Do You Feel the Difference?

While I was in Egypt this past week I met an Egyptian woman who worked for the American Embassy. She asked me a question that caught me a bit off guard. She asked if I could feel the difference this year compared to my visits last year. I had only been on the ground a few days, had no problem getting into the country, and had been surrounded by friends the whole time. So I told her "No, I could not feel the difference, but that I was aware of the difference because I kept up with everything that is going on in Egypt.

The presidential election will be held next year and tensions are running high. Conservative Muslims are immigrating into the country to try and influence the outcome. The Christmas Eve violence by three Muslim youths killing several Coptic Christians, and the Muslim on Christian violence west of Alexandria in March while I was there was more evidence of the "difference" this woman was referencing. On the way out of the country it was different too. And I must admit that I felt this difference. Security was the highest I ever remember it. Another seasoned traveler from America said it was the highest he remembers in many years.

So there is a difference, but mostly I didn't feel that difference. I felt safe and secure in the arms of the Lord and the care of the church.

I did feel a difference, however. The difference I felt though was quite different from the one my new acquaintance was referring to. The difference I felt, I told her, was a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blowing trough the country. God is working there in a new and powerful way. The volatility created by the upcoming elections, the violence, the hatred are merely symptoms of of a desperate and defeated enemy. This is his last stand. He is going to be defeated, and I believe that this will happen in our life time in Egypt and throughout the Arabic world. That is the difference I felt, and that is the message that I brought to the church in Egypt.

The church is growing in Egypt. It is reaching out in amazing ways. It is having great success. Many Muslims are converting to Christianity. Naturally, the enemy is fearful of loosing his hold on the country. He fears the loss of power and influence that seems to be slipping away so he is stepping up to the challenge with new resolve, intimidation, and violence.

I can feel the difference. And I hope you can too. EPI is working hard to prepare the country and the region for the time when Islam collapses in North Africa and the Middle East. Through your prayers and financial support you are making this possible. May God bless our efforts to this end--and soon.