egypt!

Resonate Global Missions hosted a conference for the Middle East and East and South Africa teams in Luxor, Egypt this year! I had such an amazing time with some very special people! in Egypt! Friendships and memories are hard to describe to people who asked how my trip was. Explaining the history Luxor holds is much easier. But how can you tell about the impact a person had on your life to someone who wasn't present? These friends are different than the ones made with neighbors or classmates. TCK friendships are created with the intention of lasting time apart but not knowing how long that absence will be. We did not waste our time together! We were together every spare minute - playing games, eating, chatting, making bracelets (yes, even the teenage boys were making friendship bracelets), going for ice cream, shopping... TCKs have a lot of similar values and, even though our experiences may be different, we find ways to relate to each other. Our lives could not be more different from each other, but our similarities and lives in Africa hold us together. 

I mentioned above that Luxor holds a tremendous amount of history. Luxor - the ancient city of Thebes - claims 48% of the worlds historical sights (that's almost half!). Due to the remarkably small amount of rain this area receives, much of the buildings, paintings, and carving are still intact. The leader of our conference has studied ancient Egyptian culture and religion. He did a remarkable job connecting what we saw to passages Moses wrote in the Bible. I learned so much! (there is going to be a lot of details, so hang tight)

Welcome to the streets of Luxor, Egypt! 

Our first day of sight-seeing began with Karnak Temple. This temple covers approximately 200 acres! Karnak claims the title of largest religious building ever created. 

The enterance of the temple was lined with sphinx; they are know to be the gaurdians of the soul. 

(photo credits to a friend)

A "small" temple within the main temple.

This hall had enormous, beautiful pillars. It is hard to capture the beauty in a photo!

(photo credits to a friend) 

Statue of a god in the shape of a cross. 

The following day was long and hot. We were very tired after this day, but how often are you in Egypt?! We started by visiting the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile. The East Bank (where Karnak Temple is loacted) is the side of life and light since the sun rises in the East. However, following the sun, the West Bank is the side of death and darkness. The Valley of the Kings lies in the midst of an amazing desert mountain. 63 tombs have been discovered in this valley. Because of the many tomb robbers targeting pyramids, Pharoahs hoped that being buried in an unmarked grave in a valley would protect their tomb from being robbed. However, out of the 63 tombs only King Tut's tomb was discovered with all it's treasure. We learned that the Pharaohs put more attention and effort into preparing their tomb than they did for their palace. Their tombs had tunnels and hallways leading to a big, open room. All the walls and ceilings were elaborately painted and carved, displaying messages, stories of what happened during their lifetime, and pictures of the gods. 

King Tut's mummy is still in his tomb, but his coffin, head piece, and all the treasure have been removed from the tomb. His tomb is smaller than the others because he was not a very important king and he died very young at the age of 18. The picture above on the right shows a priest adorned with lepord's skin touching the lips of Pharoah with coal. They believed this cleansed their lips and allowed them to speak to the gods and on the gods' behalf. In Exodus 4 God is sending Moses to Egypt to free the Isrealites. 4:10 Moses explains he is not qualified to speak for God to Pharoah. Some believe Moses is referring to this Egyptian custom, saying his lips have not been cleansed. 

The sun was so bright and the white sand did not help! 

The walls of the tombs.

Next we visited an Alabaster company. The alabaster is found in the mountains surrounding the Valley of the Kings. A lot of time and effort go into making the beautiful jars and bowls. It was no surprise that everything in the shop was expensive!

The older man on the left is known as Mr. Wooooow! I'm pretty sure those were the only two English words he knew :)

We then visted Habu Temple. 

In the scene above, Pharoah (on the left) is smiting his enemies; the dark text to the right of his hat says "with a mighty hand and an outsretched arm". The smiting scene is very popular in temples, dislaying Pharoah's mighty power. There are several Bible passages - 25 to be exact - that quote this phrase. In Exodus 3 God refernces this when He is commanding Moses to speak to Pharoah. God says He will use a "mighty hand" to compel Pharah to free the Isrealites and He will "stretch out His hand" to strike the Egyptians. Moses, being taught is Egypt, would have known these references well. This was a direct threat to Pharoah's power. Psalm 136:10-12 says "to him who struck down the first born of Egypt and brought Isreal out from among them with a might hand and an outstretched arm." Again, displaying God's power, authority and might. 

Just next to Habu Temple was the remains of a palace. It had a lot of hallways that dead-ended into small room. The cool thing about the palace were the inscription on every doorway. We also got to see the throne room, which was surprisingly small. 

Our last stop for the day was the Rameseum. It belonged to Rameses II. Some believe he was the Pharoah during the Isrealite exodus. This temple was not a popular tourist attration like the other temples; our group was the only one there. 

The only sphinx with the head of a jackal.

The head and shoulders of the statue of Rameses II which fell during a great earthquake around the time Jesus was crucified. Some think the earthquake that shook the earth when Jesus died is the very one which shook this statue. 

The Tree of Life. 

This is a common scene is temples. This particluar carving, however, is the only one in which Pharoah is writing his name. 

Grain storage next to the temple. These are not the ones built under Joseph, but those would have looked similar. 

Tombs of nobles on the side of the mountain. We did not visit these tombs, but were told that inside the walls are filled with painting of everyday life. 

Thursday evening we had communion in boats on the Nile River. (It was cool for me to be at the end of the Nile. I have been at the source of the Nile in Uganda many times. I can now say I have visited the end as well!)

We remembered the blood Jesus shed while floating on the very water which was turned to blood during the 10 plagues.

The remians of a worker village. 

There is a lot of tombs in Egypt and each on is elaborately painted! The descent to these tombs was much steeper than those at the Valley of the Kings. Only six people were allowed in the tomb at a time. These tombs had short narrow tunnels leading to a small room with a low ceiling. It was very tight. In the pictures abover, Anubis is standing over the deceased. He is the god of mummification and the after life. 

This seen, found in a tomb, depicts the well know passage in Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you... he will crush your head, and you will stike his heel." 

The picture above shows the god Orisis as a mummy standing in between two halves of an animal. There are several theories as to what this means. This scene imitates what Abram experienced in Genesis 15 while making a covenant with God. 

The temple at the edge of the worker village.

This temple had a stariway leading to the roof. 

The judgement scene where the Pharoah's heart (left) is weighed on a scale against the feather of Ma'at or peace (right). Pharoah's responsibility during his life was to keep peace and order in the land. Whether or not Pharoah succeeded in keeping the peace determined whether or not he went into the afterlife. The god of the wisdom, judgement, and death - Thoth - is depicted on the right of this scene. 

Alright enough history. Here are some pictures from everyday life. 

The El Souke was a covered market selling Egyptian trinkets, clothes, jewelery, and spices. 

Because we were in Egypt during ramadan, everything was open and busy at night. 

We enjoyed taking the horse carriages around Luxor. They were called Ferarris :)

(I was surprised how many donkeys and horses occupied the streets)

Spices for sale 

(I have no idea what this is but it was my favorite colour)

Produce for sale

Fresh bread

The amazing group of teens and our leaders! We went out for rolled ice cream or McDonalds every night! It was so special to reconnect with old friends and make new ones! Each one of you holds a special place in my heart! 

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Ancient Egypt was blinded by false religion and carried the burden of worshipping countless gods. Presently, much of Egypt is enslaved by Islam. In a land existing since the days of Abraham, the people of Egypt have had countless encounters with the Gospel. The land of Egypt plays an important role in Biblical history, mainly serving as a haven for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. However, like Bethlehem, Egypt did not recognize how important their little visitor was. God can, and will, use anyone to carry out His plan even if they don't realize it. This truth is such an encouragement for today. Our world is so, so broken; we are victims of sin, disease, death, wars, selfishness, lies... As Christians, we hold onto the promises of God that He is still working and has good in store for those who trust in Him. I am thankful that the church is growing in Egypt and that we had the opportunity to worship with Egyptian Christians on Easter Sunday. I eagerly wait for the day when every nation will bow before the Lord of Lords.