Go Beyond

In Cairo, Egypt and the village of Helwan

When you get to be my age birthdays are no big deal. They are just another milestone on the way to some far-off horizon. Today was not the first time I have observed a birthday overseas, but it was definitely the best birthday I have had away from home. I received some unexpected surprises that made this a really special day for me.

First, I received an invitation yesterday to speak to the Egyptian Campus Crusade Staff this morning. There are more than a hundred of these folks serving in Egypt. The Campus Crusade country leader asked me to challenge his team to engage creatively in reaching the unreached — definitely one of my favorite topics. I always enjoy being with people who are already actively engaged in advancing the interests of God’s kingdom. It’s not hard to motivate people like that. I will speak again to the team leaders on Wednesday morning.

Second, I was asked to speak at Kasr El Dobara, the largest evangelical church in the Middle East. Last year I spoke at their Monday night prayer meeting, a gathering of more than two-thousand people worshiping and praying, that is broadcast live to a million viewers throughout the Arab world. I love this church and her heart for the nations. Tonight I spoke about how the life of Jesus was oriented in the direction of people with messy lives and our responsibility to orient our lives in the same direction as Jesus.

Third, I received email and text birthday greetings throughout the day, more than I have ever received. I don’t know how so many people knew it was my birthday, but it was refreshing and encouraging to receive so many nice notes. Each note was like a little bit of honey and a little bit of balm. I received notes from friends I have not seen in years. Absolutely the kind of thing that can keep you going with a smile and that will add a spring to your step.

Finally, our team had a nice time today with the Zabbaleen kids in Helwan. Katherine and Christy taught the story of creation to the kids. It was fun watching the kids engage with the story. Afterward, David distributed soccer balls and frisbees and the fun began. The kids loved having real soccer balls and discovered how much fun a frisbee can be. A little girl told one of our translators that this was the best day ever. When asked why, she replied, “Because I got to play!” For a brief time this afternoon, this little girl got to be a kid, just an ordinary kid without a care in the world.

Although I missed my family today, God took care of me by surrounding me with my extended family of faith and encouraged me in so many ways. Today was a non-stop day of ministry, exactly the kind of thing I love. I feel as though God put together the best birthday party ever for me, certainly one I will not soon forget. Thank you, Lord.

PS | My sister Bonnie was born on my first birthday. Happy Birthday, Bonnie. I love you.

Helwan, Egypt

Being among the Zabbaleen is like being in an alternate universe — in a troubling place that should not exist but that does. The second we turned off the main road south of Cairo and onto the hard-packed dirt road leading to the desolate place where the Zabbaleen have staked their claims, we immediately sensed that we were entering a version of hell on earth. The road that winds through the Zabbaleen’s makeshift hovels is hemmed in by bulging bags of garbage guarded by swarms of flies. Mothers nurse their babies among this filth as kids caked in dirt entertain themselves with found junk. This is not what childhood should look like.

We too have staked a claim among the heaps of garbage in Helwan. Last year the children who attended Vacation Bible School at Kingsland raised almost $15,000 to fund a school for Zabbaleen kids. Through our partners at Global Hope Network, we were able to secure a plot of land in Helwan where we are building a haven of hope. At present, three rooms are complete. Two will serve as classrooms to educate the kids and one will serve as the only medical clinic in the village. The large courtyard in the back has been cleared of garbage. We will transform this area into a playground, complete with trees and grass — something unfamiliar to the Zabbaleen.

Today, we visited several of the homes that now have roofs and floors because of the generosity of our Kingsland family. Every beneficiary of our kindness expressed their gratitude. Something as simple as a roof that does not leak has greatly contributed to improved morale. For the vast majority of these people, they could never have saved enough to make these improvements on their own. They simply do not make enough money sorting through garbage and selling recyclable items. No one here has a sense of entitlement. They are just grateful to be the unwitting recipients of another’s kindness.

Most of the Zabbaleen are Coptic Christians and have an understanding of the Christian faith. While some are literate, many parents and kids have never learned to read and write, something we hope to address through our school. This evening we showed the Jesus Film in the courtyard of our school. Showing the Jesus Film is part of our strategy to help the Zabbalen become more grounded in their faith. After the film, many wanted to see it again. In the coming weeks our partners at Global Hope and Campus Crusade will follow-up on the families that watched the film. This week we will also provide a children’s pictorial Bible for each home so that even the non-literate families can relate the pictures to the Bible stories they learn.

I believe that Helwan can become a place of hope as we develop a long-term partnership to give the Zabbaleen a hand-up and give their children a way out of poverty by educating them. I am so proud of our Kingsland kids for once again helping to make a difference in the lives of kids they have never met. We must continue to fulfill the part of our purpose statement that says we will equip the next generation, one home at a time. By helping our kids to understand that life is not all about them and that they should consider the needs of others, we are unleashing a mighty force for good that will bring glory to God among the nations. Today, I saw God glorified among heaps of garbage because of the compassionate response of our kids to a great need among the Zabbaleen.

Garbage. Each of us produce about 4.5 pounds of waste per day. Americans produce an estimated 251 million tons of waste per year. At least twice a week, the garbage we produce is collected from our curbs and taken to landfills or is burned. If the garbage collectors ever went on strike we would all be in deep trouble … literally. It would not take long for us to begin drowning in our own garbage.

This morning, I carried three bags of garbage to the curb in front of my home. By the time I left the house, the garbage in front of my home had already been collected to begin its journey to the dump. Garbage collection is a wonderful convenience for us in America. Next week I will set our large recycle bin on the curb and it, too, will be picked up and I will have done my part to help the environment for the week. Again, a great convenience.

In a few hours our team of five from Kingsland will begin our journey to Cairo to work with the Zabbaleen, Cairo’s garbage people. I especially thought about the Zabbaleen this morning as I deposited my garbage bags on the curb. I tried to imagine personally collecting all of the garbage in my subdivision, bringing it to my home, dumping it in my backyard, and enlisting my entire family to sort through it to find things to sell in order to make a living. That’s exactly what the Zabbaleen do every single day, eking out a meager subsistance income of only a few dollars a day.

In the past year, our missions ministry has worked with our partners at Global Hope Network to bring hope the Zabbaleen. We have put roofs on their crudely constructed homes and also flooring. And, best of all, our VBS kids funded a school for the Zabbaleen. These kids do not have the opportunity to go to school because they must help their parents sort through trash. All of that is changing, however, for the Zabbaleen in our adopted village of Helwan. The kids in this village will now have the opportunity to learn to read and write and to learn about the hope that Jesus gives.

Please keep our team in prayer as we serve the Zabbaleen in the coming week. We look forward to making many new friends, to providing a copy of the Scriptures for each home and teaching some Bible stories. We will also teach classes on hygiene and first-aid and provide a first aid kit to every home in the village. And we will work with the new little church in the village. We have an exciting week ahead of us. I will post updates daily from Cairo. Tahnks for your prayers and for following our journey.

Zabbaleen is an Egyptian term that means “garbage people” — the designation given to the Coptic Christians who serve as Cairo’s garbage collectors. The Zabbaleen collect garbage door-to-door but do not take it to a dump or landfill. Instead, they take what the gather to their own homes where they pick through it to find items to sell to recyclers. Their efforts yield a subsistence living of only dollars a day at best.

Our missions ministry is engaged in a strategic partnership with Global Hope Network to bring hope to the Zabbaleen. Children of the Zabbaleen must work alongside their parents to help the family and do not have the opportunity to go to school. They work long hours and are exposed to all sorts of unsafe elements. Unless these children get an education, they will not be able to escape their generational cycle of poverty.

Last summer, we challenged the children who attended Kingsland’s Vacation Bible School to collect money to fund a school for the Zabbaleen kids in the village of Helwan. Our kids gave enough funds for us to secure a building and start a school to educate the kids in Helwan. Through our partners, this good work has started to gain momentum. Our school is a lighthouse that will give kids the hope of a brighter future.

On Friday, I will lead a team of volunteers from Kingsland to Cairo where we will work with more than 200 kids at our school in Helwan. Katherine Sands, one of our team members, mobilized the kids at the school where she teaches to collect first aid supplies for us to take to the families in Helwan. In addition to our Bible stories, we will teach lessons on hygiene and first aid to the families in the village and bless each home with a Bible and a first aid kit. Christy Cupit and Katherine packed up all of our teaching supplies, recreation gear, and first aid supplies this week. We will also partner with the new church in the village to show the Jesus Film.

We have a full and busy schedule in Helwan and look forward to meeting the kids attending our school. We will also meet with the men of the village to discuss a community development strategy to help improve the lives of the people. And we will look for ways to help resource the church so that it can continue its work of sharing Christ in Helwan. The people of the village are already grateful for the work we have done to put roofs and floors in their homes. We pray that the open door before us will result in much fruit for the kingdom.

Please keep our team in prayer as we travel to and from Egypt and as we serve the Zabbaleen. I will post updates daily next week from Cairo.