No one ever comes out and asks me, but I suspect that there are many people who wonder why my annual trips to Egypt have become such an important part of my life and ministry over the last four years. It's a fair question and there's no short or easy answer.

Instead let me share with you one story from my most recent trip to Egypt where I taught English for a month in addition to leading worship for three weeks at St. Andrew's United Church of Cairo while their pastor was on home leave. St. Andrew's Immigrant Ministry and Church is supported by the ELCA and is served by Pr. Peter Johnson (formerly at St. Martin's, Webster). This and all stories from my time in Egypt can be read on my blog: http://amy-in-egypt.blogspot.com/.

Wael is a student who is new to seminary this year and new to English as well. He is in my Level 1 class. Wael's English is difficult to understand - he struggles with basic grammar, his vocabulary is quite limited, and yet he wants so much to learn and to communicate. Sometimes when I am explaining something in class I'm certain that he has no idea what I'm saying. And yet at other times he surprises me with what comes out of his mouth.

At the end of study hall one day Wael surprised me. For the last week the more advanced students had been offering homilies in English in the daily mass. This is one of the things that I work with them on each year. In very broken English Wael said to me, "Pastor Amy I want . . . no I NEED to preach in mass. Next week I preach?"

"Wael if you work on your English very hard in the year ahead maybe next year you will be ready to prepare a homily."

"No. I must do."

"Wael preaching is very, very difficult. You must know grammar and you must know vocabulary and you must know correct pronunciation and you must be able to put your ideas from Arabic into English that is clear. This is very very hard."

"No. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit send apostles to all nations and use all languages. I will preach. The Holy Spirit here."

The conversation continued for some time. The truth is that Wael is not ready to prepare a homily in English just yet. He has a lot to learn. Through their hard work, his brothers have made it look easy and Wael and other students want to try as well. What Wael doesn't know is that he preached a sermon for me today.

"I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here."

This is good news indeed spoken to me by a young man who doesn't know the proper usage of the verb "to be" but who trusts with all his heart that the Holy Spirit has been sent to him to preach the good news of Jesus to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has every confidence the Holy Spirit will use his broken English or whatever he has to offer. Oh to have such confidence, such determination, and such faith!

This is just one story about the daily encounters that keep calling me back to Egypt. There are others as well.  I return to Egypt because of the relationships I have formed and because I feel called to be there. Somehow my presence matters and God is using my presence to change my life, and to change the lives of those I encounter.

I'm grateful to Bishop Jerge and many others throughout the church who support the ministry I do in Egypt. If you'd like to hear more about Amy-In-Egypt, please contact me. I'm happy to give presentations and share my experiences and pictures as I'm able.

Amy Walter-Peterson serves as Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission in the Upstate New York Synod. She's back from her fourth summer of teaching English at St. Leo the Great Coptic Catholic Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. See also Called to Mission.

Pictured left to right: Revs. Jim and Marie Jerge, Donna Gilbert; Rev. Gail Wolling; Karen June; Judy Eyer; Betty Swinehart; Barb Appleton; Nan Bader; Gayle Ross; Ed Appleton and Mary Rainey.

Follow the Zimbabwe travelers from Bethlehem Lutheran Church blog for updates.

Chris Swingle • Staff writer • Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester • June 27, 2010

About 30 seniors did gentle exercises to music on a recent Wednesday morning at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, laughing at instructor Bonnie Slack's jokes.

After holding onto a chair and balancing on one foot, then the other foot, Slack suggested: "OK, now, both feet up."

The church's new Wellness on Wednesdays effort, which is open to any senior in the community, starts with blood pressure readings at 10 a.m., followed by the low-impact exercise session (which can be done seated or standing), a presentation by a guest speaker and a light lunch.

Rides within Webster are even available from a church volunteer if you call the church by noon the day before.

The goal is socialization. "We were looking for people to have a place to come and meet friends," says Marguerite Manning, who facilitates the program.

Wellness on Wednesdays began April 21, coincidentally after the town's Senior Center at 985 Ebner Drive closed for heating problems that were beyond repair and the town programs relocated temporarily to the Damascus Center, 979 Bay Road, and other locations. The church program had been in the planning stage for months before.

Barb Bills, a Baptist who this month attended Wellness on Wednesdays for the first time, says she liked it and enjoyed seeing people she hadn't bumped into in a while. "I congratulate the church for starting it," says Bills, of Webster. She joked that she might recruit people to attend her own church.

Marge Cario of Ontario, Wayne County, has attended multiple times and believes the exercise is helpful for her health.

Dick Campbell of Webster, one of the few men in the room, joked: "I'm here for all the women."

On a more serious note, he says that the program's speakers have been very good. Recent topics included digital cameras, Lifespan services and a musical performance.

Also, says Campbell, "the fellowship is the big thing."

Marian Kachmaryk of Webster agrees. "It's a good social activity," she says. "It's a different mix of people every week."

---

If you go

Wellness on Wednesdays runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 131 W. Main St., (585) 872-5180.

---

Special thanks to the Democrat and Chronicle for allowing us to reprint this article.

Dear Bishops Mark and Marie,

It is so good to write to you both since I pray regularly for you personally and at worship. I am grateful for your dedicated service in a challenging time for our church and our relations with others. I realize the LWF Assembly approaches rapidly. Darhon and I arrive in Frankfurt a week from today. Marie and others from our synod leave for Zimbabwe and Zambia in a few short weeks.

I will be preaching in Talheim, Mössingen, Germany Sunday, July 25. I have been writing Pastor Matthias Wagner. I sent him a copy of my sermon (in English) so he could better prepare a German translation. I realized late last night that I wanted to share an excerpt from that sermon with you since it tells a bit of my family connection to LWF that had lain dormant in my memory. I guess I had not realized how my family history might have influenced my global connection and passion for our sisters and brothers in other Lutheran churches. The spiritual connection has always just seemed right. As you pray for the LWF assembly I also ask your prayers for me as I will be the Recorder for the English speaking Village Group 2 and its challenging topics. I continue to pray for you in your ministries. The sermon excerpt follows:

Some youth here today are taking a step toward their confirmation. They receive a copy of the Holy Bible. You have heard stories from your families. You will hear more stories of faith from your pastor, from your family and the family of God as you prepare for your confirmation. Stories of faith are important. That is part of caring for one another.

This links to part of my heritage. For many years my father's mother, my Oma, served as the church secretary in Toledo, Ohio for the Rev. Dr. S. C. Michelfelder. In 1945 and 1946 he headed the ecumenical office of postwar construction in Geneva. He helped establish the LWF and became its first general secretary. I heard from my family of his passion of Lutherans caring for each other.

At the end of the war people came to him saying, "Let the government feed the starving people of Europe and let the Church get the Gospel going again."

He replied, "You don't walk up to a starving man and offer him a Bible to eat - or you don't go out to a river where a man is drowning, with only one hand showing, and stick a Bible in his hand and go away and let somebody else pull him out. Christ himself fed the 5,000 and then he taught them."

In Christ's service,
Paul Rees-Rohrbacher

To follow the LWF Assembly please visit the website.

As I sat and watched the many red zones on the weather map recently and listened to the weather man's list of the communities around me who were potentially in the path of severe thunderstorms and possible tornados, I was reminded that along with the blessings of our summer weather, can come potentially hazardous weather.  While listening to the weather report I was also mentally reminding myself of the tornado safety checklist I learned while at the Red Cross to identify the safest place in my home.

Summer offers us to the opportunity to enjoy the warmth and bountiful blessings of God's creation - swimming, hiking, vacationing, and possibly relaxing in the shade of a majestic tree.  It can offer a time for increased service to others as well.  A part of our planning for summer fun, service, rest and relaxation should also be preparedness planning.

• Before heading out to the beach check to be sure you have packed the sunscreen and review water safety tips.
• Going on a picnic - practice food safety.  Bring lots of ice.  Summer salads and other foods can quickly spoil in the heat.  Remember keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold and use gloves when preparing food to prevent food born illnesses.
• Thunderstorms are part of the upstate NY summer weather.  Learn the difference between a warning and a watch as well as severe thunderstorm safety tips.
• Is your congregation interested in helping with recovery following a disaster?  Opportunities abound, even right here in upstate NY.  The western NY communities impacted by the August 2009 flooding are still recovering.   They are in need of both volunteer work teams and financial support.  Consider planning a day or overnight service trip.  Start planning by learning what help is needed.  Contact Gowanda Love in the Name of Christ at gowandaloveinc@yahoo.com or visit their website at http://gowandaloveinc.org/.   Financial assistance can be provided by sending your designated, "WNY Floods" donation to the Upstate NY Synod.  Funds will be forwarded for recovery work in western NY.  You can also support LDR preparedness work in our synod by making a donation to the synod and designating it for LDR in Upstate NY.

There are also volunteer opportunities to help with disaster rebuilding and recovery throughout the country.  Find out about locations and contact information for sites from Iowa to Mississippi and in between on the LDR page of the synod website.  Due to the nature of the Oil spill clean-up volunteers are not presently needed for this work.  (http://blogs.elca.org/disasterresponse/post/oil-spill-update-10)

• Consider getting involved right here in our own synod with disaster preparedness and response.  September is National Preparedness Month (http://www.ready.gov/america/npm10/index.html) - schedule a preparedness activity at your church or plan a time to begin work on your congregational disaster preparedness plan.  Lutheran Disaster Response in Upstate NY is creating Conference Disaster Response Teams.  Volunteers are needed to provide preparedness education in congregations and to serve as leadership people for disaster response within our synod.  To learn more contact Patsy Glista, LDR Coordinator, at pglista@upstatenysynod.org or 315.289.2686.

Patsy Glista, AIM
Lutheran Disaster Response Coordinator in Upstate New York