A week left in Port Said

Our time in Port Said serving at the Holy Family Shelter and living at the Good Shepard school and convent are coming to an end. We've had so much fun here and have been stretched inexpressibly and have tangible ways to think and pray about this place and the country of Egypt as a whole.

There's an "ABE" mentality that is so rampant here (ABE in Arabic can be translated as something that is wrong or that people highly frown upon here) and for me, the girl who was raised in the Protestant church, it's sometimes hard to listen to people who seemingly have no grace for others and judge people not according to their hearts but according to their deeds. Especially because Mariam and I are in a different culture. Let me explain, an example if you will. We went to church yesterday and Mariam was wearing a cap sleeve shirt and was about to take communion and the priest serving the wine was like, "don't wear that again. I shouldn't even give you the blood of Christ in that shirt." No cleavage people, nothing wrong with the shirt at all. In fact, it's a baggy shirt compared to the skin tight long sleeved crap everyone else is wearing. It seems as though skin tight is fine here, as long as it is long sleeve. SKIN is what people do not want to see here. There are Muslim girls all over the street wearing skin tight stuff so that anyone can define the exact contour of her body, but as soon as one of us puts on a baggy shirt that is short sleeve or skirt that does not come down to our ankles, someone's rebuking us for it.

I guess the priest was right, cause after church in Port Said, we were on the street buying parting gifts for all the girls and we were crossing the street (an adventure on it's own) and I had made it across to a kiosk we were going to buy purses from and heard an "ohh!" from Mariam. Once she gets across she screams in English, "Did you just see what happened?" and I'm like, "No, but you just blew our chance to buy anything from this dude." He heard her yelling in English and therefore was going to hike the price up for us 'foreigners'. She's like, "That man just touched my crotch!!!" Um, yes people-you heard me right. Here we are in the middle of a street in Egypt looking like the freaking Amish, and Mariam still gets groped. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, we've both begun to understand this is not our country, America is and we are foreigners here. As much as I'd love to change things, and hope that women might be allowed to wear suitable clothing for the 100 degree weather outside, it seems that it's impossible for a man to hold in his animal instinct and grab her. It's as if the whole culture (which stems from the overpowering religious laws of Islam) leans to the understanding that people are uncivilized and unless you cover yourself from head to toe, who knows what might happen. The men can't control themselves. Bullshit.

What is unfortunate is that the culture of men being superior to women and women covering up did not always exist in Egypt. In the past 40 or so years Islam has become more widespread and fundamentalist and in order for the Christians here to survive they have had to cope and evolve. We were talking to some of the older girls we work with when they told us this and I realized that survival of the fittest still exists in humanity-for Christians here to survive and live with minimal persecution, they practice several of the cultural things Muslims practice due to their religion. Basically, the only way I know a woman or man is Christian here is if the woman is not wearing a covering over her head and if she or he has a cross tattoo on their wrist. It is their way of proclaiming their faith without speaking while also suffering (from persecution) the same way Christ did as he was nailed to the cross.

The freedom in America I have experienced all my life is something I will remember to thank God for much more. I realize that my cousins have grown up every single day of their lives (because they have never left Egypt) and listened to the Muslim call for prayer 5 times a day for 25 years. Thank you Lord for the freedom to worship you-may I not take it for granted when I return home.