The Arab/American Alliance

After a 26-year Absence, Sue Returns to Cairo!!!

Dreams Al ive:
No we didnt go as the Virgin Mary & Joseph, we just like the picture of the Holy Family going down
to our beloved Egypt. Did you know that several Bible accounts take place in Egypt, such as the
story pictured above? The first mention of Egypt is in Genesis 12 when a famine caused Abraham &
Sarah to temporarily migrate there. Then there is Joseph, son of Jacob, sent as a slave to Egypt. He
rises from slavery to second in command of this great nation. Another famine caused his fathers
family to migrate there. Gods people spent another 400 years in Egypt before Moses led the tribe
out of slavery and where the awesome power of God was seen in the plagues, the Passover, and
much of the 40-year wilderness journey. Later accounts mention Egypt in the many wars & political
alliances throughout the region and the prophet Jeremiah fled to Egypt in the latter years of his life.

Sue & I had lived and served in this amazing nation from 1982-1987. In fact, we lived in an area
where Josephs wife Asenath was born, the ancient city of ON (GEN 41). We moved to Egypt shortly
after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, sent by a Dutch Evangelical group named The Near
East Ministry. The plan was to bless the neighbors of Israel in
hopes that the Jews & Arabs would live together in peace. While
Muslim Arabs generally despise Israel & refuse to accept it as a
legitimate nation, many of the Arab Christians have a different
perspective. You see, once Jesus comes into your heart, its quite
difficult to hate people. So the idea was lead people to Jesus, the
Prince of Peace and there could be peace in the region. As it
turned out, the Lord led me to serve in the Garbage Collectors
Village known as Mukattam. There I worked alongside Father
Samaan Ibrahiim, a beloved brother in Christ. I mostly did social
work in areas of education, hygiene, sanitation, vocational training,
and animal husbandry while Fr. Samaan taught the Gospel. In the
very early days of our ministry over 60% of the children died
before their 5
th
birthday. Now people heard the Gospel, gave their
life to Christ and learned to live with dignity. We were a team
doing our best to be true to Gods call. Read Matthew 25:31-46 &
youll get the idea.
Met up with Rami, the man who
1
st
took me to the Garbage
Collectors Slum in 1982. We







Sue & Su!ad, faithful women of
God.


While I served in the Garbage Village, Sue had a very unique
ministry of comfort among American & European women that had
married Arab men. These cross-cultural marriages were difficult, to
say the least, especially when married to a Muslim man. Please
understand that Im not writing against all cross-cultural marriages,
but these particular women were in very difficult marriages. In Sue
they found a friend that prayed with them over a cup of tea. As we
read in Isaiah 40, the Lord says Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye, My
people. Sue also Home-Schooled our 2 kids & served at the
Heliopolis Community Church. Here she is pictured with her friend
Suad, the wife of Fr. Samaan. There were tears of joy when they met
after such a long separation. In the intervening years Momma Suad
has had a vibrant womens ministry throughout Egypt.
By Gods grace Denny was able to travel back & forth to Egypt
since 1998, but Sue had not been there since June 1987. Now she
had the opportunity to return to Cairo and see how God has
blessed His people in the years since she had left. We travelled
together from Bahrain to Egypt on Christmas Day and spent one
week visiting friends and seeing all that God has done to bless
His people. The week began with a Christmas party singing
carols. What a joy to sing the praises of the Lords incarnation in
a land where He once lived as a toddler (MT 2:13-18).
Other highlights were visiting former co-workers Laila, Ramez, &
Rebecca. Laila & Rebecca helped us in the Garbage Village
where Rebecca still serves. She recently opened a ministry to
handicapped children, a rare work in the Arab world where kids
with disabilities are often hidden away rather than helped. Her
husband Ramez is president of the Egyptian Bible Society. Laila,
one of our very best friends, helped us establish a school in the
village. She went on to serve primarily in waste management,
recycling, & hygiene. In 2013 she was selected to serve on the
Cabinet of the interim government that ousted the Muslim
Brotherhood. Laila is 1 of 3 Christians and one of 2 women
serving in the new cabinet. Dreams Alive continues to partner
with these faithful friends. Ill write more on them next month.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On left:
Garbage
Collectors
Village back
in the 1980s.
At right: the
same area as
it is today.
PRAYER REQUESTS
February 14
th
was the
3
rd
anniversary of the
uprising in Bahrain.
Since then some of the
protests have turned
violent with sporadic
bomb blasts & street
fires near our home.
This week 3 policemen
were killed in a bomb
attack. While we do
not fear for our safety
we do ask that we can
effectively share the
Gospel with friends.
The Light of Christ
always shines brightest
in the darkness.
One other request: we
need a worship leader
that can also teach