Weekend to Beat

This has easily been one of the best weekends of 2011. Granted, there've only been seven so far, but this one has been phenomenal. Here's why:

1. This past Friday night was the C2 Ministry's annual Valentine's Day Social. It was LEGIT. The guys decorated the student center for all the ladies and made desserts as well. Then we treated them to some hilarious videos/skits and some meaningful poetry.

Then came the dance party.

Ada and Me

Your V-Day DJ

Whitnee and Me

The party was off the chain and was then followed by the obligatory late-night trip to "casa de waffles". The perfect ending to the best V-Day social ever. 

2. The following morning, I went to my cousin's swim meet at UT's new aquatic center. There was a crazy amount of people - way more than I expected for a high school swimming meet. Turns out it was the state competition and therefore pretty serious. My cousin did well and it was great to get to see him.

3. After the swim meet, four of us went to a local nursing home to visit with the residents. I'll be honest. Before we got there, I wasn't too excited about it. I always get a little nervous before these things because I'm afraid I'll do something stupid or just not know what to say. This was not the case this time around. It was fantastic. 

Most of the epicness of the venture to the nursing home was getting to meet this fine lady, Geneva. 

She was full of joy and rich stories. She told us tales of her illness that led to her permanent residence in the nursing home, her experience with the Holy Spirit, her daily routines in the nursing home, and some of the tales of her youth. They were all completely fascinating and left the heart and ears wanting more. 

Ms. Geneva

Ms. Geneva was a joy to meet. I saw her again just today as a friend and I went to take her flowers for V-Day, but she was fast asleep in her afternoon nap probably dreaming of being back on her farm with her family. 

Finally, my weekend ended with two more bits of awesomeness.

4. For those of you who don't know, I broke my foot about 4 weeks ago while playing racquetball. While the break was not so bad, the crutches and pain of limping around everywhere certainly was. I mention all of this to say that today, since the weather was incredible, I decided to give some outdoor physical activity a try and headed to the tennis courts. My friend Daniel and I tore it up - well... I don't know if you could say we "tore it up", but we had fun at least. We played for over two hours: just hitting, practicing serving, and then finally a few games.

I can't accurately put into words how much I love playing tennis. It really is one of my favorite things to do - it gets me so pumped up. I feel physically better after playing and I'm always in a better mood post-tennis.

5. Last, but certainly not least, my community group met for the first time tonight and it was awesome. I'm "leading" an all-guys group. I say it like that because I know that this is going to be a great group of strong Christians brothers that is going to be led by all of us. There were only four of us tonight but we're already a solid group. We talked about our goals for the group and we're already off to a great start. I'm really, really excited to see what God is going to do through this group of guys.

So that's it! The best weekend of the 0-1-1 so far, son! 

Egypt

A few days ago, one of my friends asked me if I had seen or heard about what was going on in Egypt. At the time, I was completely oblivious to what was happening. So, I decided to get myself caught up on it yesterday and then decided that I would post a blog with the basic info about what is going on. The main point of this blog is to be a more specific prayer list so we can lift up the Egyptian people in a real way.


Here's some basic info about what's going on. I'm quoting straight from the NYT's info page on Egypt:


Basic Info on Current Events

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, erupted in mass protests in January 2011 that have brought the 29-year regime of President Hosni Mubarak to an apparent end, with his announcement on Feb. 1 that he would not run for re-election.

The protests began on a Tuesday, Jan. 25, growing in strength with tens of thousands of people gathering to demand that Mr. Mubarak to step down. The government quickly banned all demonstrations, but on Wednesday the protesters returned in gathering numbers and clashed with the police in cities across the country despite curfews.

Control of the streets cycled through a dizzying succession of stages. After an all-out war against hundreds of thousands of protesters on the night of Jan. 28, the legions of black-clad security police officers — a reviled paramilitary force focused on upholding the state — withdrew from the biggest cities. After the jails were opened, looters smashed store windows and ravaged shopping malls as police stations and the national party headquarters burned through the night, creating an atmosphere that protesters said would justify a crackdown.

The uprising had come about with virtually no leadership, as angry young people used cellphones and social media to coordinate the first protests.Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate and a leading critic of the Mubarak government, returned to his homeland and called on the president to step aside for a new “national unity government.”

US Involvement/Response 

President Obama increased the pressure on Mr. Mubarak, warning that violence against protesters could lead to the loss of the billions Egypt receives in American aid. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States government stood ready to help "with a transition.'' Yet neither Mr. Obama nor Mrs. Clinton specifically called on Mr. Mubarak to step down.

But Mr. Mubarak's [announcement to not run in the upcoming elections] was rejected as insufficient by demonstrators, and Mr. Obama strongly suggested that it was not enough, declaring that an “orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.”

Mr. Mubarak 

Mr. Mubarak has been in office since the assassination of Anwar el-Sadat on Oct. 16, 1981. Until the recent unrest, he had firmly resisted calls to name a successor. He had also successfully negotiated complicated issues of regional security, solidified a relationship with Washington, maintained cool but correct ties with Israel and sharply suppressed Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism — along with dissent in general.

Egypt - Background 

Egypt is a heavyweight in Middle East diplomacy, in part because of its peace treaty with Israel, and as a key ally of the United States. The country, often the fulcrum on which currents in the region turn, also has one of the largest and most sophisticated security forces in the Middle East.

The grievances are economic, social, historic and deeply personal. Egyptians often speak of their dignity, which many said has been wounded by Mr. Mubarak’s monopoly on power, his iron-fisted approach to security and corruption that has been allowed to fester. Even government allies and insiders have been quick to acknowledge that the protesters have legitimate grievances that need to be addressed.

In the last few years, Egypt has struggled through a seemingly endless series of crises and setbacks.The sinking of a ferry left 1,000 mostly poor Egyptians lost at sea, an uncontrollable fire gutted the historic Parliament building, terrorists attacked Sinai resorts, labor strikes affected nearly every sector of the work force and sectarian-tinged violence erupted.

The Protests 

Nearly every day in 2010, workers of nearly every sector staged protests, chanting demands outside Parliament during daylight and laying out bedrolls along the pavement at night. The government and its allies have been unable to silence the workers, who are angry about a range of issues, including low salaries. From 2004 to 2008 alone, about 1.7 million workers have engaged in 1,900 strikes and other forms of protest, demanding everything from wage increases to job security in state-owned industries that were privatized.

At least six young Egyptians have set themselves on fire in recent weeks, in an imitation of the self-immolation that set off the Tunisian unrest. Egypt has forbidden gas stations to sell to people not in cars and placed security agents wielding fire extinguishers outside government offices.

The Emergency Law 

The government has maintained what it calls an Emergency Law, passed first in 1981 to combat terrorism after former President Anwar el-Sadat was assassinated. The law allows police to arrest people without charge, detain prisoners indefinitely, limit freedom of expression and assembly, and maintain a special security court. In 2010, the government promised that it would only use the law to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, but terrorism was defined so broadly as to render that promise largely meaningless, according to human rights activists and political prisoners.

To sum up, there is a lot of history that goes into the current tension in Egypt, but perhaps most of the immediate problems are manifested in the current social and economical statuses of the country's citizens. Below I have compiled a prayer list of people/topics that, gathering from the news, could use our immediate prayer.


Mr. Mubarak - the current president of Egypt

• that he would hear the cries of his country and seek socio-economic peace between the government and its people
• that he would allow the other leaders of the Egyptian government to step in and answer the calls of the people
• that he would seek to install a governmental system free from corruption and unnecessary political suppression

The citizens of Egypt

• that they would seek peaceful negotiations with the government and cease to fight physically and self-destructively
• that God would intervene in the lives of prominent citizens and allow them to work in the central Egyptian communities to further facilitate peace in this time of transition
• that God would provide them with a leader that will treat them with equality, respect and love

Other

• that God would raise up a leader in the country of Egypt to lead this people group into a time of social, economical, and religious peace during which the Egyptian people will come to know Him
• that Egypt will become a nation for God

***For a more comprehensive prayer list, check out Ramez Atallah's post - Ramez Atallah is the general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt***

The Portland, OR Adventure: Planning Stage

A few months ago, I saw on Donald Miller's website that he would be hosting "The Storyline Conference" in his hometown of Portland, OR. At the time, I simply thought that it would be really cool to go. Now, I'm thinking I will go.

My friend Stephanie and I are huge fans of Donald Miller's writing and so we've decided to take advantage of this opportunity and head up to Portland and listen to one of our favorite author's thoughts on living out a storyline that will make a difference, not just for ourselves and for those who are in need, but ultimately for the glory of God.

Last night we made our plans. Since we're going to go all the way to Portland, we might as well make the most of it. So, to start off, we're going to take an Amtrak train from Memphis, TN all the way to Portland, OR. Sure, we're looking at a 55 hour train ride, but a train ride cross-country? There's the selling point. There's no telling what beautiful countryside we'll get to see as we go through the midwest, then we'll definitely be passing through the mountains as we make our way up to Oregon. I'm pumped about it. 

The northwest is one of my favorite areas in the United States. I've been to Washington state before, and loved every minute of it. It's easily one of the most beautiful parts of the world. So take that, throw in a road trip with a friend, add in a 2 day conference with Donald Miller, and you've got the best trip of the summer. I can't wait.

So after planning and consulting the magic eight ball concerning Stephanie's likeliness of dying on the plane ride home, we decided to cross the line of no return and start making definite plans. To make things even more promising, upon waking up this morning, I had a text from Stephanie - she had been @-replied on twitter from Donald Miller himself! It was completely legit, and our sign that our trip to Portland is now part of our destiny. Now if I can only get him to @-reply me... (a personal goal of mine).

Anyway, I'll be sure to document our trip via photos, blogs, notes, etc. when the time comes. For now, we wait in anticipation for an amazing adventure.