Holland - From Wassenaar, Den Haag, Amsterdam, to Haarlem

When we started to plan our trip to the Netherlands, we had no idea how much of the country we would actually get to see. We arrived in Rotterdam, where Marjolijn picked us up in her brand new car (a rare privilege in bicycle country). Marjolijn is a long-time friend from Egypt; we overlapped in Egypt our 7th and 8th grade years, but have also managed to see each other in South Africa, UAE, and Holland on a few occasions. It was weird to realize how long it has been since last seeing each other (over 6 years) and how easily it can feel so normal again.

She took us to Wassenaar, where her parents now own a gorgeous house. They live in a beautiful area, on the coast and near the royal family. We spent the weekend there with her family - they were the perfect host! We ate delicious food, did laundry, and even had our own guesthouse. We spent most of our time in the kitchen, catching up on life, playing cards, and drinking lots of tea and coffee. It was wonderful to meet Marjolijn's boyfriend, hear about her/their time with the Navigators, her new job, and her future plans.

We also spent a day in The Haag with Stephanie and Justine - more friends from Egypt! So weird to see your friends' younger siblings grow up and go to college. Friends age with you but friends siblings growing up can sometimes make you feel old. :) But it was wonderful to sit around and talk about Egypt (old and new), work, transitioning to your "home" culture, and marriage. We also got an excellent guided tour of the city, saw the international court of justice and learned why The Haag is a small, but important city.

We spent the early part of the week in Amsterdam, slowing down a bit and catching up on sleep. It may have been the second-hand smoke, but more likely the rainy day that forced us to stay in and relax more (our first rainy day yet). We visited the Anne Frank House, walked through the flower market, sampled amazing cheeses at the local cheese store, shopped in the open-air market, went on a canal cruise, and ate pancakes/waffles every chance we had!

We also took a day trip to Haarlem, a small town near the coast. We saw our first stereotypical Dutch windmill and the Corrie Ten Boom house, hiding place, and jeweler. Nick enjoyed one of the most common Dutch snacks - french fries with mayonnaise. I know we live in the States, but we can't help but think we were made for the food over here (especially Nick)! We sat in cafes, played cards, drank coffee, and enjoyed our time immensely.

Now we are headed to Germany to spend some time with Kelly and Erin, youth leaders from Egypt, and John, a high school friend.



P.S. We miss all of you and are thinking and dreaming about the next times we can see everyone!

Paris - Crepes & Croissants

Our time in Paris was spent mostly with the OM office. We stayed at their office in Pontault-Combault, a suburb of Paris. We really enjoyed the few days that we got to spend learning about OM France's office, team and ministries. We even got to experience and serve in some of the ministries.

On various occasions, we were able to help the OMers pass out tracts in the local market, pass out invitations to a French language class, actually attend the French class, and serve at a soup kitchen. Seeing the ministries first hand reminded us of the importance of knowing the local language. It also showed us how we don't need to be overseas to serve other nationalities, as there are immigrant populations everywhere (most of these ministries targeted immigrants to France).

The OM team was extremely welcoming! We loved getting to know the various members, learning about how they arrived in France, and what they do there. We were invited to two, delicious dinners - home cooked food has probably never tasted so good! In both cases and in other interactions throughout the week, we both felt very encouraged about our future. We were prayed for on several occasions and then also given some very practical advice in making decisions for our future...in terms of language barriers, cultural differences, etc.

As for Paris, we definitely enjoyed the food and sites (or should this be spelled "sights", any opinions?) it had to offer. We walked the Champs-Élysées from start to finish. We saw the Arc de Triomphe, walked into a Mercedes showroom to see a 2 million Euro car, and ended in the Tuileries Gardens. We went to Sacre Coeur for one of the best views of the city and spent some time in the art district of Montmartre. We toured Notre Dame and spent lots of time eating crepes in the Latin Quarter.

The second day was definitely the most full of any sightseeing day we have had! We started in Versailles, the 3rd largest palace in Europe, with really beautiful gardens outside of Paris. It was a gorgeous day out so we spent lots of time walking around the gardens and taking lots of pictures. We were amazed by how big the chateau was with a room for everything - from a royal make out room to a room for getting dressed (bigger than any bedroom we have seen).

We climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, walked around the Egyptian exhibits in the Louvre, saw the Mona Lisa, and then went back and saw the three main monuments lit up at night. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but so happy that we saw everything. Being on the Eiffel Tower was our favorite part. It was amazing standing on this landmark that we had heard about our whole lives. I (Nick) can now say I have climbed the Eiffel Tower!

After a fun time in Paris, we are off to Holland!

Oxford - Rest, Refreshment, and Harry Potter

After a very encouraging time in Birmingham, we arrived in Oxford to spend the weekend with Hannah's parents. Hannah's dad, Mike, is working on his PhD at the Oxford Center for Mission Studies. It was great to reverse roles with the parents and get to see where he studied and researched. It was easy to tell why he chose to do research at Oxford. The buildings, both on the inside and outside, were just amazing. Our eyes were constantly looking up at the decorations and architecture.

Mike and Steph were fabulous hosts! They showed us an amazing time in Oxford. We toured 3 different colleges - Christ Church College, New College, and Magdelen College. The colleges were spectacular. It is hard to describe how beautiful the buildings and land were around the schools. Oxford has 38 different colleges and each college has its own chapel, eating hall, dorms, and classrooms.

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to try out punting. For those of you who don't know, punting is an English activity that involves pushing a small wooden boat along with a very tall, metal pole. One person stands up in the back off the boat and pushes off the bottom of the canal and the boat hopefully glides along in the direction that you want it to go. Man, was that a stressful experience! Mike did an amazing job leading us around...and we eventually got the hang of it! But I think we probably hit every other boat, tree, wall, and animal on the water. We did succeed in our goal, however, which was to not flip the boat!

Another highlight of our time in Oxford was getting dinner at The Eagle and Child. This is the pub that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien hung out at every Tuesday morning for over 20 years and discussed the books they were writing such as The Narnia Series and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (no big deal).

However, everyone's favorite part of the weekend was definitely the amazing Harry Potter tour! We saw the hospital wing of Hogwarts, the room where Professor McGonagall teaches the students how to dance before the Yule Ball, the library for the first two movies, the top of the great stairs where McGonagall welcomes new students and the bottom of the stairs where Harry and Ron are caught arriving late, the hallways that appeared in the 4th movie, and the big tree that Malfoy was under when he got turned into a ferret. But the best part was seeing the Great Hall (pictured above) that was actually used in the first movie. A replica was rebuilt one and a half times larger for the following movies!

We had a great time in Oxford. It was great to see family and get some rest. Now, on to Paris!

P.S. - We must mention that Mike won hearts twice and he shot the moon to win the game with a grand slam! Good job, Mike!

Birmingham: Learning about OM Lifehope

After our time in London, we spent about 24 hours in the suburbs of Birmingham, England. We visited an OM Training Centre (note the British spelling) called Lifehope OM. Though our time was short, it was far from wasted! We felt very encouraged the entire time we were there, from the staff individually and by the organization as a whole.

We spent most of our time getting to know staff members' stories - how they heard of OM, made the decision to join, and logistically got themselves to England. All the stories spoke of God's grace and faithfulness throughout the process. It was really fun for us to hear how God was in control of each unique story, no matter where they were from or how they had struggled.

While getting to know the staff, we were given a great picture of OM's vision as a mission organization. We loved hearing that their goal is to keep their focus on the bigger picture. This means not getting hung up on the minor details, personality differences, etc. that can sometimes put a hold on real ministry. Along with this bigger picture, they really emphasized the importance of the church. So a lot of the ministries they were maintaining partnered with a church so that there would be consistency in a community. This was really encouraging for us to see...that they didn't believe they were sufficient but that they wanted to foster church growth.

Another thing we loved was that they really made an effort to help each person realize their gifts and passion, and then help them plug in where they fit best. This model of ministry seems to have generated a lot of growth in the center as each person gets to grow in their strengths rather than fight to fit into a job position with structured requirements.

There were tons of gifts and passions from each different staff member, as we saw from the variety of ministries they have coming out of Lifehope! They had ministry teams for everything from Muslim ministry, kids, sports, dance, youth, Polish, and so much more. You found that some people worked part-time in logistical things, like finances, personnel, etc. and part-time in field ministries like dance, kids, youth, etc. It was awesome to see that you could create your job and be involved in completely different areas, as long as you were using your gifts.

Last thing, we had an amazing conversation with a woman named Atonya. She gave us some wonderful advice - to have passion and to be ready to serve in that. Seeing how often our generation feels entitled to what they receive, we forget that there is something worth fighting for and serving in...no matter the cost to ourselves.

London - Such a Lovely Place

We arrived in London a bit out of sorts on Monday, having our travel day gone from 4:15 AM until about 2 PM. We stayed with some friends of friends in a gorgeous home in an area called Swiss Cottage. It was so enjoyable to be out of hostels and in a home with a family! They were incredibly hospitable and always made us feel right at home.

After unpacking, we headed downtown on the Tube to see the typical London sites - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and then to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, Buckingham Palace was being used for a Paralympics event, it was the day after the closing ceremony and seemed to be a parade of sorts of all the olympians. It was fun to see all the English pride though as we were walking in the park around the palace! We sat down for our first meal of fish & chips (which was delicious) and then headed back "home" for an early night.

Tuesday we had the pleasure of Emma's company! Emma is my longest friend, going back to our first years in Cairo. It's been probably 5 years since we last saw each other so we had lots of catching up to do! And of course, she got to meet Nick and know him which was really special! We enjoyed the Victoria & Albert Museum with her, had coffee in the museum, walked the city, ate delicious Lebanese food, finally saw Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. It was such a wonderful day!

Nick & I started our Wednesday off with our own walking tour of Harry Potter sites! We saw where Diagon Alley was filmed and which little street inspired it. We walked past Gringotts Bank and saw the huge chandelier that ends up collapsing in the movie...and of course, King's Cross Station! Even more sites await us in Oxford this Saturday.



After our tour, we met up with Emma, Fiona, and Shami - 3 friends from Egypt. It was "divine" catching up with them, hearing about their lives, and their futures. (Divine is very British and Nick couldn't help but laugh every time someone used it, along with the word lovely and how they say the letter "H".) We talked lots about Egypt, the memories, the Revolution, how things are different now and all the best places to shop! We might be buying a second bag when we get there so I can buy lots to bring back...

One quick story on Nick...early one morning, Nick walked down to breakfast with the family we were staying with. The two boys (7 & 8 years old) were wearing school uniforms. So Nick asks them if they have to wear the same shirt and pants every day, thinking this was a good conversation starter. Little did he know that pants in British English actually means underwear. So when Johan jumped up and got defensive, declaring that they of course don't wear the same pants every day, Shivanthi (their mom) had to explain to Nick that he had just asked if they wear the same underwear everyday. Haha!

We are off to Birmingham now to see an OM training center before we head to Oxford on Friday to spend time with my parents. Keep us posted with any news from home - we miss everyone!

Lost in Barcelona - a.k.a. Hannah's Tour of Barcelona

After four days in Barcelona, we felt like we did everything possible...and walked everywhere possible. Our legs were exhausted by the end of each day. We went to the Block of Discord and Casa Mila (houses designed by Gaudi), to the Chocolate Museum (Hannah especially loved that!), to the Cathedral of Barcelona (pictured above), and to the Barcelona City Museum (basically Roman ruins underneath the Royal Palace). We also went to the Montjuic, or "Mountain of the Jews". On top of the mountain, was a wonderful castle and we could see all of Barcelona and the harbor around us. That night, we went to a Magic Fountain show - where the water lit up to music and looked awesome.

Our favorite of all the sights was the Sagrada Familia. It is a huge church designed by Gaudi before he died, but construction is still going on and won't finish until the middle of the century. It had a beautiful inside with stained glass windows and a choir loft that held up to 1,000 members! The architecture of the front and back entrance illustrated the nativity scene and life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. It was really amazing.
Aside from all the sites we saw, we didn't really love the culture of the city. It was extremely crowded, the most common place to be pick-pocketed/scammed (which we weren't), and the city as a whole was very spread out.

We did manage to get extremely lost every day...and it was not ALWAYS Hannah's fault, but maybe more often than not. :) It allowed us to see more of the city and help us work on showing patience with one another. I guess God wants us to work on patience a lot.

Things we hope to forget from Barcelona...
-A man in a thong with only a short, pink, transparent tutu to cover it.
-A female backpacker wearing only a t-shirt, no underwear and no bottoms at all. Luckily, her backpack managed to cover some of what we didn't want to see.
-Men selling annoying squeakers that you put in your mouth.
-Getting yelled at for not ordering dinner when we sat down at a restaurant for drinks at 11PM. Dinner is apparently served through midnight.
-Women who felt that tops were optional, whether at the beach or not.

All in all, we are happy we visited Barcelona but we are excited to be safely in London now. We'll spend the next few days here and then go to Birmingham for one night and Oxford to visit Hannah's parents.

We miss everyone and love you and your comments!

Nicholas' Heaven - Ham & Cheese

Our third day in Madrid...the alarm never went off and I was frustrated that "we slept the day away" - Dad. Little did we know that Spaniards would be getting up around noon for breakfast too (it seems like we are finally understanding their schedule).

The day has been relatively relaxing, starting with cafes con leche (coffees with milk), a ham & cheese sandwich for lunch (at 5 PM), and ending with a typical tapas dinner - a ham & cheese plate, croquettes, and sangria. As most of you know, Nick loves himself some ham and cheese...so he thinks Madrid is fabulous! :) But seriously, the specialty at every restaurant, cafe, or street vendor is always ham and cheese.

After doing our first wash (pictured above), we walked to the Temple de Debod - one of the most intact Egyptian temples, given to Spain as a gift. We saw a beautiful sunset from the temple over the city of Madrid. Around 10, we finally headed to dinner, again adjusting to the schedule around here (though we still might have been among the first to arrive).

We spent most of our day talking about our visit with the MacNamees the night before...we met them at 9 PM for a 5-course dinner, lasting almost to midnight. They both made a huge impression on us and our dinner with them was a highlight of our time in Madrid. We learned so much about Young Life International - how they reach out to students, different camps and short term programs they provide, and how their ministry changes being in a different culture. It was really encouraging to here how they are training Spanish leaders to take over their positions along the way, so that their ministry becomes fully functional whether they stay in Spain or return to the States. We also enjoyed hearing that they first came to Spain at 50 years old, after retirement! Good to realize that it is never too late to start in ministry overseas...

Happy birthday, Emily! We love you!

Madrid: Plazas, Tapas, Sangria, & Musical Entertainment

Day #1 - After 24 hours of travel and very little sleep, we arrived at Hostal Triana in downtown Madrid. The day of traveling didn't come without a few memories. We had drug dogs sniff us as we walked onto the plane, a man was escorted by police on the plane in Newark and off the plane in Madrid, and Hannah stayed up all night watching movies.

It has been amazing walking around the streets of Madrid. We feel like every building should be important because they all look so ornate. We did a self-guided walking tour through Puerto de Sol, Plaza Meyor and Plaza de Santa Ana. Basically, massive squares filled with open-air cafes and live entertainment (from Spongebob Squarepants to a guy in a flamenco dress). We hear that the squares don't usually slow down until early morning hours so we are excited to try that another night.

We really enjoyed tapas for lunch and the atmosphere that comes with it - of sitting in restaurants or cafes and not being rushed out, but being able to hang out as long as we like.

We also went to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - an art museum with all sorts of styles and artists. The highlight was seeing "Guernica" by Picasso and learning about all the preparation he went through in order to make a national political statement with his piece.

We ended our day with a traditional glass of sangria and beer (for Nick). By far the best sangria I have ever had. More to come!

P.S. The picture is of our wonderful first hostal room.

On the Road Again...

Here we go...bags are finally packed, last things are checked off of the never-ending to-do list, passports are in hand, and hopefully everything we need is on our backs! We are flying out of Newark tonight and landing in Madrid tomorrow, Monday morning. Happy Labor Day to all of you - hope you enjoy the holiday!