Friends Never Say Goodbye

I have to break the Eurotrip posts because I cannot wait to write this up. Many of my close friends are about to leave, or have plans to leave Dubai. One song will always come up, maybe to express what I want to say. Dubai is my home ... it really feels weird when I keep on seeing close friends coming and going. I learn from all ... but emotions? not handling too well.

I will really miss you all ... but friends NEVER say goodbye.



Friends Never Say Goodbye


Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Available on the soundtrack "The Road To El Dorado"



There isn't much I haven't shared
With you along the road
And through it all there'd always be
Tomorrow's episode
Suddenly that isn't true
There's another avenue
Beckoning the great divide
Ask no questions, take no side
Who's to say who's right or wrong
Whose course is braver run
Still we are, have always been
Will ever be as one

What is done has been done for the best
Though the mist in my eyes might suggest
Just a little confusion about what I'll lose
But if I started over I know I would choose
The same joy the same sadness each step of the way
That fought me and tought me that friends never say
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye

Suddenly that isn't true
There's another avenue
Beckoning, the great divide
I would choose
The same joy the same sadness each step of the way
That fought me and taught me that friends never say
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye

Day 9 to 12: Working Wachau Style

Day 9

8:30 I leave my room, head down to the lobby to catch Sabine and her friend Robert waiting for me in his black BMW 318i. We were off to Wachau!

Wachau is basically an area outside Vienna that goes down a river (Danube I think?), covering a lot of historical sights as well as interesting landscapes. We were supposed to catch a boat that goes through every single interesting stop, however when we went there, it was not operational during winter! So we get into the car, and start touring on our own.

One of the interesting things I saw during my quick visit to Krems (first stop in Wachau), is the level marker they have placed by the wall of one of the buildings, showing where the flood of 2002 have reached … and boy it was HIGH! I was shocked because the river is really low from where I stood, and to reach this level it must have caused a lot of damage and havoc. What is good is that no lives were lost.

Another interesting thing is going to see the prison where Richard the Lionheart was held for in. We had to go up over 300 steps that is basically made from the mountain rocks, so it is not uniform, very steep, and very slippery as it was drizzling a bit. Although very dangerous, the moment we reached the summit, I was shocked. Even though the weather sucked for photography or even sightseeing, clouds and overcast all over, but it was still breathtaking! You could see for many miles ahead, and you can see the vineyards and the houses and churches, and across the river … it was semi-magical! Going down turned out to be the hard part! When Lionheart was released, he donated a lot of money to make a huge and very luxurious church in the village underneath his prison. That is also worth going to … its blue and can be seen from anywhere around!

All this mountain climbing, had to be complemented with a meal! :) The guys took me out to a nice restaurant where I had another Austrian dish (don’t ask me what is it .. but it was roasted pork) and some white wine. They have really good white wine. What followed this is some (sleep?) cruise that ended us in a Heuriger, a place serving wine and chillaxing food  :) Some AppleStruddel (another crazy dessert they have) washed down with red wine … I needed sleep!

And I got that once I got back … slept at 8 pm that day … and then woke up 12 am to eat a toblerone ( I WAS STARVING) and then slept again to morning!


Day 10

Work Work Work … low pressure on first day, but it definitely isn’t an easy thing to be working with your boss’s boss’s team :) It was time of some planning, and it was difficult communicating with my team while being there. However the guys were welcoming, and it was finally great to see the faces of all the voices I keep on communicating with for the past 8 months.

Wolfgang, Sabine’s manager and our marketing manager for CEMA, took me to his place for a quiet dinner … then more sleep!

Day 11

Work Work Work … more pressure, I had to deal with issues with a bid that I am heavily part of. Met with boss to discuss our situation in MEEP. Part of the things that I love about that office is the fact they have their own restaurant/kitchen … and you can have a decent meal for a very good price. I also finally met the lady that serves coffee every morning on a trolley … Wolfgang usually would stop a conference call for 1 minute as he gets a coffee from the lady … another landmark I had to visit! Their coffee is very weak though …

Met Nevine again that night … where I finally bought the famous MozartKuglen … the round dark chocolate balls with Mozart on the wrapper :) A tradition in our office to get back a lot of it, and I had to buy a lot more for friends and family. I knew I had to carry over 5 kgs extra as carry-ons during my next flights .. YIKES!

We then go to Turkish restaurant, where I finally reunite with my favorite Turkish  disk: Iskandar Kebab/Shawerma --- oh MAMA! Basically beef shawerma (strips) in yoghurt and sauce lying on a bed of bread. Yoghurt was a bit sour, but it was great! I can’t say I slept well the night … but I had to have that dish!

I had to say my goodbyes to Nevine and her brother (who joined us with his best friend) … she made my stay over there feel a lot more at home, then I imagined it would be. God is great!

Day 12

Work Work Work … last day at work over there! Even more pressure … discussions but I am finally leaving – I just wanna go back home! It was a nice time with the guys, but I miss my team and my friends :)

We went out at night with the team for another Austrian dish (don’t ask names! But it had beef bits with an egg on it :)) Said good bye to everyone … and had to run back to prepare my bags for a 6am flight … my final destination in my EuroTrip 2005!

Day 7 & 8: Sore feet in Wien!

Day 7

Vienna is a magical city. The old Vienna is small, so did not need a lot of time to understand where to go and what to do. I started with the Stephansdom Cathedral, the landmark that could be seen from all around old Vienna, the north to those lost in the midst of a glorious city. Stunning from the outside; magical from the inside! Outside, hundreds of sculptures are carved in the building. Sadly, it is covered by something black, believed to be soot and car fumes, and since it was high some idiots decided to advertise on the scaffolding around the towers.

I can’t really describe my feelings inside the cathedral, but it was just as if I have been taken back a couple hundreds of years. I will not even describe it; whoever is reading this should go and see it.

I went on and started visiting landmarks. Following a great guide book, that I will recommend to anyone traveling ANYWHERE. It is by a group called Eyewitness, and they cover many cities. Very comprehensive and easy to read, this book made my sightseeing in Vienna bliss!

After this quick commercial break: So I started visting all these landmarks, but I had in mind that my aim is to cover all churches in the book. I will skip many days forward and say that that was an impossible task! The city have tens of churches, maybe even a hundred! All of them have artwork, sculptures, relief, and grand musical instruments. From the Karl Kirchen (pronounced Keer-khen), and Mara Am Gestade Kirchen to smaller ones like Dominakan Kirchen, they are all magical! The level of details found in each church is beyond belief and definitely beyond words! All I can say, with all these churches I am surprised that people have lost touch with Jesus. If I lived there, I would spend a full day in each church, probably having the most inspiring meditations and quiet times in my life.

In one of the churches, Scotten Kirchen (Scottish Church – another grand one!), I stepped into what apparently was a rehearsal of some concert. The acoustics of their churches are superb! The music was … out of this world. I just sat there for over 30 minutes, just listening. That was a blessing from God, as I did not have time to attend any of the classical concerts that they had over the weekend, so this was my only experience with their music.

I thought I would finish the Stephansdom quarter and also the Hofburg quarter in the first day but boy was I wrong! I couldn’t even get to finish the Stephansdom quarter. In terms of physical area, I did not cover much … but I couldn’t help myself from admiring each stop for a long time.

I stopped my tours at around 5, where I headed back to the hotel to soak my feet in hot water as I could not walk anymore! During November, Vienna gets dark by 5 maximum, so it was a good time for me to go back. I soaked up for around half an hour before getting ready to meet Niveen, Morris’s friend in Vienna. She picked me up, along with a couple of other chicks (hooray! ;) ) and we went off to do a little more sightseeing, before dinner. I did not have the heart to tell them that my feet were killing me, so I just walked (. We also met Niveen’s brother, Amgad.

Niveen is a sweet soul who practically took care of me during my Viennese (Wiener?) stay. She works for a security company (OSE?), but to make it easier on other folks, she just says she works in the UN ( Amgad, still a university student, pays his bills being a party planner. He is friendly, and cool and has a funky … hmmm its not really an afro … but its just a lot of hair (

We go to this Italian restaurant, where we have pizza and then just head back home/ As one of Niveen’s friends (forgot her name by now ( ) says: “In Vienna we do two things, we eat and we sleep: now we are done with the time to eat, it is then time to sleep!” Although a very primitive wisdom, yet it became the highlight of my trip – eat and sleep (

So I go back (home?) to the hotel, to just crash. Next day? Not sure, was thinking Salzburg …but since my GPS is down, and no chance to rent a car, I ended somewhere else!

Day 8

So I decide to go to the Schunbrunn Palace ( It is a little bit outside old Vienna, and required that I take the metro for the first time. I also planned to go to church, but was not able to locate it, so I just went directly from there to the Schunbrunn. The tour inside was impressive. They also give you a free audio guide to listen to, which makes your life easier, and will let you walk and absorb the beauty at your own pace.

The interior tour was lovely, especially the paintings. The history involved also with the palace was remarkable, so if you are going to Vienna, don’t miss out. At the beginning when I entered, I was disappointed, as they have painted the whole palace to a modern yellow color, however inside the true history is preserved.

The highlight of the trip to the Schonbrunn however was walking through the gardens and large land behind the palace. It was “winter” time so many things were closed, but there are AMAZING fountains and sculptures all over. The fountain that made my day, was the Nepture fountain. It was so beautiful, I cant remember how many times I clicked my camera trying to get it from every angle!

The whole Schunbrunn took me more than two hours, which, although not enough, yet was beyond the time I have set for it. It was time for me to go back to old Vienna, to continue with my tour. I stop in an area known for many other churches that I had to visit, but ended getting lost and reaching the Maria Am Gestade Kirchen. I haven’t visited it on the first day, so it was lovely seeing it. It was as magnificent as all the rest … however it began to rain. I mean, the two days before were cloudy all day, and although I find that grim, but the rain was when I decided that I could not hold the smile any longer, so I just pulled my heavy feet behind me to find a restaurant I can find shelter in. I haven’t had a single thing to eat all day, so when I found this “mama\s” restaurant across my hotel, I was happy! I ate some Austrian dish (don’t ask me what, because I just pointed and they got it for me () It was home cooked pork and it was super. I vowed that during my stay I would try to eat only Austrian food/ I broke that vow four times, once in Starbucks on first day, 2nd in the Italian restaurant the night before, and the rest will follow (

Met Niveen, and went to attend asheya (midnight praise I think) in our church, somewhere far far away (you need to take metro to Kagran and then a bus). That is when I felt homesick … and it hit me hard. I wanted to sms my friends, and tell them about my homesickness, but I kept it in. I wanted to distance myself from my friends during this trip. I do not know why, but it was a mixture of letting go of many negative feelings I had, as well as a break from everything and everybody I see everyday. I think that was a mistake that I carried on with until the last day of the EuroTrip.

I felt homesick because I missed my friends. All my best friends, the people who I care about, my parents, my sister and brother, my church, St Stephen … the asheya I attended was bad, and it just reminded me of how cozy my church was. I wanted to go back …

After asheya, Niveen’s dad takes me, Niveen and a couple of her friends (two new girls, still highschool … again I forgot their names) out to a mall to have dinner. They were a great bunch, with whom I had so much fun during our Burger King dinner (aha! Third time!). We go and have palatasdweqe, an Austrian dessert, which is notihing more than a crepe with the stuffing you like .

We all went our ways … and I went back to the hotel. Tomorrow … I have a crazy day!.

Day 6 - Vienna Timetable

5:00 am – wake up
5:15 am – wake Samuel up
5:30 am – start the car
5:50 am – we reach airport
5:55 am – cargo bag on belt for security clearance
6:05 am – still fighting with security guy to get a USB cable “security cleared” using a “special test”
6:10 am – finally checked in, muttering curses at German security, leaving my penknife and checking my USB cable for issues!
6:15 am – Still in line for onboard bags security clearance
6:20 am – in line to get my camera security cleared (and my binoculars but not my laptop!)
6:30 am – still muttering more curses on my way to board the plane
6:45 am – first flight towards Vienna on Air Berlin
7:10 am – first flight lands in Numberg after a quick sandwich and water
7:30 am – second flight takes off to Vienna. Bigger plane, more leg space in an economy class than any other airline I have ever been in!
9:45 am – Landed in Vienna with another sandwich (
10:15 am  - taxi takes me to Mercure Wien City in HollandStrasse for 30 Euros! Damn expensive country.
10:30am – inside my room, and getting ready to sleep
12:30 pm – I wake up and connect to the Internet to reach Sabine and let her know I am in Vienna
4:00 pm – I leave the hotel and start walking around the Stephansdom (the most amazing catherdral I have seen yet! And also the center of old Vienna)
6:00 pm – I am back in the hotel
6:30 pm - Sabine (ThinkPad Brand Manager for Central Europe) is waiting for me in the lobby. She looks a lot younger than I imagined her to be. However, she confirmed what Hashem said: Viennese are very TALL people (
7:00 pm – We are in Figmuller – the restaurant the serves the best Wiener Shnitzel (basically pork bouftek! :D).
8:30 pm – We go to a coffee/tea place. We have fruity tea :D Very nice.
9:30 pm – She drives me to the hotel (she parked her car in parking across IBM building, so we walk till there)
10:00 pm – I watch Legally Blonde 2 (felt like watching a movie … would like to start sightseeing tom!)
11:30 pm – ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz … dreaming of the crazy sightseeing tom!

Day 5 - Fishless sleep? Sleepless Fish?

I wake up after 1 and half hours of sleep (I should have just stayed up!), and had to wake poor Samuel up at the same time to give me a lift to Big Samuel’s place to meet up with Morris and Sayedna. Freezing cold (getting used to it now ( ) we jump into the car and zoom to the other side of town, where we were greeted with loads of food on the table, that we no one touched!

After negotiations whether to make it to Stuttgart by car or by train, we end up taking the car for exactly 1 km before deciding that the train will be more convenient. Typical Egyptian ( So small Sam drops us to the train station where we get tickets for the fast train (ICE reaching speeds of 250km/hr and beyond). Tickets were really expensive being at 140 Euros for the three of us … one way! Anyways, that done we wait for the train drinking some coffee and chatting to make sure we are alive and awake.

Train comes, no place to sit … we should have reserved spots the night before. We find Sayedna a place to sit (and sleep) while we stand outside the cabin, close to a stinking bathroom … and just started talking. It was practically the first time after the airport pickup that Morris and I get to actually talk and have an intellectual discussion. He was a bit bothered about the reaction Sayedna has regarding the level of service in Germany, in which he holds Morris partly responsible. I had to agree with Morris that, sometimes we all get this reaction from Sayedna, because he is holding us responsible to the level of service in our respective areas.

He is holding us responsible, us who have felt and seen God’s wondrous work when we dedicated part of our time serving Him in Africa. I don’t blame him … and I actually take it as a new starting point for our service. If we do not continue the work, who will? The work of the Lord. I am not saying this being pompous about it, but rather being humbled by the fact that my life lacked the love needed to serve the people I know. There is no pride in service …there is no level of achievement to pursue … there is no reason to even to boast about previous outcomes, which were purely God’s work. Loving those whom God loves (everyone!) makes more sense than any other work in the world. My earthly job pays me really good, gets me a lot of prestige and high level of experience, and definitely something that I enjoy doing. Although I fulfill my responsibilities and even go beyond that, there is something else about serving God … that takes up your whole heart, and your life … even if you are leading a working life. This is a challenge on its own in this world, to learn the actual balance of work and Work: I take work as nothing else but means to pay for my personal expenses related to Work. That is a very difficult concept, that even I find difficult maintaining … but it is what I would like to achieve. My life is the Lord’s … not work, not friends, not even service as an action … my life is Love.

So we reach Stuttgart, where continue to carry Sayedna’s ten million plastic bags (actually poor Morris carried most of it!), and then head outside to wait for the character that made my day (and probably the others too), a very miserable day. Mr. Fish (no real names involved ;) ) picked us up with his new car, took us to the 4th underground level where he had his private parking, and took us up to his posh office in a prime location in the city, overlooking a nice looking clock tower. Sayedna was here in Stuttgart to visit many Germans who contributed and are willing to contribute to the new Hope Centre in Kenya, to help out with HIV that is killing more people than ever imagined. Mr. Fish is a very influential person with a lot of good contacts, who usually tries in his own way to help Sayedna find sponsors for this service. However, the way he spoke and the way he tried dealing with different matters, looking down at Morris as being incompetent and challenging him in every way possible, and at the end he just simply got on our nerves.

We had to stay there the whole day (

So our rounds of visiting friends (kind sponsors) of Hope Centre began, where Sayedna left them a box of fancy chocos as a small gift for their contributions. That was the easy part. The rides from and to these places were the nerve wracking bit. Without mentioning a lot of detail, Mr. Fish was involved in organization of a super massive Euro youth convention that housed more than 800 youths from the whole continent. That event was apparently a big flop, with little spiritual gain, and with big immoral incident happening. As expected, Mr. Fish started throwing the blame on everything else, but the fact that it might have been a bit TOO BIG to handle. He continued to show off about all the preparations involved, and how beautiful it was (not what I heard from the youth) etc. With a lot more local church politics involved, he continued to bother Morris the whole time, and I was just … quiet and not interested, but rather getting agitated for wasted time as well as for Morris. I could feel him burning up more and more, with everything that our slippery friend was mentioning. This was heightened by the fact that we were tired and lacked a lot of sleep.

The day came to a grateful end at around 4pm (from 9 am!), where took the train back. We were supposed to get some sleep … however: Since I forgot something in Mr. Fish’s car, I had to run back and get it. Coming back to the train, I hear the bells ringing announcing that they will close the doors, so I jump into the first carriage, thinking that all carriages are linked … nope! Morris and Sayedna were in a totally different section … and we had a problem: only one ticket gets printed (with the value of three tickets), and Morris had it. If I was in an English speaking country, I would have reasoned with the conductor, but since German is not a favorite language at the moment, I had to go hide in the bathroom until I can get to Morris. Halfway, I find out that I had the ticket in my pocket! Uh-oh! So I go outside and wait for the only stop between Stuttgart and Frankfurt, before I run and join Morris and Sayedna, who were worried that they will have to pay again for a ticket + fine ( So yeah … no sleep there!

We get to church, were there was a general meeting with Sayedna with the whole of the Frankfurt congregation (I thought it was only the youth!). It was a nice wa3za (sermon), but I continued to fall asleep in many parts. They asked me to do taranim for the prayer session before the sermon, and it was miserable as I had nothing to do taranim from, and their knowledge of Arabic praise is restricted to what the older generation knows and got to transfer to the younger ones; basically not my day (

A long and very strong prayer session followed, which sadly I slept throughout. Then I just gathered myself and asked Samuel to drop me back home. I know he wanted to be with Sayedna, but I couldn’t stay up any longer … and to think I had a flight to catch at 6 am the next day!

EuroTrip is about to move to Vienna …

Day 4 – God is good; we sing and shout it!

My final two days in Frankfurt (  We decided that we would definitely go to the Coptic monastery during the day and then chill in Frankfurt, before meeting Sayedna Anba Bolous (Bishop Paul – Bishop of Mission Affairs) who is passing by after a long convention in UK. However plan did not quite work out:

In Day 3, after the prayer meeting, Johnny & Remon became Samuel’s guests at home. It was their last night in Frankfurt before flying back. So we agreed that some of us will go to the convention when we woke up. However, time dragged its two little feet, and we ended up staying home waiting for different things to happen such as Peter Khalil to pick up the refugees as well as errands that Samuel needed to do around the house. I found it to be the perfect time to sit down, chillax, go online and chat with some of my friends (even a notorious voice conversation over msn which the whole house held against me for the day!!) and just chitchat.

It was early evening when Samuel took me to the monastery, and that was a blast! The monastery felt modern from outside (compared to the ones in Egypt!) but when you step inside, you feel like you stepped into one of the really old, and traditional Coptic churches, with the wall painted with stories from the Bible, as well as the wooden benches, the Coptic art all over and the blessed bodies of some of our Coptic saints. We went into the altar and it was just the continuation of the authentic Coptic feel; three altars, and the paintings … everything. We stayed there to pray for a long time, probably half an hour … I did not want to leave.

I remember that when Amy got back from her Egyptian trip, I felt jealous and a tid bit sad. With my military situation I cannot enter Egypt for a certain amount of time, still to be decided by God. It is not like I miss Egypt as a country, but one of the three things I miss a lot is the monasteries and the churches over there. When I step into one in Egypt, I feel I became part of a great history that engulfs the place. I feel like I want to spend some time there to just sit and meditate on God and His wonders. I felt miserable that day. However, God, always being merciful and gracious, found a way for me to step into that feeling again, without risking my life in Egypt ;) It was amazing, something I will not forget.

The visit included a small chapel as well, that had the same features as the main church. Overall, if we did not have to run that day to catch  Anba Boulous, I would have loved to stay there for the night.

So we run back to get a couple of Samuel’s friends from the station and then head to Samuel’s house (the other Samuel, who was the second culprit of the glass mess we had in our convention ( ). There, Saydena was talking about commitment to service. Apparently, he was not too happy with the level of service in Germany. It was a day all the people who were there, bowed and asked for forgiveness for their lack of commitment. I felt no different than these guys. I had a lot to confess and ask forgiveness to, especially my laziness and lack of solid commitment to widen the Lord’s reach in Dubai.  A humbling prayer session followed. Much needed.

So, OK … after a lot of KFC (I seem to be eating that a lot in Germany!) and more chitchat, we decide to go back home. Saydena invited me to go with him and Morris to Stuttgart the next day – to leave at like 6 am! It was already 2:30 when we finished. I slept at 4 that day – for only an hour an half.

After visiting Stuttgart, I regretted I did not sleep more and missed that trip … :-D

Day 3 - Kanaan & Cuban Pizza

Samuel had to go to university, so we dressed up and he dropped me to Peter Khalil's place (his cousin, who I also got to know in Zambia/Congo trip last August). Peter had two convention "refugees" staying over; Johnny and Remon. Basically the convention gathered youth from all over Germany and Johnny and Remon were just the case: Johnny from Berlin and Remon ... hmm i just hear its a far place :)

The plan was to go meet Morris, who also housed other refugees, and go to Kanaan: an evangelical nuns monastary. Gathering in Peter's Golf, we go meet the Morris clan at the airport (where I also got my Frankfurt/Vienna trip sorted out) and we drive off to Daarmstudt. This is where Morris is staying and apparently where Kanaan and other stuff are.

We pass by his university first, where get good home made food for pretty cheap and also where I get to learn some German. The language bothered me - everyone spoke it and sometimes it was the only language they spoke, so I had to at least be able to communicate if I need to. So I ended up memorizing the numbers from 0 to 12, and the general greetings - especially "Please take me to Frankfurt Airport" :)

We then stop at beautiful looking church (which I have no more info about except that it was good looking) that was closed and under construction but had a lot of engravings and was surrounded by a great setting ... something I deifintely do not see back in the Arab world.

Egyptians are Egyptians - no matter where you go, so we ended up going to Kanaan around 3 hours later than expected :D Ahh I can't complain - I wanted to chill out and just relax but I was just interested to see that Egyptian genes can never be change or "outmutated".

Kanaan is one of the most amazing places I have been to recently, and definitely so far in Germany. Formed by sisters ages ago, it is now a large area of land that is made to look like Canaan - the promised land. We attended the 3pm prayers, which was a remembrance of Christ's suffering. It was so beautiful, the sisters sang it with pure passion and humility. After that we took the great tour of the place. Through tunnels with stops for prayers and meditation, then through a lot of green land with different stops like Mount Tabor (the mount where Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ happened), a fountain with seven taps symoblizing different names of the Father, and definitely the most amazing part: a journey through Passion of Christ - from Gethsemane to Resurrection, with different stops that included engravings that tell the story of the stop along with a leaflets for meditation and prayer. This place is definitely by far the best Quiet Time place. You can go there and jsut forget you were there for like 3 or 4 hours! After the sunset, we went and got ourselves a lot of books from the bookshop, that included Arabic books (and all other languages possible) including Those Who Love Him, which Samuel got me many copies of as a gift to our youth group.

From there we went to Havana, a pizza place where all pizza is for 3 Euro, which was great. We talked and joked around, definitely nice. Then we went to Morris's place for a prayer meeting or a bible study whichever happens :D However, it took us a lot of time to get ourselves from watching God Father and browsing the net, to actually sit down and pray. It's like the devil couldn't stand the fact we were gathered to do so. However, it happened and we sat down and prayed for a very long time.

If there is one thing I can say about the German group: They have a lot of zeal to be with Christ in prayer and meditation. Some of them are highly committed to service around Germany (and neighbouring countries). I feel that God wants to use Germany as a centerpoint to all mission activities in those countries. They just need a lot of prayers, its definitely not easy. I am quite embarassed at my own attitude to service when I see these guys trying their best to have everyone know God.

I am praying for them.

Traveller's Log: EuroTrip 2005 - Frankfurt - Day 1 & 2 - The Convention

Starting your trip running around for the perfect bag, for the right clothes and for your unfinished visa is definitely not the best start to a trip ...but it is definitely the price you pay for procrastination :)

I hated packing ... or it was more like being anxious to what comes next. I felt like I was leaving my home for good this time ... I felt like I wanted to leave for good. So when I finally got my visa, my upgraded business class ticket and the complimentary orange juice ... I nearly broke down into heavy tears.

DAY 1 & 2 - The convention of broken plates

After an uneventful (thank God!) 7 hour trip, I landed in Frankfurt International Airport at 6pm local time. I faced no problems getting out of the airport but since my plane arrived around an hour early I ended waiting for Samuel (my friend from Africa) and his friend (my new one) Morris ... the ever famous Morris of Sayedna's (Bishop Paul) adventures in Europe ... in a McDonalds that served bacon as its primary meal! horray! We then took the rented black Merc ML320 for a 2 hour trip to where they were having their convention. It was very dark and unfamiliar. I knew only 4 people in total ... and the other 20 + were friendly yet not risking trying to get the know the new stranger. It was felt a bit lonely ... yet I was not here for the people ... I was here to meet God again.

It was a bit too late to join the convention, but it was still a great blessing. I needed to get out of Dubai ... get away from everything that kept on bothering me, and just be with God for a while. Even though I ended up sleeping late (in addition to the fact I havent slept the night before and had a long trip (9 hours in total)) ... I still slept soundly and woke up feeling good.

Had my first quiet time in ages ... a proper one. It felt good ... sitting down on a cold log, on a cold German morning. Liturgy was then held in the one of the mess halls, where it was conducted in Arabic, English, German and Coptic making it a revival to the Kenyan spirit that I always longed for.

One of the funny events that happened in this Liturgy, was that when Bishop Angelos (a bishop from England, who was leading the youth conference) was giving us the Body and Blood, Morris and another person were trying to help by getting one of the cabinets found in the corner so Sayedna can place the plate on it. Suddenly we hear a loud CRAAAAAAAAASH, as dozens of plates fell from the cabinet onto the cold ceramic floor creating the biggest glass mess I have seen in my life! I couldnt stop laughing for sometime and it was quite an embarrasment for Morris and his friend .. but it woke us up at least! :)

A long breakfast followed, then the last wa3za (sermon) was given by Bishop Angelos about what to do with the renewed knowledge of God's love. It was a much needed sermon for me ... a gentle reminder for a cold heart. After many long breaks - we decided to end the mo2tamar and go back home. Another long drive back, this time in Samuel's crammed Opel hatchback. He is one of the friendliest people I know - always looking out for my comfort. Actually even though to my pampered self, it was a bit too cold and a bit lonely (since everyone spoke in German), Samuel & his brother Chris made this trip for me, especially the 2 days of the convention. I enjoyed his company throughout. Morris came in a close second ;) I can't say that I blamed the Germans - I am a stranger after all:)

We end up in St Mark's Church in Frankfurt, waiting for the rest of the convoy to come. Apparently the youth leaders were to sit with Sayedna for final words of wisdom and encouragement. Their spirit caused me to feel jealous and embarassed at laziness that I lead in my service. Samuel and Morris are always thinking about what to do next, never feeling satisfied with what was achieved and always making sure that the youth gets to know God better and more. Something to take back with me.

Although it was not late (in German standards - which was 3 hours later than Dubai - esp with DST starting the day i arrived), I was dead and could not help myself sleeping during the bishop's final words. Ikept on hearing amazing encouragments but could not hold my head up high for long enough to get a coherent sentence. Pity! We said goodbye to sayedna, getting a promise that this time when he stops in Dubai, transiting to Australia (his homeland), he will stop for longer than the usual 4 hours ... to bless our youth and church with his energy.

Sleeping came so easy that day ... I wanted to get to know the Germans a bit more ...maybe tomorrow


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