I never knew…"If you are found carrying drugs on your person, you will be hanged.” 

This bold statement jumped out at me from a sign hanging precariously in the customs area.  I gulped as this initial impression of Egypt sent the first shock wave of reality to shake my heart.  There would be many aftershocks in the following weeks.

This was my first time traveling with a News Service 2000 team to the Middle East.  It was a personal dream come true yet my experience was wilder than any dream I have ever imagined!  The hustle and bustle of Cairo was intriguing and seemed quite safe - until I tried to cross the street!  There were cars everywhere, honking, weaving, and careening at a steady, fast pace!  There was no stoplight or crosswalk in sight.  Our team leader patiently informed me that you do not wait on the curb for God to part the sea of oncoming cars, but rather, you just step into the street, walk at an even pace, and the cars will judge their speed to miss you!  Sorry, even this born and bred city girl has a brain that balks at the message, "There's a car coming, step out in front of it!"

Experiencing everyday life and ministry in Cairo with Jack and his family was the springboard of our time in Cairo.  We were quickly thrown into something out of a spy novel as we followed his lead in secretly meeting our tortured brothers and sisters, experiencing church services where the secret police could be attending, and witnessing a clandestine operation to provide boxes of Bibles to another part of Egypt!

I was humbled as I witnessed zeal, faith, intensity, devotion, and love for their   Savior, their families, and those who did not yet believe.

We donned our tourist hats and took off to see the sites of Cairo packed sardine-like in Jack’s small, but efficient car. I never knew that garbage could be for more than dumping, but in Garbage City, the trash of Cairo provides income and livelihood for local Christians.  The families of that city collect, sort, resell, live, and dwell in the garbage of Cairo!  It is better than starving.

Unexpectedly, merging from the potholed, smelly streets, we arrived at the beautiful site of the cave churches.  These churches were blown out of caves, intricately designed, and able to hold up to 10,000 people in one cave!  Their beauty astounded me!  It turned out that Garbage City provided a great cover for the Christians to build a beautiful place to worship away from the condemning eyes of the government.  After all, who, except God would look for beauty in the rancid garbage heap of the city?

The most ancient of all the sites were the pyramids.  Their immensity and architectural intricacy in the middle of the barren desert seemed to transport me back to the days of the Egyptian pharaohs.  We were "kidnapped" on a camel for an hour sauntering and galloping from pyramid to pyramid. I enjoyed my short Bedouin experience including the discussion with the camel driver about Moslem men having four wives!

Reflecting, I realized that the lives of the incredible brothers and sisters in the Lord that we met impressed me more than pyramids and a sphinx ever could.  However, they both intrigued me because they possessed a common quality - resiliency.  Both the pyramids and the tortured, mistreated Christians were still standing strong and firm after years of one enduring the blowing hot winds of the desert sands, and the other the winds of undeserved suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ.

After a week, we washed the desert, sand and dirt of Cairo off our bodies and prepared to go to Israel.   It was about 2:00am and I was going on no sleep. I was not answering the airport security questions with much savvy or finesse, but they finally let me board the plane.  I kept thinking, "What are they so afraid of?"

The first day brought us on an exciting tour of the countryside guided by our dear brother in Christ, Rick.  We saw the great expanse of the Judean desert.  Then we cooled off by floating in the Dead Sea as if on inner tubes yet being held up only by the buoyancy of the water.  After an hour, we were caked with mineral salts, refreshed, and sporting very soft skin. 

The experience illustrated to me how God was at work in the lives of the Palestinian Christians we were meeting.  They were in situations that looked, from the outside that they should be sinking in.  Yet, the Lord’s great faithfulness and unseen power was holding them afloat so that they were able to continually rise above their circumstances that would otherwise drown them!

What does a leg of lamb and a black eye have in common?  If you’re not careful, you can acquire both at the marketplace in the Old City of Jerusalem!  Here we hunted and found good bargains, good food, and a few dangers. The biggest danger almost overtook our team leader as we were walking along the crowded streets scurrying around the shops to get to our dinner appointment.  My warning of “Look out!” came too late as she moved out of the way of an oncoming cart and ran head on into a hanging leg of lamb!  I doubled over in laughter and secretly wished that she had sustained a good black eye so that she would have quite a story to share!

The majority of our time was spent with our Palestinian brothers and sisters.  Living life with them was exciting, dramatic, fun, sobering, intense, and sad.  Story after story opened up my naïve eyes to the awful political situation that affects every area of their daily lives.  Things that should be simple, like driving 10 miles to work, or coming home to a peaceful house after a full day’s work, were complicated.

We witnessed going through border crossings, waiting at border crossings, going through the “back roads” and jumping into taxis simply to get from town-to-town.  The hardest part for me was seeing the looks of prejudice and hatred that our Christian brethren received as they went about their daily lives.  One of the brothers summed it up well, “They make us feel like criminals, though we have done nothing wrong.”  Since then, I have prayed that God will give them the courage and boldness to hold their heads high, walking in the victory God has given them as children of the true King!

Walking where Jesus walked and walking through the ministries of the Christians we met was a phenomenal experience.  I was again grieved at the suffering and sacrifices that God has required of these soldiers for Him.  However, my faith was encouraged as I witnessed their faith, love, and boldness to reach others with the incredible love of Jesus.  Most Palestinians seemed to live in despair.  Most Israelis seemed to live in fear.  “Why do you stay?" I asked one of the leaders.  His simple response humbled, “If we leave, who will bring light into this darkness?”

Leaving Israel filled me with sadness.  It was hard to leave those behind that we had met.  Amazing that our hearts can be so closely knit in such a short time when Jesus is the common denominator!  It also meant that our days of the trip were ending.  What sustained me is that I knew that God had another incredible “treat” waiting for us in Holland!

God ordained that our final experience would be dining, talking, and visiting with Brother Andrew, the man who wrote the book, “God’s Smuggler”.  I had read it twenty years ago when I first became a believer.  Through his life stories, he laid an indelible foundation and understanding in my heart of what following Christ really means.  To meet him, twenty years later, was an experience beyond description.  He has served the persecuted church for over 55 years.  He has followed his motto of “Going where no one else will go.” without faltering.  He has seen it all, yet his joy and love for His Savior and for others all around the world shone through every pore!  I yearned to just sit at his feet and soak in his wisdom and gentle fun-loving spirit! 

My Egypt/Israel/ Holland trip of 2004 will remain a highlight of my Christian experience.  I was humbled to realize that I had the immense privilege of meeting many of the modern day heroes of our faith.  I am motivated and moved to pray intensely for the persecuted church.  I am determined to live my life in a way that will make an eternal difference!

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