Egypt was a life changing experience for me. I have traveled around the world to over 40 countries and have seen oppressed and impoverished people. Somehow this trip was different. It seemed like the Lord had let me see these people like He sees them. I not only saw but felt their desperation, their spiritual hunger and their hope for a better tomorrow. Egyptians are a friendly gracious people who showed me sacrificial hospitality as a visitor to their country and in their homes.
Three encounters will be forever imbedded in my memory of Egypt. The first vivid memory occurred as three members of my team and I visited a home (shack) of a family living on the garbage mountain in the district of Helwan. We met with them, asked questions and then prayed for them. As we were leaving this family who had absolutely nothing offered each of us a bottle of coca-cola. This was probably the most precious thing in their home and yet they offered it to us. They do not even have clean drinking water for themselves. They gave even though they were in great need. How often have I ever given like that? Most of the time, I give from my abundance. The second vivid memory came as we were finishing a visit with a Sudanese family and the very grateful mother was in tears. She told us that she probably had not cried in six years. When was the last time I had tears of gratefulness running down my cheeks? The third vivid memory came as we entered an Evangelical Christian Church in the impoverished Delta area. Just by paying a little attention to the children a spontaneous prayer meeting broke out. One woman, a stranger to me, brought me her eight year old son and said, "Please take my son back with you. I give him to you." This mother, like all mothers, only wanted one thing for her children; an opportunity for a better life. She was willing to sacrifice her own feelings and future memories with her son for a hope of a better life and opportunity for him. Scripture states, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." (Luke 12:48) I look at the resources that God has given me from a much different viewpoint now than before this trip. As I stated at the beginning, Egypt was a life changing experience for me.
Joseph R Podraza
Back to Burundi 2007
