Sunday, June 19, 2022

Egypt -- Jim & Donna's Excellent Adventures, Pt.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Nekheila Church in Asyut is the oldest Wesleyan Standard Church in Egypt. It was established a little over 100 years ago by the Standard Church of Canada, which merged with the Wesleyan Church some time later. It was the Centennial of the establishment of this church in Asyut that we were originally asked to attend as representatives of Houghton Wesleyan Church. The appearance of Covid-19 on the world stage, of course, delayed the celebration, and then the Omicron variant prevented us from traveling when the official celebration went ahead last December.

    Please note from these pictures that the facilities look newer than 100. That is because the original building was torn down and replaced with a modern facility just prior to its Centennial. Government regulations would have prevented this congregation from replacing or extensively renovating the old church building once it reached 100 years, and the old structure was inadequate. 

    The platform area and the floor is constructed of several varieties of domestic stone, quarried just a bit further south in Egypt. Stone is generally a cooler and more durable building material than other, perhaps more traditional, building materials.

    In these photographs, our teammate Chandra is giving a testimony and her husband, Matt, is preaching. Pastor Kamal, Superintendent of the Egyptian District of the Wesleyan Church is translating, as he did in Badr City and at his own church the night following.

    You may also note the keyboard/synthesizer that was expertly used by a worship leader in all services we attended. Fans, like the one pictured near Chandra's head, kept air circulating, and screens on both sides of the platform projected words to the songs we were singing. As the worship leader shifted from one song to another, a young woman at a computer located the song file and kept pace with the verses as needed.

 
 

    Usually, too, the worship band included a guitarist and a drummer using a small electronic kit.

    As I have stated elsewhere, I was constantly amazed at how uplifting these times of worship were despite our inability to comprehend Arabic. We experienced the same sense of fellowship and presence of the Holy Spirit we had felt in Korea where the language barrier for us was absolute.

    Here, too, the music was loud, but it did have the benefit of drowning out noise from the outdoor PA system that crackled to life to irritate and compete with the worship service.

    At the conclusion of the service we were led to the door, where we shook hands with nearly everyone in attendance. We were told "welcome" or "thank you for coming" even from the most timid. Several of the children circled back to shake our hands twice.

The man in the tie is Pastor Bashir. Following the service we were taken upstairs to his home for dinner and to meet his family.  His wife, Iness, was "great with child" so we felt badly that she and her daughters had had to host North American visitors who, having eaten at 4:30 that afternoon, were not all that hungry at 9:30.

    Pastor Bashir's oldest son, the worship leader, spoke excellent English. He expressed gratitude that we were able to attend the service, noting especially our participation in the worship songs he was leading.

    As had become our routine we headed back quite late to our rooms. We were escorted around Asyut by a police car, which we had thought would end once we arrived in the city. Driving rapidly through the streets of Asyut reminded me of late night driving in China, shifting from side to side, finding openings, avoiding various small vehicles, families on scooters, farmers on wagons or tractors, VW bus-taxi vans. But for the flashing lights and the siren we might not have noticed the differences.

    Then we found our boat on the Nile, our room, and immediate undisturbed sleep.


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