads with olives and tomatoes
Drove 2 hours to the Sheikh Moussa Boudouin Camp
Climbed Mt. Sinai from 5pm to 10pm to see the sunset from the peak

Aug 1 – CAIRO

Enjoyed green tea on the veranda at the Boudouin Camp and read from Exodus
Breakfasted with Boudouin Flat (unleavened) Bread, eggs, black tea, and crepes…
Stopped at St. Katherine’s Monastary and passed over the Suez Canal along the way back to Cairo.

Aug 2 – USA

Flew Home! 🙂

The picture above only give a tiny glimpse of the amazing sights, sounds, smells, and tastes I experienced, but if you are interested in seeing more, just check out my Facebook profile. I posted 250 photo’s there today for your perusal 🙂 Just click here.

And, so…I am now home. Yet, what is “home” anymore? That is the question ebbing me, stirring me this past week. I won’t lie. It’s been GOOD to be back. But, it’s been equally as hard. As Sara Groves puts it in her song, “Painting Pictures of Egypt,” (rather ironic title),

“The past is so tangible, I know it by heart. Familiar things are never easy to discard. But the places that used to fit me cannot hold the things I’ve learned. Those roads were closed off to me, while my back was turned.”

Yet, as a friend so kindly reminded me from Psalm 91 this week, God is my eternal dwelling place. And, as I abide in Him, rest in Him, He will surely be a shelter for me in the days ahead…especially in the midst of this immediate barrage of Western society, consumerism, materialism, and fast-paced rhythm.

Everyone is encouraging me to REST. And as tired as I feel, I know I am more tired than I think…and, the restlessness that I am also feeling doesn’t surprise me. After being a sojourner for a year, I suppose it’s quite normal to feel “ancy” when there was such clear purpose and ambition in my day-to-day life in Kenya.

So, I’m still here. And, I may be out of Africa, but Africa is not out of me. And, so this blog will continue. There are still more stories to be told, more work to do, more lives to help, more fundraising to happen for various projects I have dipped my fingers into.

But, for a little while here, I think I’m going to quietly retreat into the limelight, and just BE. So, you may not see a blog post for some time, but stay tuned…because I’ve got some exciting things up my sleeve 🙂