Home again

Viewing the photos posted on the blog site brings back all kinds of smells and feelings and thoughts about our trip to Egypt. It was a wonderful combination of seeing the old and experiencing the new; traveling back in time 3,000 years as well as making new friendships in the here and now!

Most of all, I have a new appreciation for my teammates, including my own family members. We worked and played together very nicely! Thanks to all of you who made this trip possible, and made it special.

Love to all:
N. Whitecar

DAY 11 and travel home Team Egypt

It's our last day together. Today we slept in and then gathered to debrief our trip. We worshiped together, prayed together, rejoiced together and shared together the things God has done in our hearts. As I listened and looked around the room...I was filled with love and joy at all God has done. We are all different than when we came.

After sharing we all got to packing and then to eating our last Egyptian lunch made by our VERY capable cook and cleaning girl "R". She was great and we definately ate well because of it! :-)

When lunch was finished we did some other special things and then went for our 3rd and final "Falooka" (sailboat) ride on the Nile. :-) This time we took guitars and drums and worshiped over the city from the boat! It was so good...and even with a weak breeze we still had a grand ol time!

Late in the evening the team headed to the airport and after quite a bit of technical difficulty they were on their way home to the USA!

I got the report late the next evening (Cairo time) that all was well and everyone arrived home safely. After gathering to pray one last time as a team, each one went their way home with all their bags intact! THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HELPED GET EVERYONE HOME!!!! We have been SO BLESSED by your support.

We only have a few pictures of the last night and the travel home so I have posted those together to the right of this entry.

Thank you all AGAIN for your support!

Love, IN HIS GRIP
Heather and TEAM E

DAY 10 Team Egypt

Today was our last day of touring around the city. Time has gone FAST in these 2 weeks. Today we went to some very different places. We were able to get a good look into the different faces of Islam and Christianity in the history of Cairo.

We started our day in an area called “Garbage City” There is a great story about how God burdened the heart of one man in another area of Cairo to come and share the love and story of Jesus among the people on the garbage village. After many different events confirming God’s plan for him, he went and shared with the people. After a few years the people in the village began to listen and change and began to submit their lives to Jesus. The result today is thousands of people in the garbage village worshiping and serving the one true God! Jesus is revealed to the least of these…even in the garbage.

After that we headed to the Citadel of Cairo and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. It is one of the highest places in Cairo with a great lookout over about half the city. It’s an interest place to visit with it’s mosque that look VERY similar to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

From that place we went to lunch and then to the very FIRST mosque in all of Africa. Amr ibn Asr was the leader of the Islamic army that brought Islam to Egypt and they built a mosque on the site of the first place he pitched his tent. While in there, the women were required to be totally covered so if you see us in green robes…they are coverings for modesty given to us to wear at the door.

Just down the street from the Mosque is the old Cairo fort fortified Christian community. As the minority in the country since the rise of Islam there have been some heated times of persecution among the Christian community and so in the old days they would build walls around their living areas and churches to protect themselves as they lived out their lives. Basically it looks like an old walled city within an old walled city. In this area we were able to see some interesting Coptic churches and sites and Greek Orthodox sites as well. Some of the little churches in the area claim spots they say Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed when they were in Egypt.

After seeing a bunch of Old Cairo we headed home for a while and then out for SHOPPING! Today was the day to pick up gifts because the next day the team would be preparing to leave.

We are thankful for all God is doing and look to see Him move in this place among ALL people! We love you!

In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

Day 9 Team Egypt

When you think of Egypt, what is the FIRST thing that comes to your mind? The pyramids of course! Today was OUR day to go back in time and visit the only remaining ancient wonder of the world. We woke up early to escape some of the heat of the day and God TOTALLY blessed us with a cool breeze and even some clouds to cut the heat!

We started the morning with a group camel ride through the desert. It was so amazing to ride camels in the Sahara in the shadow of the pyramids! We were hanging out in some REALLY old sand. The camel ride was exciting in itself. Surprisingly of all the things we have done during our time here, (and I have presented quite a few fun challenges to the group for sure!) it was actually the camels were the hardest challenge for some but everyone got over their fears and we all enjoyed our desert trek.

The Pyramids and the Sphinx just defy logic. When you are standing in front of those colossus man made symbols, you really can’t help but just stand there in awe of the spectacle. We have been talking A LOT as a team about the fact that most of the things you see and experience here are really hard to put in to words. These creations are really no exception. We hope the pictures will give you an idea so please bare with us as we try to share these things in the coming days.

It is amazing and sad as we lift up this memorial to death…we pray the Creator and Giver of Life would reign even in this place!

After the Pyramids we went to lunch at Pizza Hut/KFC right out the front door of the Pyramids park. If you go up to the 4th floor to eat you have a GREAT view of the sphinx and the pyramids too. It’s a bit strange seeing the old and new collide in this way but an experience that will not be forgotten for sure!

When lunch was done we headed to the Egyptian museum downtown. Many things that were found the Pyramids and tombs etc are in the museum. They have a new NO PHOTO rule there now (new since last year) so we don’t have any pictures from inside the museum (maybe I’ll pull out some old ones and post them later). In the museum there are relics, artifact and ruins from THOUSANDS of centuries. A few of the highlights are the mummy room that houses 10 or 12 mummies that were found very well preserved still with skin and one of those was Ramsis II. Also on display in the museum is most of the things found in King Tut’s tomb, including the famous facemask that everyone recognizes.

To finish off this wild day of walking through history, we got to share LIVE via webcam with our church family too! We were all sooooo encouraged to hear everyone’s voices and to get to share LIVE for a few minutes during the service with our faces larger than life up on the screen! It was really amazing. We really feel the love and support and are so thankful to everyone for helping us make this trip happen! After the web call we went to visit some very good friends of mine and spent the evening in praise and worship and prayer over this city and country. We saw so many examples of man’s attempt to make their mark and live forever in the places we visited today…is seemed only fitting to end the day by gathering together in unity to bless this city and country as we wait on God to fill them with HIS eternal promise.

Thank you as always for your prayers!
In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

DAY 8 Team Egypt

We went to Alexandria today! ☺ Alexandria is a coastal city (on the Med) about 3 hours North of Cairo. We woke up early and took a train into the city. We got an early start and headed north on the train. As we rode we were able to see next parts of Egypt. We followed the Nile north and got a great look at the “Delta” area of Egypt, which is SO GREEN in great contrast to the concrete desert of Cairo.

While in Alex for the day we really covered a lot of ground. First we went to the Roman ruins where we saw a lot of artifacts as well as old baths, villas and a very cool amphitheater! After the ruins we headed to the Fort of Qaitbey on the Med, a YUMMY fish restaurant, the Alexandria library, and the BEACH for a bit of swimming.

All in all it was a fun day. We had a few of the teenagers from the local church here travel with us to Alex as well. They are a really fun crowd and we very much enjoyed their addition to the group. It is so amazing how when Jesus is the foundation of a relationship, the rest can come so easy so that after a day or so you feel like you have known them for MUCH longer. ☺

In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

DAY 7 Team Egypt

Today was church. We went dressed in our VBS shirts and shared with the congregation all the incredible things God did this week. We had the kids stand up and sing, share their favorite moments and also had a slideshow of pictures to show everyone a little bit of what our week looked like. It was a lot of fun to share with everyone.

After church we all went out for Lebanese food for a long lunch then came home and relaxed for a while. Friday in Egypt is like Sunday in the USA. On Friday people go to church or mosque in the morning, businesses are closed; people visit family and friends or just hang out. We relaxed for a while in the and then spent time on the Nile...on a sailboat called..."a falooka"

Fun was had yet AGAIN!

In His grip,
Heather

DAY 6 Team Egypt

OUR LAST DAY OF VBS WAS TODAY! We made it through and it was great! This is the sixth day of our trip. As I stop and think about all we have done and covered…it really feels like WAY MORE than 6 days that the team has been here and on the move. We really have covered A LOT of ground. The kids loved us…we loved the kids and God was TOTALLY glorified in the time we have had together, Praise to HIM! ☺ We had a meeting at lunch today with John, the pastor of the church and he had so many good things to say…I think he is very inspired to really do this VBS work again. (We have an open invitation to come again so…get your bags ready!)

TODAY WAS ALSO KATELYN’S BIRTHDAY! We had fun celebrating with her today! We filled her bed with balloons, sang to her in English AND Arabic, surprised her with a mini party with kazoos and blowers plus a few little presents from us and also her parents. I think she really enjoyed it and walked away from the day feeling very loved.

After VBS we awere invited to attend local wedding with dinner and everything! We had a great time and danced and danced til we couldn't dance no more!

We love you all! Thanks for checking with us! For more pics check the daily picture sidebar!

In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

DAY 5 Team Egypt

Day 3 of VBS was AMAZING!!! Everyone is doing SO WELL! The kids are in line and soaking up everything we hand to them. Parents are thanking us left and right and we are really thankful for the unity and connectedness we are experiencing as a team. As each day goes by God shows us little things confirming our thoughts and plans in coming out here and HE has been blessing us IN SO MANY WAYS! One HUGE way is that it hasn’t gotten over 100 degrees ALL WEEK! What a blessing. Last week before the group came the temperature was wavering between 115 and 120 degrees AND the church was suddenly expected to be under construction for remodeling and when then group showed up the weather got cooler and then postponed the construction as well! PTL!! ☺

After out home cooked Egyptian lunch, we all rested and then went to visit some of my other friends here in town. It was a fun meeting because this particular family is my closest connection here. They are ex-patriots that have been living here for quite a while and we have been friends and partners throughout a lot of my time here.

When that meeting was finished half of us went home to bed and the other half went to a pre-wedding party for one of my friend’s cousin. It was something new for everyone for sure, In this particular neighborhood, a lot of weddings happen outside on the street in front of the groom’s family home. They string up lights, hang different decorations anywhere they can, stack a HUGE wall of speakers and crowd the streets for a party. It is a VERY festive time with music at volumes almost too hard for the human ear to even handle! Those that went had a good time and got a good taste some real down home street level hospitality and fun. A good pre party for tomorrow…THE WEDDING! (check out the pictures for DAY 5 on the right)

In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

DAY 4 Team Egypt

We had another good day of VBS today. It’s interesting to watch the dynamics of the children as they learn the system of the VBS. Most of the children are very polite and are so excited to be here! They sing loud, jump high and do there best answer all the questions they can. The team has been amazing in getting all the kids together and engaged. Some parents have stayed to watch and have ALREADY asked when we are coming back next year! ☺ The group is about 60 kids and divided into 3 groups. The makeup of the group is about 70% Egyptian kids and 30% International church kids.

After VBS we came home for lunch to our traditional home cooked Egyptian meal and were greeted by some local friends that shared their story of life here in Cairo. It was pretty great…ask us about it when we get home. ☺

After a bit of rest we had a special dinner planned with some Sudanese refugee families that are living here in town. They are part of a group that attends a meeting every Tuesday and receive help from food and clothing pantry run by our church here. There were 5 families. 32 people in all that were invited. We prepared suitcases of clothes for each family (THANKS UMW Ladies!), ate dinner together and shared life stories and just played with the kids. It was a VERY powerful experience for all of us. Coming from where we come from, it is really hard to imagine, let alone understand the kind of life these people have been living. We are so blessed in our country and in our city with all our rights, privileges and opportunities. We left today humbled, grateful and a little bit broken on behalf of the least of these… (check out the pictures for DAY 4 to the right)

In His grip,
Heather and TEAM E

Hello to Each of You!

Good afternoon to each of you from Cairo! We are having an amazing time and seeing some incredible ways God is moving in this part of the world. Everyone is healthy and sad tomorrow is our last day of VBS. Even Tony will miss his 24 Kdg, 1st and 2nd graders!

It has been fun to get to know the teenagers from the local church who have been helping all week. As I type this, they are upstairs with all of our teenagers playing guitars and card games. Nichole is getting a chance to use her Arabic a bit.

We love you all, Natalie, Jeff, Nichole, Tony and the Team!

DAY 3 Team Egypt

VBS STARTED TODAY! The VBS program started today with 59 kids in atendance. Everything is going AMAZINGLY well! :-) We ended up with about 30% International kids from HCC and 70% (English Speaking) Egyptian kids from a near by church as well. LOTS of learning and planning on the spot but sincerly...God is in our midst and using us ALL in great ways. (This group is GREAT! Personally (me Heather) am having a REALLY good time watching them all walk in gifts that GOD has given them!)




After our first day of VBS we planned for tomorrow, had lunch and RESTED! :-) In the evening we also had the exciting privilege of joining in a prayer meeting with a group of about 1500 local believers downtown at the largest (protestant) church in the Middle East. We were definitely spent by the end of the day but it was ANOTHER blessed day here in Cairo. (Check out our Day 3 slide link to the right of this post!)

Thanks again! We LOVE you all and think and pray of you often even in the midst of all this!

In His grip,
Heather (and all of Team Egypt)

DAY 2 Team Egypt

On Sunday (day 2) we had an interesting morning. Heather woke up early to finish renewing her visa so the team had morning worship together without her. Dana shared a good word and after praying for various situations that were happening that morning, Nancy and the Armstead kids made up a new song to share with all!

Heather received her visa in RECORD time and we all headed over to Pastor John C's house (YES, another Pastor John!) who is the pastor of Heliopolis Community Church which is the church we are partnering with to do the VBS. We sat together and shared in their BEAUTIFUL (and air-conditioned) 8th floor flat that is right next to the president's house. We all talked and shared and were served a nice lunch with some YUMMY desserts! :-) (see day 2 slide show for pictures)

It was so amazing to hear PJ and his wife's story. They work with English speaking ex-patriots in Cairo so it was neat to hear about the international exposure and experience that comes from pastoring a church with AT LEAST 20 nationalities represented. It is EASY to see the diverse and colorful hand of God in that context for sure!

After we finished lunch we walked home (an adventure in itself on the streets of Cairo!) and after resting a bit we visited the church to have an idea about the VBS organizing and set up all we could for VBS and THEN went to dinner and shopping in the old city for a few hours (maybe someone got something for YOU! :-) LOTS of gifts were bought and the team got to see the center office of all decision making for Sunni Muslims throughout the world. The old city is fun because it really brings the old and the REALLY old together with the new is such a unique and interesting way!

It was another full day and we could REALLY see and feel God moving in so many ways all day! (check the slide show in the side for pics!)

THANKS FOR PRAYING FOR US!!!!! WE CAN FEEL IT! :-)

OH YEAH! We also gathered together around 5:30pmish (about 10:30am your time) and prayed for FUMC and Pastor John's new beginning with us all. Please know that you are all in our hearts as we walk the streets here. We love you all and are BLESSED and are truly thankful for this church family that we have!!

In His grip,
Heather

DAY 1 Team Egypt

Sorry it has taken a few days to get this thing updated. We were without an internet connection for a few days but we're BACK online now...(obviously) :-)

Well, We have successfully completed 3 FULL days of this whirlwind trip! YAHOO! Everyone is doing well..they are REALLY amazing! All are happy, healthy and MOST importantly HYDRATED!!!!

I will post about each day here. PLEASE feel free to click on any slide show on the side to see more pics of each day through our Picasa web albums.

DAY 1 was good and FULL! We gathered in the apartment at 10am for some prayer, and worship plus a brief orientation with Heather about general culture things. After that we had one of Heather's friends "H" come with her son to share about her life, religion, views and her take on culture things. We really enjoyed her and learned a lot. After that "H" gave us all a mini course in survival Arabic which was fun and we are working hard to use and practice whenever we can.

Once those meeting were over we were off to see the city. We took a van from the norht side of town where we are staying to the south side so we could take a very special sailboat ride on a "Falooka" (that's what they call the sailboats) After that we were all invited to the US Embassy's annual 4th of July celebration so we spent our first full evening hanging out eating hamburgers and domino's pizza! :-) It was a good time to relax and clear our heads after all this travel, time and culture change. We also had some good opportunities to meet others that are reaching out and helping people in this area as well. There were games for the kids and adults, prizes, swimming and all the food you could eat. (the teens weren't too excited about the rotisserie chicken flavored potato chips though)

After the party we all came home and went to bed! It was a good first day but our brains and bodies were (understandably) tired.

(check out the slide show on the side if you want to see more if this day.
Love you all!!!!

in His grip,
Heather
Gotta sleep! more about day 2 and 3 TOMORROW! :-)

THEY'RE HERE!

HEY EVERYONE! HI! A BIG PTL to the Father for getting everyone here safely, together and with ALL the bags!!! THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HELPED THE AIRPORT RUN HAPPEN!

It is a miracle in itself that 30+ bags made it through Paris to Cairo without a hitch! :-) YAHOO! At approximately 8:30pm Cairo time (which is 7 hours ahead of EST) I met the group coming out of customs! It was AMAZING to see everyone HERE in CAIRO! After meeting up we all literally squeezed into a van (one van for us and one for the stuff) and took a 15 minute ride from the airport to our temporary home here in Egypt. After a little bit of catching up and some pizza...everyone headed for bed. It's about 1 am now and tomorrow the whirlwind begins! We have orientation on the morning, some special visits and then some fun out on the town tomorrow night.

Here are a few pics from the group travel today. Check the side link for the whole folder! (SORRY...pictures won't load tonight so I'll try again tomorrow) CHECK the link on the side...THOSE photos are working!

Love
Us :-)

TODAY is the day! TEAM EGYPT travels TODAY!

As I sit in my apartment preparing last minute details (trying not to sweat too much) Team Egypt is preparing to leave...TONIGHT! The Itinerary is...
First here: (Detroit)

then here: (Paris)

and at last HERE (Cairo)

I am SO EXCITED for this time to happen together! PLEASE PLEASE PRAY with us for safety and favor while traveling, protection for luggage, and an EASY time through customs when they arrive. THANK YOU ALL for your support! We REALLY appreciate it so much!
Stay tuned for more updates everyday!! (hopefully) :-)

In His grip,
Heather

Prayers and prayer

I am personally excited about the wonderful spiritual growth God will initiate and fulfill in this trip. I encourage all who are with us in spirit to pray for boldness and confidence. Do not let fear entangle our ministry to simply love God's people. Do not worry about us: pray for our safety, but do not worry.

Please also pray for those who will stay behind while we travel. Pray for the dear friend who will care for our house and (Whitecar) family dog, Daisy, while we are gone. Pray for those caring for the McLaughlin home and family dog, Bandit. Pray for the Armstead family and the safety of their home while they are away. Pray for the parents -- the Kings and Montgomery's -- who are sending their children in our care to minister across the world.

Sing a hymn every day for us!

Nancy Whitecar

2 passports down (almost) and one to go!!!

THANKS FOR PRAYING! Josh received his passport this week! YEAH! Katie's is in the mail on the way to her! NOW all we need is Dana's!! Let's pray for more favor and removed obstacles with the Canadian govt. for Dana!!! THANKS!

In His grip,
Heather

Passports, Passports. passports...please pray

Hi there! If anyone is checking this thing yet...we would like to ask for your prayers for 3 members of our group. They HAVE NOT receive their passports yet. These are JOSH, KATIE and DANA. If you could pray for expediency and favor for the release of their passports from the US and Canadian governments that would be GREAT and AMAZING!!!

This is our last big puzzle piece!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR BACKUP! :-)

In His grip,
Heather

Team Egypt prepares for travel before the travel

Hi everyone! WOW! What a jam packed weekend this was!!! :-) Graduations, Graduation parties,(studying for finals...) Confirmation, "End of the Year" parties, bake sales, meetings (not to mention all the regularly scheduled things that happen on the weekends)and the list goes ON and ON and ON! In the middle of all that we, Team Egypt had our last pre-trip meeting to prepare for our trip. From here on out we will all be doing MANY other things before heading out overseas. (Ichthus, ASP, family trips etc.) The next time we will ALL be gathered again will actually be in our apartment IN CAIRO! CRAZY to think about that huh? We had a great (and long)meeting tonight (thanks for all your patience team!) to round out a full day.

This morning at the ROUTE 252 service in the CORE, Dr. Dean shared a few words and prayed over us to send us out. It was really amazing for me to look up and down the lines and these 14 amazing people willing to go where God has led and give their lives away even if it might be hard. This is a great place to be because then we actually give God room to do what he wants. It's amazing! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Here's a pic of the group with Dr. Dean and all of us in our snazzy "Team Egypt" shirts! (Thanks Bill)

In His grip,
Heather

Team Egypt Bake Sale

Today, June 10, Team Egypt held the last fundraising event before our trip. These pictures are of some of the team. More of the rest of the team later. Thanks to all of you, we have raised the money we need to leave for Egypt on June 28!!! It has been an amazing thing to watch God working through so many and our team work together. Thank you for all the support. Blessings!

Natalie, Jeff, Nichole and Tony

Hello from the Whitecars

Hello! And Blessed be YOU!
This is the Mom from the Whitecar family from Team Egypt. I would like to thank God and thank everyone who has contributed prayer and financial support for our trip to Egypt. We are looking forward to enriching our lives and our understanding of God's wide world by traveling to a place where we are the strangers, and unfamiliar with everything! What a test of faith!

Our family is very musically-minded: we all play and sing and make music whenever we can. We have recently celebrated the high school graduation of Jake, and will really enjoy traveling together this summer.

Shout out to the other Whitecars: post something!

Nancy (Mom) Whitecar

Introducing the TEAM

I thought it might be good to let you know WHO all are the people jumping the ocean this summer. There is ME...Heather. Then there is Katelyn and Josh our 2 single teenagers on the team then 3 families as well. One family is Kevin, Dana, Jeremy and Maranda. The second family is Jeff, Natalie, Nichole and Tony and the third family is John, Nancy, Jake and Katie. I am SO EXCITED about this group and all God is going to do in us AND through us! It's amazing to share this journey among generations. I think there is something special about coming together as a team and being united as whole families in unison. I think THIS is a big reason for my expectancy.

Lord, let your will be done from this day and every day! Amen

In His grip,
Heather

It's OFFICIAL! We're REALLY going! Last week we sent the check in for our LAST payment on the tickets to Egypt! Now all we have to do is raise a bit more money for the trip and we are on our way! Everyone is excited about everything and we all really anticipate something amazing in this time. PLEASE pray with us that God's will be done now and throughout our journey! (and...YES this picture is REAL...I took it with my VERY OWN camera.)

In His grip,
Heather