The last couple of weeks here in Egypt have been enlightening and challenging. Staying at and working with the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Church has reminded me that God is still using many different denominations. As long as our core beliefs are the same and we want to bring glory to the Father by the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will do mighty things through us!
We are one body, with different organs…. How often we forget this and focus only on our denomination or the way that we have seen God move in the past.
I was also reminded how
we are made to live in community and show hospitality ~ although I don’t mind giving and receiving the hospitality part, the community part is still something I am working on…. Yes, even after living in community for almost 4 years now, I am still not 100% comfortable with it, my shy and reserved side tends to take over and not care for some of the aspects of community life. But I guess that is why God still has me in community life, He is wanting to continue to show me how He created us to be…. To live a lifestyle of community.
The majority of my time was not spent in ‘ministry’, rather I spent my time helping Evelyn
get things ready for her kindergarten class. It was time spent investing in things that will help to change a life and last forever, plus it gave Evelyn more time to spend with us and the church memebers.
Of course being in Africa / the Middle East, it was a great
time of seeing how far we could bend with out breaking (flexibility). Things seemed to change several times and then end up being totally different once we got there. Sometimes they were on ‘African time’ – late or changing the time, and sometimes they weren’t and they were ready to go ahead of time…. You learn a lot about how patient you are really quickly, as well as if there is a hint of anger that rises up because of frustration.
Egypt has been a time of self-reflection and being on our toes….. it has helped to prepare us for the rest of the trip and remind us what it is all about ~ coming together as one body to bring glory to the Father, by the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
