Cairo Update
Greetings,
Another eventful couple of weeks. At the moment our children are
keeping us busy for a number of reasons. First, Esther is starting
to use the potty, and is making very good progress. The Egyptians
are astounded by the age which we start them. As normal in Britain,
we have started potty training at the age of two years, actually
a bit later for Esther because we wanted to get over the move
back to Egypt and finish off a conference before proceeding.
Typically in Egypt they start potty training as soon as the children
begin to walk, around about 1 year old. Obviously the Egyptians
think that we are a bit backward. It has to be said though that
the Egyptians go through months and months of wet beds and changes
of clothes as the children learn to control the right muscles
. . . we have heard that it is only about 18 months when children
can reliably control their bladders. I think the main reason for
the Egyptians to do this is to save on the expense of buying nappies,
which are very expensive here when you consider the average salary.
It has been a couple of weeks now and Esther has been dry at night
almost since beginning, and has only had a few little "accidents"-
she still has the occasional trouble predicting when the "number
twos" are coming but essentially we are almost at the end
of the training. Hannah is keen to help in getting the potty because
she knows that she will get a sweetie too if Esther has a successful
sitting.
Lydia is now on solids and is developing fast. As with the other
two, we have taken a video of the first solids going in. She has
a particular fancy for carrots, potato and banana (but not mixed
together). We haven't let Hannah and Esther help out with feeding
her yet because Lydia seems to make quite a mess by herself, and
it seems it will be compounded by the other two. Lydia hasn't
taken to the bottle, and in fact seems to be allergic to the formula
milk, so Alison still has to get up to feed her during the night.
Since returning in March we have had lots of unwelcome guests
. . . the small kind that live in one's head and body. Yes, lice
and fleas are really common here, especially in the kinds of areas
I do ministry. It has been surprising that in the last couple
of months I have only had fleas and Alison and the girls have
only had lice, there seems to be some kind of sex discrimination
with our little friends. To those who do not know the difference,
let me explain. Fleas are the creatures that live on one's body.
They usually bite where the edge of the clothes are on the body,
e.g. the top of the socks or around the belt area of the trousers.
The bite marks look quite vicious and are very itchy. If they
leave the host they wait around until a shadow passes then they
jump and sometimes land on a new host.
I have found that the most effective way of getting rid of them
is to change my clothes once or twice a day and have regular showers.
There is a pan-scrubber in the shower for this reason, I need
to give my body a hard scrub all over a few times and eventually
the fleas will get the hint that they are not welcome.
Lice are not as easy to get rid of. These beasties live in the
hair of the host and don't mind a regular shampoo and blow-dry.
In fact it seems that Egyptian lice are quite resilient and resistant
to most treatments. We know a couple from Ireland whose children
used to go to an Egyptian school which was a breeding ground for
lice- the mother is quite an authority on the subject and she
advised us that shampoo, conditioner AND a fine-tooth comb are
the only effective means of getting rid of lice here. We have
been doing this for weeks but still they seem to be returning.
Hannah likes to play a game where we comb her hair over the bathroom
sink and she counts the lice as they drop out. As a bonus at the
end, if she gets the right number she gets to wash the lice down
the plug-hole. The lice always come out alive and kicking so we
have to wash them down quick before they get too close to the
top of the sink.
A friend here had a visitor from the UK recently, so we asked
the visitor to go to Boots the chemist in the UK and bring the
most effective lice shampoo they could get. All the treatments
we bought here in Egypt have been useless, the lice *still* come
out alive. Last Sunday we tried this treatment from the UK and
we were quite impressed with the results. After applying the treatment
and combing through the girls' hair with a fine tooth comb we
found that the lice were coming out dead . . . impressive. Esther
had about 20 dead lice in her head, and Hannah had about 80 (yes,
we *did* count them). We hope that this is the end of them for
the time being. I think I know the reason why I don't have lice-
they are quite intelligent creatures and they probably know that
going into my head is a lost cause, a receding hairline tells
them their days are numbered- a bit like rats leaving a sinking
ship.
Within the next couple of weeks I hope to finish the main bulk
of the work I am doing for the web-page development company. As
I've mentioned in previous E-mails I've taken on the role of acting
general manager while my friend is in the U.S. It hasn't been
an easy time, this is the first time I've run a business and it
has proved to be quite a challenge. After the end of each busy
day I enjoy spending time with the family. After tea we have a
Bible story which Hannah and Esther always remind us about. We
have a big container of sweets and we share them out according
to what we can remember about previous stories in the Children's
Bible. Since returning a couple of months ago we have almost finished
all of the well-know stories in the Bible and Hannah remembers
all that we have done. We hope to do it without sweets one day
once the children learn that knowledge has its own rewards, but
until then we enjoy sharing in with the earthly treasures which
last only a moment after the Bible story is finished and we have
prayed.
While Hannah and Esther are quietly eating their sweets, Alison
and I have recently been memorising Psalm 27 together. With this
Psalm still fresh in my mind each day, and coupled with the problems
I have had running the business I have re-written the Psalm to
fit my situation. I'll share this now:
The REAL Psalm 27:
Psalm 27 {Of David.}
The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The
LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my
enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war
break out against me, even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may
dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze
upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high
upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround
me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will
sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer
me.
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face,
LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away
in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake
me, O God my Saviour.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive
me.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because
of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses
rise up against me, breathing out violence.
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the
LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the
LORD.
Re-written for May 2000
Psalm 27 {of Jason}
The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The
LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When angry customers phone me up and demand the work, when creditors
ask for money, they will go bankrupt.
3 Though requests for meetings surround me, my heart will not
fear, though I can’t fit everything into my schedule, even then
will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may
have a regular quiet time every day of the week, to play my guitar
and praise His name.
5 For on pay-day he will put money in the business account, he
will clear the necessary cheques and make it look like nothing
was wrong in the first place.
6 Then my status will be lifted above the non-invoice payers who
surround me; and in Church I will testify that there was nothing
to fear. I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer
me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will
seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away
in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake
me, O God my Saviour.
10 Though my Landlord and freelance-worker forsake me, the LORD
will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because
of my lazy employees.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my competitors, for hard-to-satisfy
customers rise up against me, breathing out accusations
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the
LORD and not be bankrupt.
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the
LORD.
My best wishes to you all at this time- the weather is getting
much hotter now, we have to go to bed with the fans on at night
in order to sleep comfortably. Even now it is 1am and I'm still
sweating- and the real summer hasn't started yet!
Toodle Pip,
Jason, Alison, Hannah, Esther and Lydia
Return to Cairo
Update Index
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It's
a Fact!
Facts
about Egypt:
- Egypt's
population is 66 Million
- Egypt
is four times the size of the UK
-
Only 3% of the land can be used for arable crops
- Cairo
has 18 million people and is growing by 1 millon each year.
- Cairo
is the Largest city in Africa and the Middle East
- Official
literacy rate is only 45%
- A
total of 11 languages are spoken in Egypt
- Public
Debt per person is $790
- Average
annual income is $630
- Unemployment
is estimated to be 17%
- Religion:
Approx. 85% Muslim and 15% Christian
- Most
Christians are affiliated to the Orthodox Church, less than
1% of the population are Protestant
- There are
an estimated 100,000 street children in Egypt
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