Summer Doldrums

It's hard to believe that it's almost been two weeks since I've taken the time to post... but the truth is, now that the summer vacations are over... it's a little like "back to reality" and I'm a little unmotivated ... yeah... the summer doldrums are upon me.

I mean, there's plenty going on here to talk about. In church we've started a series on the parables which is really good, we've looked at the wine skins and the wise/foolish builders. Our Monday cell group just met again for the 2nd time this summer... and we went over the parables of the "mustered seed" and the "yeast" in Matt 13:31-33... and there was some great discussion... praise and worship was nice last weekend... but really... I just have that uninspired feeling ... maybe I just need to put it out here that I feel this way... and the "fog" as it were will lift and I can get back into things without wishing I was still on vacation somewhere instead of "back to work"... I mean, I'm glad to be back here in Cairo... and actually have a new found enjoyment in being here ... but I'm still feeling a little lazy :-}

Live Aboard Diving... WoW!

I wasn't really sure what to expect... except to see loads of sharks on our diving trip to the Brothers Island... well... the sharks didn't get the dive trip agenda and were pretty scarce (I only saw 2 ... and on the same dive)... but that didn't ruin the trip... it was an excellent experience to see the Red Sea and so many other fish that I'd never seen during other dive trips... Of course there we the two Grey Reef sharks (Longnose Blacktail Shark variety became the naming debate) with one giving a great view at around 70ft (can you see his smile?) There were so many other fish to see though, schools of juvenile Barracuda's (pic to the right) along with the solitary adult Barracuda's, schools of goat fish with a few 1,000 fish in them... Gigantic Napoleon's, Morey Eels out swimming around, tons of Blue Spotted Rays, clear fin and common Lion fish, Octopus (they are really amazing how they camouflage themselves into the reef), and really... the list goes on and on. Roger, Hussein, and Gary took tons of pictures, and I have to thank them for sharing their pics with all of us from the trip, these that are here are from Gary ... oh yeah, the pic on the left is a little display of how amazing the corals were too.

... and Good Bye Cairo

... well, good bye for a week anyway... it's just been a week since returning and being back to work which has led me to take another week of vacation... ok... work wasn't that bad... but this is the diving trip of the summer so I just couldn't pass this trip up... the group of us from work will leave in 20 minutes and head to Hurghada and then sail out to the Brothers Island. We'll be using the Sea Queen for our trip... five nights of live aboard diving... should be really interesting.

Good Bye Manila... and the Philippines

Well, it's that time again to leave the Philippines and return to work... it was great to see all the folks we saw... but it was indeed a very busy 20 days in country... boat and jeepney's rides along with the shopping that we were able to get in did indeed make this years trip one we'll always remember.

Some Things Are Only in the Philippines

The girls and I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the Manila zoo in between visiting relatives, shopping, and working Auntie Carmen's paperwork to come to Egypt...

The "petting zoo" there is not like what you'll find back home... they have Boa Constrictors along with Burmese Pythons that you can drape on your shoulders for a photo op... they have large tortoises that the kids can sit on ... and loads of birds that they'll put on you ...again... for that photo op...

How about a "pet" alligator? He was cute that's for sure... all I could see while holding him was a new wallet... or some wild shoes... all he could see was that clear tape on his snout keeping him from a tasty meal of little girls and the crazy guy holding him... as you can see... Angela wasn't too keen on the whole alligator thing...

Relatives In Manila

... yes we made it to Manila without a hitch. Thank you Father God for holding the seasonal typhoons at bay during our sea travels.

... and even in Manila there were plenty of relatives and friends to visit. Here we have Auntie Rica and her family along with Judy and Nelson... it really was so good to see everyone.