Every one loves pool time. It is great chance to cool down and get out of the heat. It is also an excellent opportunity to hang out with the kids and talk with them. The second photo is of Erik doing a belly flop. They were having a splash contest. He did survive!
Here I am helping with the zip lines. The campers have to climb the rock wall to the top of the tower and then take the zip line down. I am helping by getting them off of the zip line.
One of the opportunities I get working at Wadi is helping on the high ropes course. This quickly lets you know what you are trusting. Do you trust the ropes attached to the cable? Do you trust the harness that your rope is attached to? It makes you wonder where do you trust?
Everybody looks forward to meal time. We have 200 campers here and they all fit into the dinning hall.
This is one of the biggest events at camp when Alpha and Omega compete in War Ball! They really enjoy playing and getting each other out!
This is in the main meeting hall. They divide all the campers into either Alpha (red) or Omega (blue) and they compete in various games and activities; keeping a running total of the points throughout the week. At the end of the week at champion is crowned. The kids love this. All the competitions are very intense. They get to learn about competing and yet still loving and respecting the opponent because cabins are divided against cabin. The Pie (green) are all the counselors and coaches.
We arrived at Camp Wadi Saturday night. After a brief orientation and a night of rest it was “GO” time on Sunday. There is no gradual introduction to camp. It begins with a roar and goes all week long. The campers, counselors, administrators, and coaches all work very hard to keep each other’s energy going teaching many things…. Soccer, Ropes Course, Volley Ball, Squash, Baseball, Basketball, Skateboarding, Tennis.
After The Pyramids we went down and looked at the Sphinx. This is quite fascinating. This dates back to around 4000BC. But because Egypt sees very little rain it remains in pretty good shape. They are currently working on rebuilding the base. This is where they prepared the pharaoh’s body to be buried in the pyramids.
After we arrived at The Pyramids we had the opportunity to ride a camel back down. This was about a 10 minute ride. I enjoyed my ride. The owner told me his camel was named Cassis Clay.
These things are HUGE! What an amazing thing to see. One of the seven wonders of the world. They are located right at the edge of Cario in the middle of the desert. They are hard to describe. It is hard to imagine the work and effort that went into these.
This is a picture of Michael. He helped us as we went to the “market” to do some shopping. The “market” makes Flea World look like nothing. He also came with us on the Nile River Cruise. He is a fellow Christian. I enjoyed meeting and talking with him. He is currently in school.
After the Red Sea we drove back the 2 hours to Cairo. This is just one shot of what a typical street looks like. There are no traffic rules, but yet for the most part it remains safe. It is absolutely a huge city. 22+ million people!
Here I am with the two Egyptians who played football in the sand with us at the Red Sea, Mostafa and Iebrhim. We had a great time and they seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. I was able to give them a small gift and exchange emails with them.
Here is a picture of our last night at the Red Sea. They did an Egyptian music show with Arabic music. It was quite different. On the very last song they did they came off the stage and grab all of us at our table. Of course I couldn’t go because we needed someone to document what took place. It was very enjoyable with 200-300 Egyptians laughing at us!
This is our Egyptian guide from Wadi. He is a neat guy. Only 24 years old but loves to help people out. I really enjoy our talks with him. He is helping Wadi develop their corporate team building program called “Aspire”.
I had the distinct honor and privilege of baptizing one of our team members in the Red Sea the first morning we were there. Unfortunately my camera battery was low so I couldn’t take any pictures. Pray for Jonathan as he continues in his relationship with God.
Here is some photos of us hanging out by the Red Sea. We played football. Matter of fact the second night we had a couple of Egyptians from the resort staff join us in playing football. They througly enjoyed playing and we appreciated them playing with us.
We finally made it to Cairo. This is when we were getting on the bus at Cairo. All of our luggage was stored on the top of the bus. From there we ate lunch in Cairo and then off to the Red Sea. This took about 2.5 hours. There wasn’t much to see except a lot of desert! It makes you wonder about the Israelites and their trek up the Red Sea into the Promised Land.
These are just some photos of what happens when you spend too much time in the air. Don’t ask about the oxygen mask. We are still trying to figure that out. (sorry about updating so late... no internet access for a couple of days)
This is taken from my window seat as the sun was beginning to rise over the Mediterrian Sea. You can still see the moon. This picture does not begin to capture the beauty of God creation!
I told James Li when he notified me that I was going to be team leader that weird things happen to Tallmans. Well… it didn’t take long… Right after we cleared security that at OIA I was informed by a certain team member, who shall remain nameless (begins with initial “A”), that they had somehow lost their passport. Thankfully the anxiety was short lived as security had found the missing passport. This picture is of the team when they heard that everyone had their passport.
Going on an international trip has a way of making you do weird stuff… Like me, taking my picture with a Bears fan. Who would have ever thought! This is Erik; he is my roommate and a really neat guy. I wish I would have been as mature as he is when I was his age.
Here is the last group shot before we left. James Li, far right was unable to come with us, but was scheduled to at the beginning. But he was so involved in everyone going to Egypt. There would have been no team without him.
Here is our team praying at OIA before we leave our loved ones and head off to the Land of the Pharaohs. It is comforting to know that the hands of the Almighty God are around us in protections no matter what we face.
This is what we did to relieve the stress of waiting for our bags to be checked in at OIA. The team is a good team that enjoys having funs, but also want to do the job they are here to do. Sometimes, putting in some fun goes a long way in helping the work to get done as well.
This Emily, posting for Brent today. This is a scene from the airport before they left. They had quite the luggage convoy! Everyone departed safely today and with their luggage.
