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April 2013
Egypt Encouragers,
Thank you to so many of you who prayed for Reach Out's Egypt trip!
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Egyptian JFYM Forum Participants
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"The wind of the Spirit blows where it wills..." (John 3:8). That line has significant meaning for what happened on our "Egypt Adventure". The wind blows in Egypt! The wind blew on our first night at The Farm. After the 30+ leaders arrived at Hany Keylada's farm in the desert, we toured his olive and pomegranate trees, Bedouin-style house and the tents he had erected for sleeping. After an outdoor dinner, we conducted our first Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry session. Later, with all asleep, the wind began to blow. It blew over all of the tents with people inside! It blew sand through the house, food, speaker system--and our plans. Everything changed! The wind does that.
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1986--The First Gust--Friendship
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Hany Keylada
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Before the wind blew at The Farm that night, it had blown years ago in a different way. Hany, our leader in Egypt, had served as my interpreter on my first trip to Egypt in 1986 when he was 16, and he became my friend. That week set the trajectory of his life. Later, he came to America for medical school, married Suzie and sensed God's call back to Egypt. Over the years, he developed an extensive medical ministry, using it to share the gospel with Muslims. He has trained hundreds of para-medical First Responders who treat those injured in the protests. His Food Bank serves hundreds weekly. And Hany plays a key role with "the invisible church". Through our friendship, he became Reach Out's point person in Egypt in 2009. The wind of the Spirit blew in 1986 and has sustained a "kindred spirit" breeze for over 25 years. The wind does that. |
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2009--The Second Gust--The Farm
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A Bedouin man on Hany's farm
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The wind had blown three years ago to give Hany The Farm. A Bedouin family called him to come to the desert to see the unconscious chieftain. Hany examined him, changed his meds, prayed for him and left. Later the chieftain disappeared from his bed. His family found him walking around and doing well. They said Hany saved his life. In gratitude, they insisted on giving him the 15 acre farm, planting 7600 olive and pomegranatetrees and building a house. And several of those family members have come to know Jesus! The wind does that. |
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2013--The Third Gust--Jesus Encounters
In preparation for our trip, the wind blew again. We postponed our trip in September, 2012 due the Egypt revolution. At that time, Hany cut short his USA medical leave and returned to Egypt as a "reverse missionary", while 430 Egyptian Christian leaders left the country in one month. In spite of intensified conflict, the Lord clearly directed us to go to Egypt in March, or we might never have another opportunity. The wind of the Spirit blew us in the right direction. The wind does that.
The Spirit wind blew us into the lives of 30+ people ready to receive. As a group, we took a fresh look at Jesus. We challenged them to significantly change their lives and ministries by simply doing what Jesus did. Later, every person expressed to Hany that during our time together they had "over the top encounters with Jesus".
And individually, we had many "Jesus encounters" with so many of our new friends who
are surrounded by difficult circumstances...
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Gabriel
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With Gabriel, a biology teacher and 15 year veteran youth leader in the Catholic Church: He asked me to pray for him as he extends his ministry to other cities where he mobilizes teenagers to minister to and share Christ with needy Muslims. Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry gave him the benefit of a discipleship structure to extend his
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Iman
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ministry.
With Iman, a veteran youth ministry leader: He had sensed the Lord leading him to step out in faith into a unique ministry to teenage, 20- and 30-something widows, whose Muslim husbands have abandoned them and their children. He talked profusely about how much our time together had encouraged him. As we left he said, "Please don't forget me."
And we will not forget any of them. Already in April, Hany conducted JFYM coaching sessions in three cities. And he has asked us to come back in the fall--if the wind of the Spirit in Egypt blows that way...
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Jesus is Lord,
 
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