looks like we've got a lot to do...

let's get on it:

The job of the peacemaker is to stop war, to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty and riches, to heal the sick, to comfort the sad, to wake up those who have not yet found God, to create joy and beauty wherever you go, to find God in everything and in everyone.- Muriel Lester(1884-1968)

farewell, for now.

my exodus from egypt nears. saying goodbye isn't usually difficult because i'm pretty good at keeping in touch with people, even across continents and oceans. however, i feel like i'm leaving a job after the first year. in general, the second year is better than the first because you know what you're doing, you know your coworkers, etc.

but things happen the way they do for a reason. one year ago, there's no way i would've made a two year, overseas commitment (or of any sort, really). anyway, these last few days have been fun and fulfilling:

bowling, ice skating, snorkling in the red sea, going to the circus, and just enjoying my time with the people who have become my extended, egyptian family.

well, as usual, articulation and jet-lag preparation don't mix well. it's 4:30am. in a few hours, i will fall asleep sitting straight up on my direct flight to new york. and so, i will have exited egypt.

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot

and now, my friends, from egypt i part to be where i'm now headed.

T Minus 10 Days

And so, the beginning of the end has arrived:


1. Clean my flat
2. Eat all the food still in the kitchen
3. Spend a few days relaxing on the shores of the Red Sea
4. Write and send final postcards
5. Pack my bags
6. Eat a lot of Egyptian food
7. Find someone to print my boarding pass
8. Buy a cheap cell phone
9. Convince the McDonald's motorcycle delivery boy to give me a ride around town
10. Eat more Egyptian food
11. Update music playlists
12. Get to the "I can't put it down" stage of reading Les Mis.
13. Start one more dodgeball or popcorn fight with Lianne

What's to come:

one-nighter in New York

two weeks in Seattle (live jazz - chopsticks?, cheesecake, thai food, the pink door, aladdin's falafels, storage unit exorcism, visit The House, convince tiana and justin to move to hawaii, triangle cabin, mt. si, cousin's wedding, etc.)

three weeks in Hawaii (show ruth and maegan my island, hang out with the brothers before they're redeployed to the M.East, thank all of my friends and family with a huge "Egyptian" feast)

vacation with grandparents (going on a train trip from washington up into canada)

three weeks in Georgia and DC (one week of hanging out with old and new friends and a one week conference)

by the end of september, i'll be homeward bound.