The Needs are Real!

Missy Creggar and team just got back from a mission trip to Egypt. It was anything but ordinary! They spent lots of time loving on children – including having a music- and balloon-filled festival. They sailed down the Nile River on a wooden boat. It was, overall, a wonderful time of personal growth and bonding as a team. Below is a day-by-day account of the trip by Missy.

Day 1: Sunday brought us lots of rest! We slept and ate most of the day. We practiced our lessons for the kids and rehearsed a puppet show. That evening we were sent to Safaa and Mona's church. It was all in Arabic, and the kids didn't fall asleep as it was an hour and half long! We went home and ate hot dogs for dinner. Everyone is doing very well!

Day 2: We all went to the first festival with over 500 Sudanese children! They sang songs for us! Renee and I did our Zacchaeus skit and Stephen held our tree! Needless to say with interpretation in between Stephen and I couldn't feel our arms after we were done. The kids loved it. We also did David and Goliath using a Sudanese boy as David and Stephen as Goliath and they all cheered when he was defeated. We ended with a big song with two sides competing as to who could be the loudest, singing “Praise Ye the Lord!” What a great day!

Day 3: Day of play! Got up and ready by 8, but did not leave until after 9. We toured the great Pyramids of Giza. Visited the Sphinx and everyone got pictures. The newbies road the camels and all said it was fun. We had lunch at Pizza Hut in front of the Sphinx! We ended our day in the famous Cairo museum. Tomorrow will begin five straight days of work beginning with another Sudanese church, then on to the boys’ orphanage. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 4: This very long day started at the Sudanese church with over 500 very loud kids! They sang for us, showed us tribal dancing and even a skit! We shared a dance led by Niki and a story by Stephen and Miranda. Madi and Missy led the music. After that, we came back to pack sandwiches for the boys’ orphanage, and then rode an hour and a half to see them. We found that many of them were not there due to the holiday, so the boys played soccer with the ones who were left. They were very excited to see us again! We are all very tired and have another very long day tomorrow. Debbie has lost her voice but feels okay. Everyone else is doing great. Eating the food, joining in clean up and helping out whenever needed.

Day 5: Happy thanksgiving from Egypt! We ate camel this morning in our eggs.
The rookies said it was a good experience. We proceeded to the first Egyptian church that had about 200 kids and they loved our stories and songs. They started to play musical chairs and Stephen felt the need to join in. He won, too! The second Egyptian church had about 300 kids and a program for us to watch. Afterward, we taught them a new song. Miranda led the team with singing and the story of Jericho. We are all doing very well!

Day 6: Today we are hitting a brick wall. We did not get up until 9 or so and did not leave for the Egyptian church until 1 pm. We arrived at the church and watched Safaa's praise team from his first church do the program. We did not understand anything. We even watched Veggie Tales in Arabic! We ended the day with Kentucky Fried Chicken (NOT as good as ours!). We are longing for the Sudanese, but it doesn't look like we'll see the kids from last year. Niki and Miranda led devotion and they were awesome! We are truly missing home!