Last day in Agomy

What a bitter sweet thing to think back on. The waves finally hit late the night before, so when we woke up we were all amping to see with the ocean looked like. The little boys kept saying in broken English that the waves were huge and they look like they are going to take over the world. I just about busted at the seems when I saw the surf. It pretty much looked like a windy choppy day with about a few feet of swell here and there. The shore is super shallow for super long so it was shore break after shore break chaos. But it was a fun day non the less. Pretty much this day I just cruised with Norah the whole time I was at the beach. I first off got to catch up with Tiff again, which was so great and such an answer to prayer that she was online. But I was super bummed I didn't get to skype my family. I've tried almost every day we have time to go on the internet and the time change is just too much for us to catch each other. After catch up time and some fun conversations with the internet staff it was cruise and say goodbyes. Norah and I had so much tandeming the day before that I had high hopes to do it again. As soon as I got to the beach Norah came running up. Gosh I love that girl. We didn't end up surfing because it was super messy and just basically all one shore break. But instead we just hung out. I taught her how to play the uke and now she knows the Colby song.. haha. She and I and the french kids just ast int he land rover and kicked it. It was fun to be with the little kids for a good long time. After Norah went home, i walked to beach and found some shells. I doubt I'll make it home with them -- but I can hope. The day ended so fast and it was time to jet. It was so cool to see the boys out there surfing, even though the surf was less than impressive. We had one last hurrah at the Koshari place with the mini family we have now and than off to tea and coffee and some good old fun playing dominoes (its big over here). Saying our goodbyes was super hard and I hope to see them all next year. Especially Norah.

Day six

This morning was by far my favorite morning of our trip. We had time to just cruise until beach it. Re and Jazz and I sleep together in one bed and last night we all hit it hard and slept super well. I never got up, just slept the whole night - which was one of the first on this trip. I got up and enjoyed my large bowl of cereal. I was tired of our Middle East breakfast foods, so I opted to go to the store and get some cereal and yogurt. It was well worth it. I just journaled for hours had quiet time and soaked on another morning in Africa. I ran to the Internet café real quick before our day started to check in on my grandpa and I got to catch Tiff on Skype. It was a good kick off to my day to see a face from home. ☺ After my Internet dash, it was time to hit the ground running with the day. This day was all about relations, as is our whole trip. Today I got to surf Norah and play the uke on the beach. We sang in a huge group, played Duck Duck Goose for over an hour and we all just spent as much time with each other knowing it is soon coming to an end. The surf wasn’t good, well there really wasn’t any but Norah and I tried to tandem and failed -- we got one good one. Than we just party waved together as much as we could -- it totally gave my flash backs of trying to party wave with Tiff this one time in Hawaii..attempt after attempt -- than when you finally get it.. your so stoked it doesn’t matter how crappy the surf really is. It was a good day for mine and Norah’s friendship and a good time to just laugh and live life with her. I started to teach her how to play the uke -- it was super fun. Again I can’t wait until I get to upload images.

Prayers that are needed are straight up for this up coming move. We head to Jordan and it’s full of boat ride and bus rides, all night travels and no stops for a few days. I’m totally game to cruise and travel like this, just pray my body is 100% ready to charge (so far it’s had it’s own ideas on health).

Agomi in it's best

Each morning we are doing bible studies and these studies are totally rocking my world. We are diving deeper and deeper into the true meaning of tilling the ground and seeing the fruit in our lives. It’s a difficult study but one that makes you examine you life, your heart, your intentions and your trust in God’s plan.

Day five of our trip has been my favorite day so far. We cruised to the beach around ten and started to set up for our day. We would normally be putting on a surf competition but since the waves have been flat since we got here it was time to be flexible and time for a surf training camp. We set up our area, roped it off and got our stations ready. So many kids came out it was epic. Of course the regular Bedouin kids were there, all the boys I’ve been writing about days prior. But it was so cool to see their brothers and sisters hit the beach too, as well as some random kids that just wandered into the day. We first started off with Jazz doing some key stretches and warm up drills. It was so cute to see all of the kids circled up on the shore following the drills, most of them couldn’t speak English so it was a stretch - let them figure I out - than they copied the movement. After we did our stretches I was up. I had all the little kids circle up and it was “beach talk” time. The beach talk is what at home we call the land lesson. I was so overwhelmed with how stoked I was to do this. I had a grip of little Bedouin kids circled up around me as I drew waves and had sticks as surfers in the sand. It was just like being at home. But this time I had Tim translate for me and I had Faris and Ahamad beside me ready to teach what they themselves just learned. So basically it went like this. I drew in the sand and said what I needed them to know, Tim translated my words into Arabic, I stepped aside, Faris repeated the same lesson, than Ahamad. It was a teaching them how to fish sort of lesson. I wanted to make sure that Faris and Ahamad (the older of the younger group) knew how to teach as well as what to teach -- like how to not drop in on each other (which I’ve hear they both have issues with). I can’t wait to upload images and show you all of the stories in pictures I’m trying to describe in images. So once we were done with the lesson, it was water time. We got them out on boards and had them just paddle around and practice the techniques they were just taught. Some of the kids, like Norah, already knew how it was done and others like Jasmine needed some extra attention. We all jumped in the water and lent a hand to the kids that needed it the most and I came over to Jasmine to help her figure out the best and most affective way to paddle. She is the only Bedouin girl in the water these days. It’s super rare to find a girl in the water and I just pray that once she hits of age she stays surfing (which in this culture is a long shot). Jasmine just cliqued with me I guess because from than on she was by my side at all times. She is so cute, I was just standing on the shoreline and she came up to me and goes “ Will you go surf with me?” Of course I was stoked to take her out in the flat waves (literally no waves), so we just paddled around and played in the water a bit. Once we got to shore she asked if I would go on a run with her, so yup we went. There goes a tall white American running down the shore of the Mediterranean with a skinny little Bedouin girl (I’m sure it was an odd sight for most). We just ran and talked about what ever. She knows English super well so it made it easy for us to talk. She just wanted to tell me everything, I loved it. Some things were hard to hear, for they just broke my heart -- like the responsibilities she has as the older sister (at 12) and how much she hates it -- but others were fun -- like talking about High school Musical and Hannah Montana. At the end of the run she turns to me and goes, I love you - you are really nice - I love you. So cute! God provided such a great opportunity to get to know this little girl and I’m glad she did. I’m stoked to keep tabs on her in the years to come and continue to encourage her to stay in the water. She is a natural surfer and I would love to come back one day and see her ripping along side the boys. The beach clinic was pretty much over and with a few more games like Tug-O-War and duck duck goose we finished off the day with lots of laughter. By two we were back to the flat and ready to relax. A few of us jumped to the Internet café to catch up with family. Each day I try and make it for at least five minutes so I can check up on my Grandpa (I hate not being there for the family at this time). From there it was time to get ready and head to the Kahuna for dinner. The Kahuna is Mohamad’s restaurant down the street. The whole place is covered in Surfing The Nations posters and signs -- it’s epic. We were having a big BBQ there for the end of the Surf Clinic 2010. This place was straight out of a movie, well most of this town it too. A huge crew of us was there and we ate Kofta and danced the whole night. Kofta is basically a hamburger that is spicy but in the shape of a hot dog, wrapped in a pita with a slew of fresh cold slaw veggies inside. They played a bunch of American music, which was super fun to sing and dance too - since they knew the lyrics too. Not that they knew what they were singing but non the less they knew how to say the words. At the end of the night we handed our leis and goody bags full of surf stuff. All of the kids were crazy stoked. The bags ended up being our “fish and loaves” story of the night. There was no way we made enough bags for all of the kids that showed up. Tim just kept calling up kids and we kept handing out bags. At one point Robert tell Tim to juts pick the ones who surfed because we don’t’ have enough, Tim replies Dude it’ll be good no worries. And the Lord totally provided because when the last bag was handed it was the last person to be called. We honestly all stood there in shock of what just happened. There is no way we had enough bags and as we looked back at the crowd of kids, they all had their bags. Praise The Lord!

I also got to know Norah and her Mom a bit more during our BBQ, which was a total answer to prayer. Seeing how the boys connect with Tim and the potential this man has to be the man of peace here has totally kicked my butt in wanted to dive deeper with his little girl Norah and his Wife Gala. It would be an answer to prayer if this family was brought to know our Father. Norah and I played all night, a mix between tickle tag and kung foo panda wars - I miss having kids around all the time and it was a much needed fix. Gala and Re and I talked for a good long time about their story and just life. Gala just had some surgery done , not too certain on what it was, but surgery non the less - so it was cool to see her come out for this event. She kept telling us, “ I’m here all year and the minute you guys leave we never stop hearing about the day you’ll come back, these kids love you.” It’s so cool how we fell like such a family here already. I know if I ever came back I would have no problem just cruising with them and feeling at home.

The night was pretty much over and we were all saying our Thank Yous and giving our hugs. We still have a few more days here but it seemed like we were having to say goodbye. Robert said a great heartfelt thank you to the boys and their insane hospitality and Tim translated to make sure they heard it word for word and not in broken Arab English. Than with out hesitation Mohamed had something to say in reply that just about brought our whole team to tears. He said, “You guys are like family and we love you, you don’t’ have to bring boards or clothes, you don’t have to bring any gifts but yourselves. We want you to come and we will take care of you, anything you need with will give - just come back.” I can’t really explain how much this meant to our team. Sometimes it feels like they just want more and better each time we come and to hear this it was a slam to the heart that no they just want us. All of the boys were giving us hugs and kisses and I know that on Monday it is going to be hard to say goodbye.

This day just rocked my heart and during our clinic time I got to talk to Tim a little about the guys and here more of their stories. It just broke my heart and there is so much more I want to be able to share with them and most of that just being my time. Faris’s Father passed away last year and at the age of 14 he is now the man of the house for his little Brother and Mother. Even though I want to see him surfing, there is so much more he needs to understand about his impact on his little Brother and to my understanding (what Tim explains) is a little boy with a bad case of Autism.

By far the best day in Agomi and for so many reasons. God is just blessing this team so much by these boys it’s crazy. My prayers today are for the day we leave that the relationships don’t seize. I pray that we stay in contact and hold them accountable for what they have learned, both within surfing and life. I pray that Norah and Jasmine stay in the water for years to come and that the countries that separate us are simply physical space and the emotional connection will stay strong. My hands are lifted towards my Father today, crying out to him to wrap his hands around these little girls - protect them and open their eyes to see their true Father and Daddy.

Day Four in Agomi

Lord make my hands calloused and my eyes open. Callous my hands so that I have the strength to till the land and open my eyes so I can see the fruit that lay ahead of me. Today the Lord has moved my heart to examine the fruit in my life. The fruit that has been, that is and that is to come. Today we discussed the meaning of bearing fruit and how you can see it in your life, whether to see it as spiritual or physical fruit and the treasures it collects. The fruit we bare may be sweet or tart, if we let our vine go with no care of pruning we will still bear fruit but we will bear fruit but it will be tart and unsatisfactory, so we must allow the Lord to prune away within his will. The bible study had me in question where the fruit in my life is and rather than dwell on this question I cry out to my Father to callous my hands and open my eyes.

The day was a pretty chill day. We beached it and just spent quality time with the boys. We met a new girl Sarah that speaks perfect English. She was so nice and it sounds like she wants to do the internship. It was the first person we/I got to talk to that was super open to any topic and I didn’t have to watch what I was saying, it was a refreshing release to relax. Catarina was raving about this thing called Fresca all day, we al thought she was talking about soda but we came to find out it’s more like a peanut cluster sandwich with a squished waffle as the bread. It was a nice little snack pack in the middle of the day. After a good few hours on the beach, while Sam fixed some of their surfboards - it was time to cruise and get some food. I felt like this was the first day that the boys really started to open up and want to talk more with us girls than just a hello. On our way to dinner the boys picked us all up at Fathalla (the grocery store) and off to town it was. We walked into this place called VIP and Gano wanted us to try liver so bad, luckily it was over ruled and we were off to Koshari. Not the best choice in meal but anything sounded better than liver at that point. So a family style dinner at the resteranut and more fun to be had. Gano ended up paying for all of us, which we were stoked on but at the same time not stoked on. It was super hard to let him be that hospitable but if you push it too hard it becomes disrespectful, so we had to let it slide. Koshari family dinner was super fun and I got to know Faris and Ahamad a little bit more. Faris is so adorable, he and I play like brother and sister. They took us for tea and coffee after dinner at this place down a sketch road. Most of the good tea houses are always down some crazy side road. We stayed here for a few hours and it was good fun. We sang, danced, drank tea and coffee and just lived life with the local boys. After tea it was back to the house to pack the bags again. We packed goody bags for all of the kids for our adventure day. We are going to put on basically a surf adventure day, the waves are still flat so we can’t put on a competition but we will have paddle wars, teachings, and games. I’m super stoked to put on some fun for the kids, they love competition and it should be fun to see how they soak in the day with us down at the beach.

I guess in years past they have stayed at a five star hotel while in Alex that is twenty minutes from the beach or so and this year well we are far from that. But to be honest I think I like this better. We get to know the kids so much more and spend a choke amount at the beach with them, cruising the town every night with them and eating over at their houses. It’s been a blessing to be put in a nasty beach flat that is infested with bugs and filth. Honestly. Even though some accommodations would be nice I wouldn’t trade it for the opportunity to really get to know these boys and spend more time living life with them.

The team is still all pretty sick. Some of us are getting better as some of us are getting worse. It’s near impossible not to share sickness so let’s just pray that it stops at a cold. My bites are getting better, not at itchy but all of the bumps are still there and itch on and off. Sam is feeling a lot better, it was just car sickness - nothing more. Robert is rocking the team leadership and today with the surf clinic thing my prayers are that things go smoothly and to God’s plan (planning here with the locals can be a frustrating thing). Viktor is hitting it off with some of the local boys and we are all praying there is a chance to dive deeper in conversation with one of them. Us girls are praying to have divine appointments with other woman and Nancy was a tangible example of that prayer. Tim has a little girl Norah that is a ripper and is so adorable and I would love to have the chance to get to know her and break barriers with this hard ball. We leave Agomi on Monday and that marks our adventure into Jordan. Keep us in your prayer for that adventure for it will be long and grueling (so I’ve heard). My belly is holding strong on this trip which is an answer to prayer but my body is having other ideas. I pray God puts his healing hand on me and I feel 100% before we leave for Jordan. I know God has a plan for everything and I pray his plan is to get me up to par soon.

Day Three

First day of an American breakfast! We had frosted flakes and we were all amping it was not foul or some other meal we have had every other day. Man this day was packed, well pretty much like any other day. But non-the-less super super packed. So after our epic breakfast, a good quiet time and another legit bible study the day began. Today in bible study we were taking about fruit bearing and what it looks like to bare fruit and man was this just straight to my heart. All I could think of during this talk was what someone once told me, “Don’t doubt in the dark what God told to you in the light.” It’s just the statement of my heart these days and during our discussion of what it looks like to have fruit or what it looks like to be pruned, my heart was super gripped by the fact that we should recognize the pruning as pruning not as doubt or resistance. Today was a day to see Alex and go to the orphanages, so we met the driver outside and while we were waiting Sam got nipped at by this pack of dogs next door. The lady was so funny, she came and said no no they have injection so they won’t bite. Ya right lady, all that means is he won’t die of rabies when they bite him. The driver came and we were off. We went and saw Jeff where he was staying. We hadn’t seen him since the drive out of Cairo. He was staying at this home for mentally handicapped kids, a mix between a school and a church is what I gathered. We were a bit late because of traffic and miscommunication but we still go to tour the place and see the kids before they jumped on the bus. The principal of the school told us that the main man wanted to have tea and talk before we left, so we went upstairs to see him. Viktor had run into a volunteer there that was from Sweden and so him and his wife talked for a bit with Vik, it was pretty cool to see how small the world is. Even to the point that a good friend of Vik’s volunteered at this school for six months and this FarFar (grandpa) knew her very well too. So we sat down the Egyptian man says, let’s have Feca. Yup that is right I went all the way to Egypt to have Feca with some more Swedes. We had coffee, tea, and some amazing sweets. We all had to have self-control because we were starving (no lunch) and all that sat in front of us where sweets. It was so cool to sit and here all about how the school came about and what they do there at the school as well. The heart that goes into this place and the love that is showered on these kids, so much patience and understanding. We talked and talked and talked and it was super epic to hear about the Swedish couple and why they were there. They were retired and now giving their time to this place and their story was crazy encouraging. All I could think of when I talked to them was my own grandparents. My grandpa was pretty much at this exact time having open-heart surgery in the states. I can’t believe I’m missing this time to sit with them, It’s hard to imagine not being there for my grandma in this scary time but I know God has it under his control and I must trust he has his hand on my FarFar. I love you Grandpa and know I am praying for you every day. We haven’t had Internet for a few days and I have a lot of trouble not knowing what is going on. I just pray that there is no news for me to know in any urgent manner. After seeing Jeff and the school he has been at it was off to the boy’s orphanage. We went out for a quick lunch and shwerma was the choice of the day, basically it’s a meat sandwich that the meat has been roasted on a stick with veggies. It’s good but super heavy and greasy. We than were off to pick up Tim and our meeting place was the mall. I swore to myself I wouldn’t buy starbucks in a foreign country but they had the cheapest prices of coffee at the mall. They were pretty comparable to US prices but well I got coffee. Egypt doesn’t have soymilk so I had a vanilla latte…. Sick. Bad idea, I really do hate milk and all of its tastes. We got Tim and were off to the boys orphanage. This place rocked my socks. The house was amazing and the boys just stole my heart. Especially these twin boy and the younger one, John. I have some good photos of these boys but a lot of them are taken by them. I let them play with my camera, which they pushed button after button so who knows what the pictures really look like - too dark - too light - blurry, what ever. I got to talk to Justina a lot as well, a girl who used to live at the orphanage because her aunt help start it. She was a pharmacist and was super good with English. She told me a lot about the history of the house and how boys come and go. We only got to see the younger boys but older ones stay there as well. We again had Feca with soda and treats. It was so fun to bless these boys with toys and clothes and be blessed by their heart and joy. All they wanted to do was to take photos and play and I could have stayed with them for days. I wanted to be able to know more of their stories and Justina gave me a little insight to John and his twin but I wanted to know more of all of the boys. We sadly had to say goodbye but in excitement that we were off to see the girls. What a different feel the girls place was, very proper and quiet. Most of the girls were studying for exams so we had the chance to talk to all of the older woman that ran the place. We again had a little feca, this time it was Mango Puree (so good). Ida was the woman I talked to the most and she had so many questions for me. She was very interested in my purity ring that I wore and when I told her my Dad gave it to me, it’s a symbol of purity in honoring God with my life (sort of the best way to explain it with the language barrier) she started to understand. She told me she had never met an American who loved Jesus and she was impressed that I married God (she told me a was a nun). It was fun to talk with her and get to know her a bit more. It sounds like we might have the chance to meet up with them again in the next few days, depending on surf and plans here in Agomy. Somehow talk about the bites on my hands and face came up and before I knew it they were giving me all sorts of medication to help. They are so crazy nice. Basically I was given a form of benadryl, anti itch cream and off spray. We said our sad goodbyes and we left to go home. I really didn’t want to leave just yet, we were all sharing so much. The girls were getting used to us being around and they started to open up more and more. But God has a plan and I hope it is for sure to go back. We blessed them with as much donations as we could and jumped back in the van for our ride home. The day was done and our hearts were overwhelmed with the day in Alex. Sam got super sick on the way home, getting car sick here is very easy and it got the best of him. Once we were home we headed to the store because on Fridays (the holy day) everything in closed down. Than from there is was back home from Fathalla (the store) and off to bed.

My prayers have been filled with the cry for God to use me where ever I am and what ever I am doing. In every situation I want to be used and seen as a light of God’s love. Being at the orphanages just throws a whole new perspective of life in Egypt and less in a sad way and more in a way of hope and restoration for these kids. At the girls home there was a wall of pictures of the woman who were know married that once stayed at the home and the older woman were so proud to show us their frames. God is doing mighty things here and I am glad I can be along for the ride.

Day two

It’s rough trying to remember what we did days ago. I’m trying my best to update the day of but it’s proven to be near impossible to find time and to stay awake when there is time. The morning of this day I woke up with bites all over my hands. I never get bitten at home but here I am loved. I woke up with about sixty bites just on one hand and about five in the other. They looked more like odd red dots but I was told they were mosquitoes and as time went on there was no doubt; they puffed up and itched like crazy. We had a great quiet time and bible study. We are going through a book called Secrets of The Vine and each morning we have taken a day to discuss the chapter. The chapters are pretty interesting and are applicable to our daily lives. After bible study we re packed all of the donation bags to get ready for our drop off. Sam had told us about this man Tim we were going to see and finally we got to meet him. I had heard a lot about this guy and was stoked to finally put a face to a name. We got to Tim’s house and talked about our plans with him and when we were going to cruise. His wife just had surgery so we stayed outside to make sure she rested and didn’t get up in response to hospitality. My finger had become infected about a day or two before this and I thought it would be a good idea to ask Tim (who spoke perfect English) what I should get to put on it. I tried to find something the day before but ended up with just Band-Aids and no way to explain any thing else. Tim took one look at it and said oh my let me call my doctor. He grabbed his phone and called Shou-Shou. That was all that was needed and from then we were told to wait on the beach and Shou-Shou would come check it out and see what needed to happen. So we went to the beach. Shou-Shou to the rescue! All of a sudden a man zips down the beach on a motorcycle and flashed by, turns around and stops - here he is. It was the funniest sight ever. He takes one look at my finger and says you must come with me. So I jump on the back of his bike and off we go. He also speaks perfect English so I was totally secure with the situation since we could explain to each other just exactly what was going on. We zipped through town and off to his house. If I ever through Egyptians drive crazy, they ride even crazier. I was holding on for sure, all I had on were slippers and loose cotton pants and a t-shirt. I thought for sure a few time my knees were going to be taken out but to be honest I was having too much fun to be worried about the logistics of the situation. About 15min later we reached his house and it was pretty great to see a real home. It was my first house I was in that felt like a home. He was getting ready for a wood working show and was so willing to lay it all down for a bit to make sure I was okay and he had no idea who I was, just that I knew Tim. And let’s face it I had just met Tim for 5min earlier on in the day. Honestly the hospitality here has been blowing my mind, we all need to take notes for sure. Shou Shou took a razor blade, alcohol, iodine, and some gauze and fixed it all up. It wasn’t super bad but it had potential to be bad and luckily he told me the ocean here is good for cuts - phew! I was not stoked about another infection = no ocean time. It was pretty cool to sit down in his kitchen while he had a little surgery time on my finger. His woodworking was everywhere, even the table we sat at. We talked a little about how he knows English so well and come to find out he was a doctor in England for about two years and with a few policy changes he came back to Egypt and started working. Also come to find out him and Tim do expeditions for National Geographic and Discovery (and other shows). Tim is the fix it man, the go to, the range rover driver and Shou-Shou is the doctor that goes with them. So basically what Tim told me is that if you ever see a Egypt special on any adventure show him and Shou-Shou are heading it up. So after Shou-Shou fixed me all up and told me what things to buy we were off back to the beach. We jetted back to the beach and zipped down the shoreline. I wish I had this whole adventure on video because it was all and all a humorous happening. A once in a life time story for sure. Than we cruised the beach and hung with the boys for a long time. We swam, chilled, sang, played -- just spent some quality time with the boys. It was fun to talk with Catatrina a bit more and take some fun photos of the locals on the beach. We tried to play football with them and it was the funniest sight to see and everyone on the beach was watching us and totally confused. Than some little kids near the shore started playing their own version of football. The sunset and it was time to head back and get some grind with ano and Kahalad. We jetted over and found a pretty legit pizza place. It was the first meal here that wasn’t Egyptian; so to be honest it was a little refreshing. The owner lived in the states for a little bit and you could totally tell with his way of pizza making that he knew a little of how it was done back home. Re and I shared a pizza and it was epic. During dinner I asked Gano where a pharmacy was and he said yes come come, and off we went. He took my across the street and I was so stoked to get some stuff for my cut. I’m super used to people speaking no to very little English so when I walked in to the store and started explaining what I needed I said it all in very broken Arab English and the man looked and me and goes, yea yea what do you want? I just laughed in embarrassment. Everything I got only cost me about four American dollars, which blew my mind. Once I was set we were back to the pizza place for dinner and fun. Than from there it was off to a cane juice stand where they literally stick the cane sugar in the grinder and out comes a glass of cane juice. It’s pretty good but at the same time it’s a glass of sugar, so it’s overwhelming for sure. Re hates it and it was funny to see her try and down it all in politeness. Muhamad has this restaurant near our flat and wanted to show us the scene. It is only open in the summer so basically he just wanted to show us what it could look like. I’m not kidding the car rides with Muhamad are so fun. I can’t believe the no police system here but if we tried that back home we would be pulled over in the matter of seconds. I want to video it but it’s always so dark out that it really doesn’t do the issue justice, at all. We had to jet early because it was time to again organize the bags, this time in complete readiness for the kids. Tim gave us a paper with all their sizes and need and we were going to two orphanages so we wanted to make sure boys and girls were separated. We have organized the bags so many times, that by this time we were laughing so hard at the fact we were basically moving dirt from one side of the room to the other, back to the other side just for fun. This trip has produced a pretty legit quote wall and the bag time defiantly gave a few good new ones. Basically it has turned into a Robert quote wall but we entertain him with the idea we all say stupid things. The day was super long and we all passed out pretty early. I fell asleep on the couch, which was a bad bad thing. I woke up with mosquitoes all over me. So the trick is to always keep yourself covered but than you get too hot so how do you find a middle ground - well you don’t. You either get bit or you burn up. But since I had been exposed for a few hours my face was eaten alive. The whole night I was tossing and turning trying to get away from the bugs, covering up and than cooling down. I woke up with even more bites on my hands and choke on my face. I never get bit at home and here they just love me. West Nile anyone? I think I counted over 100 bites on my hands and my face I just don’t even want to look at.
It was a good day for sure and God has shown me first hand that he has a plan for everything, down to my finger infection. Later I found out from Sam that he (Shou Shou) has been pretty MIA with the trips and it has been hard for anyone to really get to know him because he is so buys. Sam was stoked I got to spend some time with him because he came back to the beach telling Sam that as soon as his show was over he was going to cruise with us as much as possible. So if my gnar finger is what it took than I’m glad! Cruising on the beach with the crew was super humbling as well. The boys just have so much fun playing together and they are stoked on everything from a wave to a grain of sand.

Day one out of Cairo

Day one in Alex (actually Agomy) and now I know why people want to come to Egypt. Today was a day that was straight up amazing. Last night I slept maybe a totally of two hours, I was just all worked up I guess and couldn’t relax enough to let my mind rest. Today was the day we traveled to Alex from Cairo. The trip took about six hours (usually a three hour drive) because we stopped off in Wadi to get Jeff at this camp he was staying at. The camp was a crazy nut, an oasis in the middle of nowhere, both spiritually and physically. Once we got Jeff we were off to Alex and man were we in for a surprise. I honestly had no idea what we were driving into. I knew that we would be near the beach, for this is a big part of our surf ministry. I feel as if I say this a lot but how can I describe this place, it’s impossible. We got to our apartment and unloaded the boards. Charris was here ( a girl we met in Cairo… which is from Kauai and knows part of the team) with some of her friends and they were leaving that same night, so it worked out perfect with the transition of us coming in. The first person we met was Maluka - he showed us our place. He was super nice and we sat and talked to him for a good while. He has a little baby that is one and has been married for two years. Sounds like his whole family lives together in a large housing situation just a few blocks away. He is a mechanic on a farm and works on really big machinery. This little chit chat got me stoked to see the relations we were going to deepen or create on this trip. The apartment is pretty legit and it only took a few minutes before we all realized it was time to beach it. We started our trek down to the beach and for sure it was a fun adventure. The buildings here are so awesome, orange, old, and the architecture way better than anything I saw in Cairo. It’s for sure a beach town and a beach town found just a few hours from the city of all cities in Egypt. This town in a tad more liberal so us girls can get away with wearing long shorts and a loose shirt. On the beach you see a few tourists wearing less than that but in respect to the culture (since we know better). So anyways we were headed down to the beach and it was so cool to see the impact Sam had already made on these boys. The second we turned the corner they were at the gate ready to see us all. They were so stoked to see us and everyone was saying (in a broken Arabic accent) Sam - Sam - Sam, Welcome Surfing The Nations - Welcome! Faris and Ahamad are the little boys that roll with this crew and they are apparently super good surfers (no surf yet to see this truth or not). They are so cute and adorable, we all want to make sure they make it to Hawaii some day. They are stoked (especially Faris) on everything that has to do with surfing - Everything. Faris always looks at me and goes… you goofy.. yes goofy good (because I’m goofy foot like him and not regular). Leo was there too, another grommet but he is from France and is here because his parents moved for a some job his Dad has. These boys literally just cruise on the beach everyday. Some of them have jobs but most of them just cruise. So we met the crew and cruised on the beach for a few hours, just getting to know them. The beach - umm only images can describe. The water is so green, the air blue (never thought that could happen in Egypt), the sun piercing, the sand like white and fine like flour (with garbage everywhere), the surf flat, and the scenery more than you cane take in. It was a good time talking with all the boys and getting to figure out who is who. I started to get super chilly and Gano saw this and literally ran home to get a jacket for me. They are so hospitable and nice. The sun set into the Mediterranean and my heart was swelling with excitement to see a sight I’ve only dreamed of. Everyone started to get hungry and too cold to sit with boardies on the beach and with the movement of our team the boys decided to was time to BBQ.  We weren’t sure what this meant to them but we were game for what ever happened. We all changed and got ready to cruise. We walked a few blocks over to Mika’s house (I can’t really type in English how they saw this in Arabic but say it how ever you want). They wouldn’t let us help or lift a leg, sit - sit - sit, they always say. We sat around for about an hour as they prepared the meal, well Mika’s sister came to prepare it. Maluka and Kahalad were playing video games and we joined in once we settled down. Kahalad is sort of the ringleader of the crew in a way, we call him GQ because he is always so dressed up, gelled and shirtless. Dinner was starting to come in a finish and the Omar was outside flipping the meat. This meat looked so good, I knew the rest of the meal was going to rock our socks off. We were all super tired of eating foul, Kosheri, and Falafel that the sight of meat meant a whole new world. Catarina and Gabriel are two Germans that have lived here for a bit teaching in a German school. They are super fun and totally a kick to hang around. I was kicking myself in the face this night for not bringing my camera. There were so many fun things that happened, fun isn’t even the word to use. So many once in a lifetime things that happened. We were all sitting on the top of the roof of Mika’s house and sitting around this tiny two foot high table. Dinner was served and we were all so hungry and amazed by the feast set before us. The rice was honestly the best rice I’ve ever had, something was different about it and I can’t put my finger on why. The meat was so good and the tahina sauce was the best yet. Everything was amazing and they just whipped up this feast as a Welcome Surfing The Nations event. All of the surf boys were there and this totally kicked off this week here. After dinner we sat around and drank tea and sang songs. Some how Omar had the great idea, no Maluka - yah Maluka had the great idea that I sing while Muhamad sings and Robert plays the guitar. So well I was roped into it and even though I was super apprehensive I figured what ever it’s English they have no idea how I really sound. So the song they wanted was “I never told you”, they head us girls singing it earlier on in the night so yup the song has hit another trip and another country. Oh my was it so fun. I have no idea what Muhamad was singing but as I sang Colbie he sang something in Arabic at the same time and Robert just kept on jamming. I wish I had this on tape and one of the guys does but who knows if that will ever show up, let’s hope. Oh man that moment was a once in a lifetime experience. Sitting rooftop in Egypt, drinking tea and singing a duet with a man in Arabic. After our dinner adventure it was time to head home and this ride home was crazy. They drive so nutty over here and we were all piled into one car - Muhamad’s jeep. Robert and a few of the boys hanging on to the back and Gano on the hood of the car. We were laughing so hard the entire time but laughter was the result in shere fear we would all die. Not really but yes sort of. Again with wishing I had this on video. I’m sure though this won’t be the last time we all jump in Muhamad’s epic ride and almost crash around every corner as his make shift police siren goes off. Oh what an epic first night in Agomy.