Egypt. Misr. How I miss thee.

Dearest Persons,
I can not believe it has already been more than a month since I returned to this country America. This post finds me well in good ole Illinois, however very saddened in my soul to be so far away from Muslims and the Middle East and falafel and Arabic. I am struggling to keep current in the news and happenings in the Middle East while getting ready with the band to travel this summer and lead worship at church camps around the MidWest. I am continuing to say "Mumkin" "Inshaallah" "Mafeesh mushkila" "La'" "Aiwa" "Shookran" and so many others and will never be convinced to cease my Arablish. ;) And I am dreaming about the future and the possiblity of returning to the Middle East someday. I have no idea what I am going to do with my life, but I'm convinced that if I will a day at a time seek God's will and walk with him that he will lead me and guide me and bless me wherever I seem to find myself.
This entry will end this blog's story of my journey to a foreign land, a holy land, a sacred place this past semester in the heart of the Middle East. However, my story and journey to other lands, holy sites and sacred places will not be ending here and if you're interested in keeping up to date as to the happenings and snap shots of my life check out my website... karajoyburkey.blogspot.com
I urge you, like the apostle Paul in Romans, in view of God's mercy to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God and to continue to trust in Him and Him alone, not trusting in horses or men, but only in our Savior, the only one who can truly sustain and fulfill you.
Thank you for all of the support, love, prayers and blessings you have showered upon me by sharing in my adventure through this site. You are so appreciated and truly loved.
As my dear Grandma would say,
"Keep trusting in Jesus. Keep loving Jesus. Never stop trusting Jesus!"
I love you!
In His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy

I'm Coming Home!! TODAY!!!

Dearest Persons,

TODAY IS THE DAY!!! Tonight at 1:00am I am leaving for the Cairo airport to, yes, COME HOME!!! I am so excited! I hope to add some more pictures in the next few weeks and some other stories and last thoughts as I conclude this Egypt Blog. Thank you for sharing with me in my journey to Egypt and the Middle East this semester through this blog. I am anxious to see you up close and in person and hug you and thank you for reading, for caring, and for praying for me while I was here. I will be working on a Scrapbook as well with so many other pictures for you to check out as well. I love you so much!

See you Soon!
In His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy

P.S. If you're wondering when I will be around...
Tuesday 24th: Arrive in Columbus, OH 11:00pm
Wednesday 25th: Chapel at Olivet Nazarene University, Afternoon arrive home in Ohio
Friday 26th: Journey back to Olivet and remain there until the next Saturday for Graduation
Saturday 5th: Return to Ohio for the next two weeks! After this, I'll be traveling with Before Tomorrow and Jonathan all summer leading worship at junior and senior high summer camps.
CAN'T WAIT TO RUN INTO YOU!

Travel Component Pictures... Part 1 :)

Dearest Persons,
So, here are the other set of pictures from our travel component!! I hope you enjoy!! And love them and the places along with me... it was sooo much fun!

WELCOME TO TURKEY!
This is in Istanbul, Turkey... the first country we came to, and my ultimate favorite country so far in the world!
We are standing in Europe... across the bridge is Asia... how suh-wheat is that!?!


Baked Potatoes in Turkey were THE most amazing things ever... and they had wicked toppings!! Like no joke! This is me and Courtney sharing our first Turkey potato ever! And, as Todd would say, it was "De-LISH!!"

Beth and Amy with their spicy potatoe!

YUM!!
And this is a baked potato topping bar...

All the guys!
All the ladies!
SOOK!!! This is one of the many sooks, or markets slash bazaars that we went to...
So... this was THE most incredible moment ever... Grandma Burkey always used to bring us Kinder Eggs after she traveled overseas... I told Todd and Justin about this and then Todd insisted on sharing one with me while Justin took a little photo shoot of us. I can not even begin to express how much this meant to me and just made me smile!

What's inside!?!
That right there is SHEER JOY written on my face. Thanks Justin and Todd. You guys are amazing. Grandma Burkey... I miss you and love you sooo much and am so glad you introduced Kinder Eggs to me so many years ago!

Sitting on Ataturk's lap... Ataturk is the founder of Turkey... he changed their language and modernized the country... it's an AMAZING story if you ever want to study a country that made a 180 degree change in a matter of a few years... today the once Middle Eastern country is completely different than the other Middle Eastern countries and is on it's way... well, Inshaallah, to the European Union.

This is Ankara... HA!!! On Kara!!! :)

Here we are playing on a playground on a slide by the Salt Sea in Turkey... not the Red or Dead but the Salt.

Hope you liked the pictures!
Love you and miss you and looking forward to seeing you SO SOON!!
In His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy

i don't understand... and it makes me sick.

Dearest Persons,

Virginia Tech
Iraq Report

Tears are falling from the Father's face like the rain is pouring down from heaven beating the streets of Cairo, in the middle of the desert... where it never rains. I don't understand, I don't understand, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!! God... do you SEE what is going on in this your world!?! 32 people slaughtered in Virginia... 200 people slaughtered in Iraq today... countless others dying all over the world every day, every day EVERY DAY! Tears are falling from my face like the rain is pouring down from heaven beating on the streets of Cairo, in the middle of the desert... where it never rains.

I'm beside myself right now. I feel sick to my stomach. There is no reason, there is no rhyme to explain why people are killing each other. When is it going to end?

Is peace or just a day of no death as rare, or should I say rarer than the rain falling in the desert? God, our thirst is killing us and driving us to kill each other. When will you send the rains to quench our hatred, our anger, our pain? When will the waters sooth our sweltering skin and smoldering hearts? When will it end? Ever?

God, didn't you say that if your people who are called by your name will humble themselves and pray and seek your face then you'll hear from heaven and come down and heal our land? Can you hear the voices of the people that are crying out in response to the heavy violence inflicting our world tonight? How many more people need to cry out? How can I convince people that you are the answer, you are the peace and that you will answer when all I can see is the devastation?


Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name. -Daniel 9:18-19

My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, "Where is the bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms. -Lamentations 2:11-12

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. -Habakkuk 1:2-4

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. -Jesus, John 16:33

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. -Jude 20-23


Friends, I am sorry that I this blog is not happy-go-lucky or full of joy. I am really struggling with issues of justice and my role as a student, as a social worker, and most of all... as a Christ follower. Will you join me and PRAY? Will you lift up your voice to the God of heaven and cry out with me for our brothers and sisters across the world, Jesus lovers and those that do not know him, that are hurting and crying because of the injustice that is afflicting them and their lives? Will you ask your friends to pray as well? Even when it doesn't make sense and when it is hard to see God moving... he is and he is listening to our cries. We can't give up or give in and stop crying. We can't.

Grasping for His Grip,
Your Kara Joy

Travel Component Pictures... Part 2 :)

Dearest Persons,
I've been trying to upload pictures from all the places that I went into one post, but I am so very impatient and internet is so slow, so here are the last half of travel component. I hope you enjoy looking through them and I can't WAIT to show you the rest of the pictures from Syria and my favorite country, Turkey... and then others from this week back in Cairo. Seven days and I will be back in the States. I can't wait to see you and love on you and tell you more about my experience here. So, with no further adieu let's picture it up... :)

This is a picture taken on an incredible hike we went on to end our time in Turkey... we're all just taking a little photo break.

These are the incredible hills of Capadocia, Turkey that we hiked around and through. The caves here are amazing!

WELCOME TO SYRIA!!
Our first full day in Syria we went to THE most incredible place I have ever been in my life... it was absolutely breathtaking... This is the Krak, a castle slash fortress that sits up on a hill in Syria.

And this is me at the top of the Krak! Check out the valley!

Ha ha!! Great sign, aye?? Get a load of the clothes...

Aren't we so hot? :)

REAL SYRIAN FOOD!!! This is me... on the Street Called Straight in Damascus, yes that's right... the place where Ananias went to heal Saul... and in my hands are what I love most at Lazeza in Lima... a chicken schwaarma sandwich and a raspberry Lazeza drink!

WELCOME TO JORDAN!!
This is me reading in the Dead Sea... it's so salty, nothing sinks!!

And this is one of the incredible pictures of the sun setting over the Dead Sea. The mountains you see are part of Israel... where we would journey to the very next day...

WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

We stayed in Jerusalem for the last two weeks of our travels and visited many different places...

This is the Mount of Olives... can you pick out the Olive Trees?

"O Little Town of Bethlehem..."

On Palm Sunday a bunch of us got up super early and headed to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus supposedly died, and participated in the 3 church combined liturgical service.

Early one morning my friends went to the Dome of the Rock Mosque... I didn't go with them because of my foot, but I stole two of Courtney's pictures from the big event. :)

(In case you were wondering what I mean by my foot... I'm ok... I got rolled on by a horse several picture albums back and I think sprained both of my ankles and bruised up my legs... I recovered halfway through Turkey, but walking around Jerusalem re-sprained or hurt my right ankle and I had some difficulty several different days walking around alot.)

We were able to go to the West Bank one day and meet with Palestinian Students... and this is the so called "fence" that surrounds the city of Bethany where we were that separates the West Bank including the cities of Bethlehem, Bethany, Ramallah and others from Jerusalem.

The "fence" blows me away.

CHRIST IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Happy Easter!! This is all of us out for coffee after our own sunrise service on the roof and between the Eucharist service and the Celebration Church Service at the Anglican Church on Easter morning.
This is my new Canadian friend Hillary and I on the bus taking a tour of the Golan Heights and Galilee... basically all over Northern Israel passing near Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

I'm walking on water!!! :)

This was my very favorite place in all of our travels... I think because all the Holy Land places that we visited were "shrined up"... there were big signs and ornate decorations that let you know where you were... and I loved the Sea of Galilee because it was so real... just like it would have been when Jesus was here and boated on the Lake... and there was no huge sign coming out of the water to mark the spot where Peter walked... it was just peaceful and really made me think about this Jesus we serve and thoroughly appreciate the stories in the Bible that are set in Galilee so much more than ever before.

Another shot of the beauty of Northern Israel.

I'll never forget when I was in 8th grade and I didn't want to go to our Nazarene Church and I asked Mom why there even was a Nazarene Church and I'll never forget her answer... "Kara. Jesus was a Nazarene." Oh. Haa!!
Welcome to Nazareth... Where it all began... :)

A shot of the Dome of the Rock and the rooftops of Jerusalem from our rooftop...

The Wailing Wall...

And a shot of me at the Wailing Wall... I was trying to smile slash look serious and not turn my back to the wall out of respect.

So, that's the end of the journey... much more to follow!! Goodnight for now!
Trusting in His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy

To Bless or Not to Bless

Dearest Persons,

I apologize for my slowness in posting pictures and stories from the past month of Travel Component. I promise that there is so much to share with you and I am working on it in the midst of all of my finals and papers... Yes, you guessed it, once more I am writing to tell you that soon updates will come. However, as I was searching the net tonight I stumbled across this article on Relevant Magazine's website on injustice and the idea of blessing challenges me and so I thought I would share this article with you as a precursor to some of the stories and thoughts that will quickly follow. Enjoy. I love you. Check up on the blog again soon... it's coming!!

In His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy


To Bless or Not to Bless
-Brandon Andress
Link to Article in Relevant

How do you respond to injustice?

Just after typing out the question, I sat and looked at my computer for a long while. Isn't that the question of the ages? It's not like a little man sitting in front of his computer monitor punching away on a few keys can solve this question in a matter of a couple of paragraphs. Countries, kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen without ever coming to the realization of how to best answer the question. Hundreds of millions have been oppressed, tortured and murdered throughout history because, in many cases, humanity's answer to injustice is violence, anger, hostility and aggression. In a sense it seems as though we are trying to cure injustice and violence with more injustice and violence. It isn’t fixing the issue, but rather creates a cycle promoting the problem at hand.

Take, for instance, the account in Genesis where Jacob deceived his blind father Isaac into blessing him instead of his older brother, Esau. As a result of this deception and the fact that a blessing could not be revoked, Esau was given a curse by his father. Anyway you look at this account, it is injustice. In order to fully understand and appreciate the magnitude of the injustice, we need to understand the power of a blessing and the power of a curse in Hebrew culture.

There is a special power in a blessing and in a curse given by sacred people in relation to God. In ancient Hebrew culture a blessing was everything. Though there are many Hebrew synonyms for the word "curse", there is not one synonym for "blessing" or in Hebrew berekah. The word for blessing stood alone and was not considered a hollow word that could be used lightly. It meant something big and was extraordinarily powerful. Many believed that a blessing or a curse given by a sacred person had power to influence God for the benefit or the injury of the recipient.

In ancient Hebrew culture it was the Patriarchs, namely Moses, prophets, priests and fathers who had the power to bless and curse people. It was understood that these individuals were in close relation to God and as a result could extend this providential blessing or curse. In fact, fathers were looked at as the "priests" of their family, which meant that they had a close relationship with God and could pass along blessings or curses to their sons and essentially chart the course for their son's future.

So when Jacob deceitfully receives the blessing from his father and Esau in turn is cursed, we understand that something profound has happened. Something that has the power to completely affect each sons’ future has taken place. That is why we sympathize with Esau in his emotional despair; however, the way Esau chooses to respond to injustice is to avenge his brother through murder.

If there is power in a blessing and a curse given by sacred people in relation to God, and if the power of blessings and curses can affect individuals for the future, what does this mean for us? As Christians, we are described as a sacred people a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) that are not just in close relation with God but actually have God residing within us (2 Corinthians 6:16). As a sacred people, we can use our relation with God for the benefit or injury of others through our blessings and curses.

In other words, in the face of personal or societal injustice how are we, as Christians, called to respond? Do we continue the endless, repetitive cycle of injustice by cursing people? Or do we choose another option? If we are honest about the life and person of Jesus, we have no other choice than to pursue self-sacrificial love that blesses in the face of injustice. But what does a life transformed by the Spirit of God that chooses to stop the tired, worn-out cycle of injustice by blessing look like?

The beauty of a blessing is that it is never too late to begin. Twenty years after Jacob fled from his murderous brother Esau they are finally reunited in one of the most suspenseful accounts in the Bible. As the two brothers approach each other, Jacob believes that Esau is still mad enough to kill him. Rather, Esau runs toward Jacob and embraces him. It is never too late to choose to bless.

How now will you respond to injustice? Who have you previously cursed that you need to bless? Unless we decide that we are going to stop the cycle of injustice by blessing rather than cursing, the cycle will go unbroken.

Dig Deeper
Genesis 33:1-4
Proverbs 22:9
Psalm 41:1

back in cairo!

Dearest Persons,

Ha ha... well, I'm back in Egypt! So, I'm sitting at the American University of Cairo taking a break from writing four intense papers that are due tomorrow morning and I guess my shirt was riding up a little on the side because a Muslim lady just came up and tucked it in for me... under my jacket. Oh Cairo and modesty!! How it makes me smile!! Many stories and pictures to follow soon... keep your shirt tucked in and I'll tell you more later!!

I love you!
In His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy