Well! I have finally discovered the wonders of wireless internet at local coffee shops. So here i am ready to update and present you all with lots of pictures (i hope!). Let me just say right now i am laughing at myself because i am so short and the tables here are so high...i really have to strain to type. I also just met two American-born (egyptian decent) guys here that are in medical school. We talked for a long time and they were telling me about the education system here and their experience as dual-citizens between the two countries. Really interesting stuff. It is very different here - people come up to you and talk all the time, it's the norm. It makes you realize how cold and self-absorbed Americans are. There are always friends to be made here in egypt :)

This week I spent my time doing medical screenings for Sudanese refugee children. At present, Americans (and probably all other foreigners) can not get visas granted to them to enter Sudan. However, there greatest amount of refugees are here in Egypt. It is really a heartbreaking situation. Due to pressures from the USA and the UN, the Egyptian government has to allow them to enter the country. But really, the buck stops there. Egyptians don't recognize the Sudanese at all. It is illegal for them to work, for their children to go to public schools, etc... So what ends up happening is that they live in extreme utter poverty. The money is made by begging, which is difficult b/c Egyptians wont look at them, let alone give them money. The children go to school b/c of NGO's, non-profits and religious organizations that fund the building and maintaining of refugee schools. These schools are where we held the screenings. Each kid get a uniform provided, or in some cases they have to save up for one. Since they arent members of society here, they are not seen by doctors, nor do they recieve any other health services. So the care we provided was the first some of these children have ever recieved in their lives. Some of the very small ones were born here in Egypt as refugees, but most of them fled here - carrying the very sharp and fresh memory of the awful killings in their country.

My job was basically to do a full screening...blood pressures, eyes, ears, nose, throat, heart/lungs, neurologic checks, scoliosis screenings, extremeties, skin, etc... Some problems were the average pediatric illnesses (asthma, heart murmurs, etc...) but so many were crippled, cross-eyed, and bore scars on their bodies from machetes, bullets, knives, etc.. And they have no place to go. It is the most heartbreaking thing. After the few hours they are in school they go "home" to a room where there is no running water or electricity, and there are sometimes 10 to a room. Some of them are here as children, without their families. Some don't know where their families are. There was fear in their eyes. Some screamed and ran for their lives at the first sign of touch, probably crippled from memories of attacks and violence that our minds and eyes will be fortunate enough to probably never witness. It also makes you feel so convicted for the things we complain about.

Probably the thing that my heart hurt for the most was the realization that these children did nothing to deserve this. It's not their fault that they were caught in the middle of a war. It's not their parents fault that they have nothing left. They left one nightmare to be launched directly into another. All they know is the feeling of being hated, worthless and disposable. And it seemed like such an honor to be able to introduce them to Love. Some of the ones i just sat and held and hugged and paid attention to. I want to keep returning to the school and working with the kids. The few classrooms they had were smaller than my bedroom, and held about 30 kids each. I kept thinking about all my selfish dreams...about what an honor it would be and how distinguished i would feel holding my fancy position with UNICEF or being some world-renown physician. After this week i realized i've had it all wrong all along. And that in my heart I know I will never feel more honored than what i've felt being able to be with these children. Between being here, and spending the time at the orphanage in Assuit - i feel like i am coming to understand why the heart of God beats so strongly for the widows and the orphans. For the destitute and the helpless. For the suffering and the poor. These are the beautiful people...these are the simple that will someday confound the wise. These are the people described in the beatitudes...the pure in heart, the poor in spirit, etc.. This week as i saw these kids i kept hearing God speak the beatitudes to me as i asked to see these kids through His eyes. I do not want to leave here yet. I am not ready, and there is more work to be done.

In other news...I started learning Arabic here with a tutor. The sessions are 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. So it's pretty intense i hope to make fast strides. Being here really helps, and having all of our wonderful egyptian friends also helps!! This week it is back to the normal schedule of clinic, office work, book club, etc... It never gets boring here. Today we visited the famous citadel and had a blast! I am beginning to feel more and more at home. Keep me in your prayers as i am trying to order my next steps properly (for life in general). Many are my plans, but i want to hear what it is God would have me do.

Okay, time to cross my fingers and hope that pictures upload quickly!! I've heard people say that they can't comment or that the page doesn't load? I have no real skill with this whole blogging thing, so i'll just have to send my appologies and hope you still find a way to read and correspond with me anyway.

Love,
Nicole

Hi!
It seems like forever since i've written - i'm sorry! I just want to say that i am having such a phenomenal time here...i am starting to get sad that i have to leave in 8 weeks!! The 5 of us girls travelled down to upper egypt (yes, the southern part of egypt is called 'upper'....something to do with the way the Nile flows) to spend Christmas weekend at an orphanage. They celebrate Christmas here (the few christians there are) on Jan 7th. It was *such* a wonderful 3 days. We spent time with all the kids/widows and gave out gifts to each one. There were over 500 presents that went out, each individualized! We visited each age group and did a whole "program" for them - we told the christmas story, played games, sang songs, gave them snacks, and prayed with them. It was so wonderful, they were all so special. We even got to spend time with the widows and elderly women which was a new type of experience for me. Leslie dressed up as santa! We got to watch their Christmas eve play, and attended church with them on Christmas morning. Sleeping at the orphanage was also a fun experience (it was a little 'Nacho Libre'..!). Moody and David's parents live on site (they run the primary boys program) and so on Saturday night they had a hugeeee dinner for the 5 of us, duane and shirley, and 2 other girls who used to work here that were visiting from the states. It was really fun and yummy! The drive was also pretty incredible...5 hours of just desert. It was actually pretty beautiful. The police here are really funny. Upper Egypt has more fundamentalists and is a little more unstable, so after a certain point we needed police escorts in order to be on the road (so we're driving with police cars in front, behind, and on the side of us). It's just funny because i wouldn't trust egyptian police with a bebe gun, but they are soooo serious about what they do. It's just all very entertaining. They have police checks on the road every so often as well. When they see the car with 5 american women, it's a huge ordeal. They all flag us down like the earth is about to end, then they alllll come flooding out to see. At one stop they even brought out chairs! Then one by one, they stick their head in the car and go "Amrika???" in a very serious tone. we say yes. that one turns to others and says "Amrika!" and they all seriously nod their heads. then someone else sticks their head in and looks for a while and goes "fiiiivee???" and it's like "yes, there are five of us." then they all stick their heads in and debate and have a big fancy pow-wow to definately decide there are five of us, then they come back in and say a very serious "five!" (incase we were unsure, i suppose). And then they made sure you know to go "this way" as the all point straight ahead. Mind you, there's one road that goes through the desert. there was no other option but up (and we weren't planning on launching into space) but they made it seem like they had just given us the golden nugget of wisdom. Really funny...and to make it worse this happens about ever half hour :-) Just part of the excitement here in egypt! This week we are working at a medical clinic for Sudanese refugee children - it is awesome and i love it! And we've started our arabic tutoring 2 hours each day 5 days a week. Me and my roomate Jenny joined Leslie and Kayla's gym...so hopefully between all our walking and the gym ("gym") i wont gain any weight from all the yummy egyptian food (eh, who i am kidding...all the peanut butter and jelly). I have an album from the orphanage posted - please check it out! I will write more after the medical screenings are all over. the days here are exhausting but they are spent with the most amazing people in this most special place. Due to the sensitive nature of the country, i can't really talk much publically about the details of some things, but if you would like to hear some more "meaningful" stories, please email me @ LdyNicole9@yahoo.com and i'd love to talk with you!
Till next time,
Nicole <3 href="(http://community.webshots/ldynicole9">http://community.webshots/ldynicole9 )

ps- Right now three of us are watching the season finale of 24 (season one). Why hadn't i seen this show sooner!??! i am so hooked.
pps- i found an old copy of Food & Wine Magazine at the gym and decided that some day I want to attend the Food & Wine Festival in Aspen, CO. Any takers? And i also met a girl who backpacked through Europe last summer and after hearing her stories I am determind to do the same, somehow.
ppps- I think it would be fun to be an ambassador...or atleast the wife of one. they have it good here :)

Happy New Year!!!!
I hope all of you back home had a wonderful time celebrating the start of 2007. It's been a great few days here. Since it is the holiday (the Eid) these last few days, things have been slow and we've had some downtime to spend exploring all sort of places here in Egypt. David took us into Giza one night and we visited his friends (their baby is that cute little guy in the picture below), and we picked up Moody and had Thai food for dinner (which made me think of you, Lauren!). For New Years Eve, Jen, Kayla, Leslie and I went downtown and had dinner on the Nile River. It's soooooo awesome there at night. It's pretty much the "it" place to be. At times it is so surreal just driving along the Nile or seeing the pyramids as you drive down the road. Too cool. Especially when you stop and think of all the history that these landmarks have. It is amazing. Funny thing...as the 4 of us were watching a movie on new years eve, we realized this was the second new years we'd spent together! We were all in Kentucky last year at the world missions summit, ringing in the new year together with thousands of other young people. Who would have known we'd be here a year later?? Pretty cool! Then on new years day we drove about an hour and a half to Miriam's house and her mother made us the most incredibly HUGE meal. Including....pigeons! Boiled pigeons with the heads still attached. Ha! Well, you know me..i'm always up for an adventure so i ate it with much excitement. It was no thanksgiving turkey, but it wasn't all that bad! So as you are all walking the streets of Manhattan, think of me when you see a pigeon ;) Tonight Miriam took the 3 of us girls to get our hair cut. So i now have shorter hair and threaded eyebrows...complements of egypt! It is really exciting to experience acclamating to a new culture.

We've also been doing some work at the clinic while it is closed to for the holidays. We cleaned out the big closet and organized all of the supplies. There were some unexpected surprises (rats) but big brave nicole chiseled the dead one out of the wood shelf that it had stuck itself too. Not a pleasant smell...but hey, anyone remember the poop flood on the Olean missions trip? :) Today we were in the office doing some paperwork and sending out newsletters, getting things ready for sunday school, etc... On Friday we are driving about 5 hours south to spend 3 days at the orphanage...egyptian Christmas is on Jan 7th so we will be there to give all the kids presents in the morning. Then we'll be back late on the 7th, and the 8th-11th is the Sudanese clinic. So busy times ahead!!

I am having trouble uploading pictures right now. Hopefully when the internet man comes (this week we are hoping!) and speeds up the connection i can get more. I only got the first set to load...the rest are on my website (link on the right).

Happy new year, everyone! I miss you and i pray abundant blessings on each of you and your families in 2007.

Love,
Nicole



driving across the Nile on the way to Giza

me w/baby Andrea

me, leslie, and our new boyfriend ;)

more dead animals for the Eid

Moody and his chocolate bagel...on the way to eat more food!

the exam room at the clinic

reading club

at the christmas party we had at our apt

moody, miriam and david playing with their new homemade scarves.

leslie, miriam and kayla w/their christmas presents!












me with some of the girls at the reading club we have at the clinic.





this is the area that the clinic is in.

Kayla and Leslie....and egyptian food!












Well guys, it's the Eid! I hear the butcher outside killing all the animals as a sacrifice to Allah. The Eid Al-Adha is a holiday period that means Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims around the world at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Sunni muslims begin the celebration today (which i suppose all of the people around me are) and Shiites start celebrating tomorrow. Sadaam Hussein was a Sunni muslim, so i think there was some controversy about when they were going to execute him - since you aren't supposed to hold executions on holy days. Not sure how they worked that all out.


Alright, just wanted to put some pictures up here. It's saturday morning here. Last me and Miriam (our egyptian friend) slept over Leslie and Kayla's apartment. So we're just having some tea and cookies for breakfast and hanging out. Hopefully today we'll be able to go do some local shopping - Lauren, i'll keep an eye out for things that remind me of you! ;) All the girls here knit...so i'm going to go to the yarn store today and get myself started also! So everyone be awaiting egyptian scarves when i get home! haha. I'm thinking of joining the local gym...the girls belong and it sounds like fun. It's no Synergy, but atleast it's something produtive :)





till next time,


Nicole <3

my first coffee in Egypt!! pretty, isn't it? :)

Today I went to church here in Egypt for the first time. It's a big international church where everything is in English, so it was easy to understand and really cool to meet people from literally all over the world! Here is the website if you'd like to check it out: http://www.maadichurch.com/ This is the church that is sponsoring a team from the US that i'll be working with for a week in January. We will be doing health screenings for over 2,000 sudanese refugee children. None of them have ever even been seen by a doctor! It is crazy to imagine how much people don't have. And how much we do have, that we take for granted. The whole Darfur issue has been something i've really had a heart for, so i am thrilled to be able to help out even in the slightest bit. I met three Egyptians today that are around my age...their names are Moody and David (they are brothers) and a girl named Miriam. They are all really great! We also took a trip to the clinic today and held the reading/book club for the little girls. The area the clinic serves is sooo poor. But yet they are so friendly and loving. It's so sad to see how these people live - the children dont go to school and age 10 they don't even know the letters of the alphabet! so the reading club works with them to get them reading and writing. This weekend we will be cleaning out the clinic to get it ready to reopen next week. We had a Christmas party tonight for the clinic staff, and again i got to spend some time with all the wonderful people i will be working with. I am truly blessed to have such a great group here. Us 4 girls (me, Kayla, Leslie and Miriam) are sitting here watching Nacho Libre - reminds me of what i'd be doing at home with my friends! Aw, i miss everyone. But i am really enjoying it here so far. There are animals everywhere! Tomorrow morning the slaughters start, and i am very happy that i wont have to hear the giant moose outside my window anymore. Has anyone ever heard a moose? Not a pleasant sound. Oh! We also watched Madagascar today while we had dessert at the christmas party. I had never seen it before - it was hilarious! Alright, i will leave you all with some pictures and then hopefully be in touch soon. I pray all is well with everyone back home and that you have a fun-filled new years eve celebration!!!

Love,

Nicole

....i don't know why that coffee picture loaded and i can't load the rest. i'm sure it's just a glitch in the high quality internet connection i've got here in the middle of nowhere...butttt, i was able to load them all on here: http://community.webshots.com/user/ldynicole9 When the connection is better maybe i can post some on here. but this will have to do for now :) Enjoy....comment! i love getting feedback :)

Hi!

So here I am in Egypt. It's pretty exciting :) I got in with no problems, i somehow even got bumped up to first class so it was a verrrrry nice ride over. Complete with a fun stop in Switzerland and plently of Swiss chocolate purchases ;)

At the airport I was looking for the one lady Jennifer that i've been assigned to work with...and i found her along with two other girls my age that have been here since August. They are great and i'm so glad they are here. They live across the street from me, and then i will be living with Jennifer and another girl Jen (2 jens!) who is flying in next week. So really there will be the 5 of us, which should actually be pretty fun. Last night the four of us went out to dinner at a more "American" kind of restaurant (i'm kind of embarassed to admit my first Egyptian meal was a cheeseburger and fries, but oh well!) and then Kayla and Leslie (the two girls from Texas) and I went to get some coffee from a local coffee shop. The area here is really nice, there are a lot of westerners here. The city of Cairo itself is pretty dirty and crowded and chaotic...leaves much to be desired. But, it has a charm within itself and i'm sure that with time i will come to love it. Today we ventured out into the shopping centre, and I got some stuff I needed at the Cairo equivalent of Walmart. We also shopped for Christmas gifts for the 70 or so girls at the orphanage we will be working with. Tonight we're going to have a "wrapping party" at our apartment and just spend the night watching movies and wrapping all the gifts. Egyptians celebrate Christmas on January 7th (i think it's the 7th...) so we still have some time. There is also a major holiday coming up next week where lots of places shut down and everyone makes animal sacrifices. They say you can see the animal blood in the streets...hmm....i'll have to keep my eyes out for them!

Well that's the plan for today. Right now i'm in the girls apartment using their wireless, since the DSL at my/jen/jen's place hasn't been hooked up yet. Hopefully sometime this week. We'll see! Keep your fingers crossed. Apparently things are not timely here. Tomorrow we're going to go to the clinic and have the girls book club. The medical part of the clinic is closed this week in observance of all these holidays. Then we're having a Christmas party at our place for all the people that work at the clinic. I will start taking pictures...i didn't know i'd have wireless acess so i didn't really take a whole lot yet. Next post, i promise! I hope all is well with everyone back home...continue to write me - i love hearing from everyone! Pray that i don't get too homesick. Hopefully having such a great group of girls around me will help keep it at bay.

Love,
Nicole

Merry Christmas!! :) I hope you all had a wonderful day with loved ones.

I leave for the airport in a few hours...i can't believe how fast the time has flown by! I am still not ready, i have to pick up some stuff tomorrow morning before I head out. At times, I was regretting leaving right after Christmas, because there's so much going on - it's a really hectic time to try and get everything together to go overseas for a while. On the other hand, it's been such a blessing. This past week I've been able to see pretty much all of my wonderful family and friends right before i leave, and have really gotten a chance to reflect and be thankful for the awesome people I've been blessed to have in my life. I also graduated college this week - another crazy thing to throw into the mix! It was a nice ceremony, and they even surprised me with a special award for doing "outstanding humantarian work". My wonderful advisor/favorite professor (Hi Professor Cuff-Plante! :-) ) was behind it - she is too much. What a wonderful lady...she really influenced me and taught me a whole lot! It was sad to say goodbye to all the great people i've been around for the past 2 years...but thank goodness for email and all these high-tech ways of keeping in touch!

I better get back to my packing. To be honest, i'm starting to get a little bit of the butterflies in my tummy. It's overwhelming to think of the task put before me, and the prospect of being alone and away from the people and places i am so accustomed to. Thinking about it makes me feel really small. How can what i'm doing make a difference? I'm just one person. A young person, at that. But then yesterday morning at church, Jess sang the christmas carol(song?) "Little Drummer Boy" and for the first time ever, i really thought about the meaning behind the song. There you have this little child, who is being told to come see the new King and to bring him great and fancy gifts. But as he's approaching, he admits that he's just a poor boy, he's got nothing of monetary value to give that is fit to present to a King. In comparison to what others have done or given, he is coming empty handed. He did, however, have his drum with him. So he asked if he could play the drum for the King, and the song says "I played my drum for Him...I played my best for Him". He was able to honor the King with what he had, this little child did what he could to the best of his abilities with the talent he was given - and it was pleasing to the King. And i guess in some way i realized I (all of us!) can be like that little boy. Maybe I don't have my MD degree yet, maybe i don't have all the money in the world or all the fancy connections, etc... but what I do have, and what I can do, I'm going to give. And that's all that's really asked of any of us. That's what pleases the heart of God...when we take what we have been given and just willingly give it back, no matter how grand or small our own eyes and mind perceive it to be. So, long story short, i've made up my mind to "play my best for Him" these next few months... I would encourage you all to do the same with whatever is set before you :)

Alright, now time to *really* get back to packing! :) I am going to miss all of you very much - it was great seeing so many of you this week! Once i'm all connected in Cairo I will give you an update.

Love,
Nicole

Getting Started!

Hi everyone!!

I've decided to set up one of these blogs to keep you all posted on my journeys this upcoming year. Please check back often and keep in touch! I love hearing from all of you :)

Grace and Peace,
Nicole
( LdyNicole9@yahoo.com )