Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo

The rest of my group went to the Egyptian Museum - I went to ETSC. (When I planned this excursion, we had a free 1/2 day in Cairo; when I got to Egypt that had changed, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet my Presbyterian brothers and sisters here.) I was greeted warmly by the entire staff and got an amazing tour of the Seminary, which has 200 students from several countries as well as Egypt. I met a students from Sudan and Iraq and was told there is one from Korea.

It was such a pleasure to meet these folks. Here's a shot of me with the President, Rev. Dr. Atef Gendy, who was simply delightful. I was blessed to meet such faithful people striving to provide an authentic Christian witness in a predominantly Muslim country. This is not without challenges, but I have found Egyptians - Christians and Muslims - to be willing and able to share their views openly, which is a plus.

I spent quite a while with Wageeh Mikhail who is the Missional Theologian working on developing a center to promote Interfaith Relations. He is an Egyptian national who spent five years in the States before returning to work in Egypt. An articulate and interesting man, Wageeh was very clear about the challenges and blessings that exist in his society.

I'm sorry that I missed the Egyptian Museum, but I had a wonderful time and want to thank Dr. Atef and Wageeh and Rev. Dusty and Mariam and Rami (he's in the photo in the chapel and gave me the tour of the facility) for their hospitality!