Letter from Ramez Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. July 2008

EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS UNITED AROUND THE BIBLE

In late June, I attended celebrations of the 125th Anniversary of the Bible Society of Egypt in three different cities in Upper (Southern) Egypt.  In all I have now attended eleven such celebrations and before the year is done we expect to have at least six or seven more.

The unique common factor of all these celebrations was not only the creative way in which they were planned (they were true gala events!).  Rather it was that Christians and their leaders from Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches were gathering together in these cities for the first time! 

In a country were Christians are a small minority and yet do not normally cooperate officially with one another it was a great blessing to all to be united around the Bible.

When we planned these celebrations, we had not intended that this would become one of their main features.  However, in each case the common response was “If it were not for the Bible Society we would never have been able to meet together in one place on equal footing!” All I can say from the depth of my heart is “Praise the Lord”!

BIBLE WORLD FINALLY OPENS

More than eleven years ago, I had a dream that the Bible Society of Egypt would have an interactive “Bible World” for children and young people.  At the time, we did not have a clear concept, funds, staff or a location.

Recently I toured our new Bible World located on the first floor of Bible House.  I was moved to tears with this creative, hi-tech, completely automated, interactive, educational and life-changing exhibition.  It truly defies description, especially with its creative adventure films that won the first prize for best Arabic Christian children’s films produced in 2007! 

A few days ago was our “soft” opening with 20 children of our staff trying out the exhibit for the first time.  I was given the first copy of the “passport” each received when they arrived and which includes a CD and links to our new Bible World website.

Maybe I am a visionary, but in the two examples mentioned above, my colleagues have demonstrated that - with God’s help - reality can surpass even my most ambitious “dreams”!

Thank you for being partners together with us in this exciting ministry.

With a thankful heart, sincerely,

Ramez

 

Letter from Rebecca and Ranez Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. June 2008

Thanks so much for praying!  The Garbage Village camps for the Disabled and Handicapped (we call the ministry “The Family of Love”) went really, really well this year!  We had great attendance--very few people cancelled out due to illness like what happened last year. 


Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, I think, and seemed to feel loved and cherished by our faithful volunteers.  As usual, I loved the mentally challenged boys' camp the most--I think because they are the hardest and neediest.  They kind of grab your heart.  However, they are beginning to calm down too and none of us was hit hard in the back or pushed down the stairs as has happened in previous years!

I wanted to share one, touching incident that happened.  "Yasser" (see picture) is a 30 year old whose legs were amputated just 3 years ago.  He is, understandably, often depressed, and we allowed him to stay a whole week to cheer him up a bit.  I challenged him to start working again, and he responded that he could go into the tin can recycling business with members of his family.  (The tops of soft drink cans are made of aluminum, so are worth 5 times as much as the rest of the can.  Therefore, the garbage people have special scissors with which they cut off the tops.  Then they sell both tops and cans for re-cycling.)

 I offered to collect cans for him, if he would do this work.  He responded gratefully, because this way he won't have to pay for the cans and will make more money.

But it was not I who did the first collecting.  The deaf teenagers heard (through signing) about Yasser's decision.  They took a long walk with the head of our ministry, Mahrous (see picture) and noticed all the cans strewn alongside the road.  They then bought some plastic bags and brought back 3, very large bagfuls of cans for Yasser!  I was very touched that they--who have so much pain of their own--should share in such a loving way in Yasser's plight.

I also praise the Lord that my health held up this year and I had none of the extreme vomiting that I've had other years.

Please keep praying for the permission to continue building the Center of Love for the Disabled at the Village. 

Much love and thanks, Rebecca Atallah

The Family of Love, St. Simon the Tanner Church

Mokattam Garbage Village, Cairo, Egypt

 

Once a year I do write you all, because that is when I really crave your prayers.  May 2008

You’ve guessed it: it’s time for the camps for the Disabled and Handicapped among the Garbage Collectors I work with!  From May 18 to the 30th I will be at the conference centre that we use on the banks of the Bitter Lakes, just south of the Suez Canal, receiving groups of between 30 and 60 adults and children (plus 20 helpers) for 3-4 days of camp each.  Why do I not know the exact numbers at this late date?  Simply because so many of them get sick just before camp and don’t ever make it!

Sometimes these camps run like a charm, as we have run them for about 14 years now and so kind of know what to do.  Other times the devil tries his best to ruin things—like the year we had a severe wind storm which caused power failure for a day and water failure for a couple, right during our most difficult camp.  Sometimes I am healthy all the way through and it is usually when I’ve remembered to ask you all to pray for me.  Other times I get severe vomiting and once even de-hydration, which required a doctor to come and hook me up to an Intravenous tube!  Sometimes the mentally challenged boys (always our toughest group) are as sweet and healthy as can be.  Other times they are not, like the year we had to take 2 of them to the local hospital (scary!) with asthma attacks and another one almost drowned!

So please pray everyone!  I sincerely believe that the devil loves to knock the weakest and most neglected people, perhaps because they are the very ones God most cares for.  It takes united, fervent prayer to keep his evil schemes from working and to unleash God’s Spirit to work wonderfully among these very people.

One more thing—some of you know that we have been trying for 2 years to raise money to build a centre for these same, disabled people at the Mokattam Garbage Village, called the Centre of Love. Praise God, enough has come in to build most of it, and we have put in the foundation (it took 124 truckloads to carry off all the garbage that had been thrown on the empty land!)  But then the government decided we needed a building permit and all the work stopped for at least 3 months (this is the first time such a permit has been required for church buildings at that garbage village.)  Well, praise God we have just received one of the needed permits, and oral consent for the second.  PLEASE PRAY that the written one will come soon, and that nothing further will stop us from building this very important, multi-purpose centre for these hurting people.

Thanks so much for your standing with me in these 2 needs!

Much love to you all,

Rebecca