Day one. We went to St. Mark’s Church in morning where we held liturgy with Abouna Yostos and his congregation. It was one of the most peaceful liturgies I have ever attended, with open arms and smiles from all. I could feel the love of Christ within that small church, and it was something that all should feel when they enter the house of God. After a simple lunch of peanut butter, ham and cheese sandwiches (its really good!) we participated in quite time. I won’t lie; I find some of the things they do here is a bit quirky. For example, we got into groups of two and each person was supposed to pray for the other and it was hard. I mean, what do I pray for my friend besides blessings and spiritual gain from this week, but in reality, it established a spiritual connection with me and my partner. After some reflection on our quite time and buddy-prayers, we visited the 9th Ward of New Orleans. Nothing could come as a bigger shock than this. I have been to Egypt several times and I would have expected to see some of the things I saw here, over there, but never would I associate those same images with something American. Stairs leading to what would have been a house remain standing, alone. Grass and weeds fill the property where people once lived and flourished. One house was spray painted with the owners’ number, asking, almost begging for donation so they could rebuild their home. What was worse was the sign they had to place on their house so it would not get bulldozed. Imagine owning something that you must clearly indicate to NOT be torn down. The humility that person must have is something only the righteous can understand, and Christ can only bless. We saw a house that was marked with the street name and number of where it was supposed to be located. It was literally, on another street. Where each block had four or five homes once, there now stood maybe one or two if that street was lucky. How could this happen to people? How could I have been so neglectful of my countryman? How could we let this happen? How can I make a difference here in this city, which many condemned to be the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah? God have mercy on this city. I can definitely feel his presence.

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