Bill Gates At Coptic Hope Center

Last Monday, Bishop Paul, one of two Coptic orthodox general bishops here in Africa, told us that Bill Gates was coming for a visit to the Coptic Hope Center here at the hospital. At first we thought he was joking, but when he showed up and began making preparations for the visit, we realized that we were going to get to meet one of the richest men in the world!

He arrived at the Coptic hospital at 8:30 sharp along with his secretaries, photographers and body guards. His day was planned out by the minute. He went to the Hope Center first, which was the main purpose of his visit. He was intrigued by the 6,300 HIV positive patients that were diagnosed and treated here at Coptic Hope Center and wanted to come evaluate our successes and challenges. He carefully reviewed our many success stories and evaluated all those who became victims to the disease. He gave us much encouragement on the work that is being done and promised to come back again! It was both a pleasure and an honor to meet him-and very strange that out of all the places in the world, we would meet him here :)
May God continue to bless His church, hospital and mission work here always.

A Memorial For Our Beloved Pope Shenouda III 1923-2012

The sad news of the death of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III came to us while we were in a youth retreat, on March 18, 2012.  At first, we were all in denial, we did not want to believe that our church, our people and the rest of the world, just parted ways with the teacher of generations, our beloved angel H.H Pope Shenouda III. We let reality sink in, which took quite a while, and returned home to prepare for a memorial in his honor. The expectation was that the love of His Holiness has reached many here in Zambia, one country among many across the world—and we were correct. Within a few hours of the spread of the news, officials from the Zambian government, the Egyptian embassy, and the United States Embassy and the bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church came to offer condolences to us here at St. Mark’s Coptic Church.

Members of the Zambian, Eritrean, Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox church also came to mourn his death. It was a day of unbearable grief, but also filled with personal memories, jokes and sermons of His Holiness that eased our sorrows. We are all certain that our beloved Pope is now in the bosom of The Father in The Heavenly Jerusalem, but we could not and still cannot fill the void that he has left in our hearts. His blessed teachings and over 100 books will remain with us to comfort us and guide us on the right path. Among his many sermons, one of them truly comforted our hearts that day and will continued to strengthen our faith. His Holiness was contemplating on the verse in “Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the ages” (Matthew 28:20) In this sermon, he assured us the Lord Jesus promised and will not relent. He rose from the dead, to show us that He has overcome death and we have nothing to fear any longer. He appeared to His disciples and numerous other people and returned their faith once more, and gave them strength through the pouring upon them of His Holy Spirit. He established His church to spread the Christian faith all over the world. Finally, He promised that He would be with us unto the end of ages and return again to take us unto Himself. We will continue to live on the hope of the promise of our fathers that was passed down through the ages, and specifically to us through His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. We know that our Lord Jesus will provide another shepherd to lead His people. We will continue to pray that His Holiness’ life become a beautiful example for all of us to follow and may his prayers continue to be raised up on our behalf in front of the throne of God always. Amen.

In Prison

Three weeks ago, we started a service that I don't think I can ever stop again--here in Africa or when we get back home. We went with one of the deacons to visit the two major prisons here in Lusaka. At first, I was hesitant and actually a bit afraid to go. I didn't know what to expect but I finally reminded myself of the Lord's words "I was in prison and you visited Me" (Matt 25:36) and was convinced that I would see the Lord face-to-face...and I did, I really did. We walked into the prison expecting to see different buildings with inmates cells..and we did, except those cells were empty and all the prisoners were outside in a communal area ready for worship. They began with singing songs and then awaited for one of us to share the word of God with them. When I say singing, don't let your mind go to any church meeting or Sunday school class. Their voices shook the prison walls and everyone in that little town knew when it was time for worship at the prison.

Every face we saw, every word the prisoners said, we felt the love in their hearts, towards us (people they've never met before) and more importantly towards the Lord Jesus. Everything they did, they did with passion. In their singing, they were fiery, in their prayers they were consistent, and those who could read (or afford a bible) had one in their hand. They all sat quietly as we shared the word of God (reminder: these are a group of thieves, murderers and rapist) but in looking at the change in their lives (while in prison anyways) you would never have guessed they are criminals. Every time we go, we remind them that this time was granted by God for them to repent and become better people and in this time, they will find blessings.

When we left the first prison two weeks ago, we didn't feel that God really has spoken through us (talk about faith :/ ) but God wanted to prove His promises never fail, in spite of the weakness of our faith. He said, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-12) and his promises are true. We were doing some shopping at the near-by grocery store and a gentleman stopped Fady in one of the Isles and said to him "You probably do not remember me, but I remember you from the time you can to visit me at the prison. I was finally pardoned and you had told us, that if we come out to come find the Coptic church". Fady gave him the number and address of the church and we are praying that he finds his way to the arms of the Lord. 

They had a great saying in prison that Fady and I picked up and will never forget. One person would say the first part (like a chant) and the rest of the men would answer with the second part..

"God is good"
"All the time."


"All the time"
"God is good"


Amen :)

Kasisi-Children's Home

Sister Maryola - Head sister of Kasisi

This past weekend, we were blessed to have visited a Children's orphanage called "Kasisi ". Kasisi is an orphanage that currently has about 300 children. It is run by the Roman Catholic Church's order of nuns called "Little Servants of Mary Immaculate". This order was founded by a man named Edmund Bojanowski, who was a patron of orphans. I have to confess, before going there, I had my doubts about the service at the orphanage. The Copts here at St. Mark's that visited before me, were describing this place as "heaven". They continuously spoke about the  the beautiful guests rooms, with the comfortable beds, and extravagant decor. Fady and I were not impressed by all the talk and we were going there determined not to utilize anything of what we heard about. Fady was going to do a day- clinic for the sick kids at the orphanage and I was going to help out as much as I could. The head nun, Sister Maryola, drove about an hour to come pick us up from St. Mark's. Her warm smile greeted us at 8:00AM and we all jumped into the orphanage's car and headed to Kasisi. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with more smiles. The love and hospitality that the sisters showed us was overwhelming. But it was not love just from the outside and it was not only directed to us as visitors. The love and fellowship of the sisters extended to all the children at the orphanage, and to all the staff--for the least to the highest of ranks. We felt a comfort and peace on all their faces that proved to us that the sisters' care for them runs way deeper than we could ever think. Although the children are provided with much love, that love is also balanced with a healthy amount of discipline (which in reality is the definition of true love). The kids had everything a child could want, from their own beds, to their own play rooms, play grounds, cafeterias, and mamas to take care of all their needs. But they also had set times of waking up, prayers, and readings. The children were not lacking manners, from the youngest to the oldest (23 years old). They all showed respect to the staff, the sisters, to us, but most importantly in their dealings with one another. We realized that all of this was due to the amazing balance of love and wisdom that the sister's portrayed in dealing with the children. They treated each one as their own, without spoiling them and without lacking the love and tenderness that every child requires. Our experience at Kasisi cannot really be described in words. We have experienced love and service to the utmost capacity. Oh and the "luxuries" that all the Copts spoke to us before we went, doesn't even come close to the true treasures we've discovered there.

God-willing, there will be a clinic for these kids every 2-3 weeks. Keep us and them in your prayers!

Sister Maria (my right) and Sister Janina (my left)

Acts 2:47...Live...:)

For the first time, I got to experience and live this verse  "..And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:74). Seeing all those people baptized in the name of Our Lord Jesus was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Some of them were people who had jobs here at the Coptic Hospital and others were people that have encountered Christ through home visitations and service of the deacons here at St. Mark's church.
 A topic that has been on my heart lately, has been the gift of the Holy Spirit inside of us. This mass baptism has ignited these feelings inside of me more than ever. When every orthodox christian has been baptized and anointed with the Holy Oil (Myroon), they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. A gift often neglected, quenched or not acknowledged altogether. As a result, we often live spiritually lacking and poor, although we are children of the King.

We are called to live as saints and nothing less.  His children, that are vessels of His own Holy Spirit, must live accordingly. "The mystery which has been hidden from ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints....which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:26) Let us not "Grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" May we live each day as if we have newly received God's Spirit inside of us.

This is Timothy. The first time he introduced himself to me he said "My name is Timothy, disciple of Paul" and gave me the biggest smile. Timothy is not a preacher here, nor is he a deacon, he is the Gardner/Maintenance guy but through the simplest means he showed me and the rest of us here that he is ready to receive the Holy Spirit and live as a vessel for Christ.  He was taught the faith and discipled under the deacons here and was baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I know I was happy to see him baptized, but I cant describe in words how happy he was.

A New Beginning...Once More

A new year is once more upon us and like every year, I pick a promise that God proclaimed in His word and I hold Him to it. Just as I always expect, He hasn't failed me yet.This year He promises "Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19) He will make a way, where there is no way. He will grant hope where there is much despair, peace in-spite of war, joy where there is much sadness, protection and support in the midst of an unpredictable world. His hand will save in a brand new way, that springs forth and catches us off track. He will go above and beyond the possible, turning the deserts of our lives into rivers of abundant blessings in all shapes and forms.

To my surprise however, my Lord started fulfilling His promise a bit earlier this year here in Zambia. I'm sure this has been fulfilled in so many other ways, but I first saw this promise fulfilled at the Coptic hospital in the last few days. With the approach of the new year, came two brand new twin girls. They are the daughters of one of our beloved deacons here and his wife at St. Mark's church in Zambia--his name is David. David's babies were born six weeks pre-mature at 1.4 kilo/each and one of them had pneumonia and couldn't breath on her own. When I saw how everything came into place to save these girls, there was no other possible explanation except that God has been preparing streams for them in this desert all along. A few weeks before their arrival, three new incubators have been donated to the hospital (each at about $60K USD), not to mention, God sent my husband--the only pediatrician here, to Zambia. From the moment they were born, Fady spent every waking moment with them until he trained nurses to continue their care and stay by the girls' side day and night.

Not only was a road paved for them to live, but God sent them a Christmas gift too. A pregnant woman was walking by and saw them and told the nurse, that she was supposed to deliver 6 weeks early but her baby made it to full term and she would donate all the pre-mature baby clothes she bought for her baby to the girls. The girls are doing amazingly well and in a few weeks will get to go home.

I know that the same God who had done great and mighty things for these girls, will continue to work in our lives this new upcoming year. And I know, that like every year, I have one small job to do to see God's glory. "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19)

This way, with our continuous repentance, and the Lord promising to be so near, this year and every year will be a happy new year!

Preparing for The Nativity Of our Lord

Since we are spending this Christmas in Zambia, we did not get to celebrate the western Christmas like we did in the U.S., with a tree, decorations and lots of shopping. But God-willing, we won't miss out on any celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord on January 7th. In fact, I feel myself stopping to think and pray in preparation of the Birth of Christ more than I ever did back home.

While we prepare with praises, prayers and fasting, God the Father, prepared for so long of the birth of His Only Begotten Son. After the fall, God never left Adam and Eve to cover themselves with Fig leaves, instead He began His plan by introducing them to being covered by animal skin, which came from a sacrifice--someone who's innocent dying for those who are not. He then repeated the same idea with Cain and Abel. From then on, the idea of sacrifice was introduced to the people of God, and was always burned offering. Our God then asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, and after Abraham's obedience, God sends an animal to sacrifice to take the place of Isaac, saving him alive. The signs continue with the people of God, even under the harsh rule of the Egyptians. When God cursed the land of Egypt in their firstborn, the sign of the blood was what saved them. From then on, the people started realizing that blood is tied with salvation and sacrifice is tied with Salvation. The people continued to offer the sacrifice the Passover yearly in remembrance of their salvation from death in Egypt. The people continued throughout the ages to offer sacrifices, placing their hands on the animals to transfer their sin to innocent animals to be forgiven. The Lord was truly preparing his people for the His coming Salvation. (1 Cor 5:7) "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us"

They began to understand that sin, is a separation from God and if that does not get taken away they can never get closed to God. They knew that the sin was against an unlimited God, therefore the limited animal sacrifices would never be sufficient for Salvation and so they waited. Meanwhile, God gave them many prophesies of the coming of the Messiah like in (Isaiah 53:6) "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" Until now they know that one sacrifice suffices for one person, but who is that will be a sacrifice to lay upon Him the "iniquity of us all"?

Finally, God now began His preparation for the actual Birth of His Son. He had to choose the virgin that would carry His Son. She must be full of purity, full of patience, full of humility. No one fulfilled these and many more virtues, other than our mother St. Mary. God also prepared the way though St. John the Baptist, one who is also humble enough to say that "He must increase and I must decrease" (John 3:30). He also had to be born of Godly parents like Elizabeth and Zachariah. Finally, He sent His messenger Archangel Gabriel (Meaning "Power of God") to announce the Birth of Christ to St. Mary. God also prepared a saintly man, Joseph, to accept his betrothed to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Now, in the fullness of time, Christ was born of the virgin, St. Mary. All of these people came together, at the same time, in the fullness of time to prepare for the coming our Lord. May the birth of our Lord always be a blessing to us and a true celebration of a beautiful beginning of the story of our Salvation.

Happy Feast of the Nativity!