Parents Day in Egypt, Day 9

This is by far the craziest day of the week. The staff is on edge because they have over 300 parents coming to the camp in their Mercedes Benz’s, BMW’s, and other fine vehicles. Remember, these kids represent the most affluent and influential families in Egypt. It is vital to the camp and our mission that these parents have a favorable impression of what happens here because they are people who, if they have a reason, could find a way through the government to order the camp closed. In fact, several years ago the reverse happened. The government wanted to close the camp (because it is a Christian camp) and it was a few influential Muslim parents who ensured that it could remain open because they are so pleased with the experiences their children have had here.

So, no pressure! Just make sure all of the parents enjoy their day at the camp. And oh, by the way, don’t mention anything about Jesus or Christianity. I had three very nice women (moms) waiting in line to climb the rock wall who started a conversation with me. They asked me where I was from, who pays our way, and why we are here. The future of the camp was riding on my shoulders! I must answer these three questions wisely and vaguely. The first was easy. We are all from the Dallas, Texas area. They were all familiar with the U.S., having traveled their extensively. In fact several of their kids were born there. This is common. Those of affluence here often fly to the U.S. to have their children so that they are U.S. citizens. Anecdotal piece of evidence that the United States is the greatest country on earth, not just in our eyes but in the eyes of the rest of the world as well.

Second question, not so hard. “We pay our own way,” I said. “We have some friends and family members who help out with the cost.” Now for the big one. “Why do you come here?” Five seconds awkward silence. “We are simply here to serve the Egyptian people, to serve these kids, to use what we know and believe to teach them about character, trust, perseverance, and so on.” Five more seconds awkward silence. Then all three expressed their deepest gratitude for our generosity and the work we are doing with their kids. “We see a huge difference in our children when they return from camp,” one mom said. I took a picture of these three moms (posted below), and they took a picture with me.

Many of the kids wanted to make sure their parents met their coaches. Throughout the day when a coach was spotted you could see the kid running up to their coach with their families (mom, dad, sisters, brothers) in tow. It was really fun to brag on the kid, how great they are doing in their sports major, how well they listen, and hard they try every day. The dads especially enjoyed hearing that some of their kids have leadership potential, that they jump in and help coaches keep things organized, translate English to Arabic (yes some of the kids don’t speak English very well). I met three or four families while around the pool area at dinner time. It’s an ego boost to have a kid dragging his or her parents over to meet you. They are very kind and deeply appreciative of the work we do with their children.

Part of the day includes a variety of activities for the families so they can get a taste for what camp is like. We open the climbing wall and zip line for all to try, and you wouldn’t believe how many moms and dads are so eager to give it a try. One mom, probably my age and my weight, climbed right up the wall like Spidey girl. We were all stunned at how quickly and fearlessly she got up there. Another got a few feet up and quickly demanded to be put back down. Chris, her belay, let her down gently and we all laughed together. One father and daughter (age 9) raced up the wall side-by-side. You’ll be shocked to hear the daughter won. One young man, age two, yes two years old, went up to the top by the stairs so he could go down the zip line. He suddenly and without notice announced that he had to pee. Brad and Brennen and the others said, “okay”. The short of the story is Brennen got Egyptian pee pee all over him. Yes, the kid peed on Brennen while he was trying to get the harness on him. It ran down his leg, which is where Brennen was with the harness, trying to get his little wet legs into the harness. BONUS: Kid with pee also moistened Brad O., who carried him off the zip line from the rickety ladder at the finish. Brad O carried him around his neck. I would have carried him like a puppy by the skin on the back of his neck.

Everyone on our team did a fantastic job all day, working together to make sure all of the camp’s and parents’ needs were met. Rebecca with help from Bailey led the babysitting while parents were busy in a “parent only” session about the camp. The ropes team kept the wall and zip line open an hour later than scheduled to make sure all parents and kids who wanted to could give it a try. And we all turned out for pool time, swimming with the kids. That was crazy time! I have never seen so many kids in one pool all playing together. Led by music an someone on a microphone, all 100+ kids splash at the same time. Tried to get that in photos below. We also had a cannon ball competition, American coaches against the Egyptian counselors. They say we lost, but no way. We have many more pounds than these skinny people over here. Ha!
We finished the day about 9:00 p.m. and Brad announced that there was no meeting and we had no more assignments, the evening was ours. None of us really knew what to do. Bunch of us gathered for an informal meeting anyway to chat about the day and share stories.

Quick funny story to close. Yesterday we were asked to move to a different room in their hotel because Barry broke the toilet (my assessment, not theirs). Nevertheless, the toilet plumbing was leaking through the floor and dripping from the ceiling in the dining hall below. New room is working well and comfortable, after we wiped down the shower with flushable wipes. There were many many strange and foreign black hairs of all length, straight and curly.


Enjoy the photos. See you in 4 or 5 days. Not sure exactly how to calculate that coming back. :)




Ken striking a pose. He and I haven't crossed
paths a lot, which is why he hasn't been in many
blog photos. Sorry about that Ken's family!



Brad telling Brennen to go wash teh two-year-old's
pee off of him.



Couches in our meeting/break space are new.
Chris, Justin, and Zack hogging them.



Lindsey and John, poolside for dinner.

Justin has quite a fan club forming in Egypt.

Moustafa, a fan of Justin's. He is also one of

our baseball kids. Good kid.

Hi mom and dad and gang! -- Zack and Nicole.

45 year old mom scaling the 50-foot

climbing wall.

My three mom's who were quizzing me about

our presence in Egypt. Think I passed. The

camp will continue.

Group of parents and siblings awaiting their

turns on the climbing wall.

Zack, 50-feet up, coaching a sibling up the wall.

Me with my new friend Hala, who helped me

referee two hours of capture the flag. This

activity is a whipping. Hot, kids don't want to

play. They stand there. I blow whistle to begin.

Nothing happens. "Dear God, deliver me from

this evil called capture the flag."

This is Hanna. I don't really know her very well,

but she looks just like my friend Barbie I grew

up with, so I took the picture to show Barbie.

Justin, Chris, Brad, and Barry playing with

kids in the pool. Actually, they are just sitting

there hoping the kids won't notice they are there

but they can still say they were in the pool as

expected.

Girls break out in dance to the music poolside.

The beach balls we packed were a huge hit.

Father with his son. This is popular

fashion here, capris with tube socks.

Picture for Brad's office back at the church.

That's our hotel in the background.

Ken, John, John Michael, Justin, and Zack

on pool duty.

Nicole playing with a few of the girls.

Chaos in the dessert. Barry, Brennen, Chris,

Brad O. attempting to dunk each other. I like

to steer clear of this activity.

Synchronized splashing.

More synchronized splashing with our people

covering all ports of entry. We don't know what

they put in their pool.

A lot of Egyptian kids in the pool. See?

Egyptian kids lining up and falling into the

pool like dominoes. Is that spelled with "e" or not?

Mohammed and Zezu (baseball kids).

Our cannon ball competition ringers.