Dear Friends,

New Year’s greetings from Cairo in the name of Christ Jesus.

Politicians, journalists, and common citizens all over the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief as 2001 comes to a close. According to many pundits, the horrific attacks of September 11 have dramatically and permanently changed the world. These events cast a dark shadow over virtually every aspect of human existence, from the heartland of America to the furthest reaches of the globe. Here in Egypt, there is a deep awareness that the times are darker.

Friends from all over the world have asked us for our on-the-spot analysis of the situation. The interest in the Middle East has eclipsed the fervor at the height of the Gulf War of the early 1990s, when I was taking my first university classes on the Middle East and Elisabeth was finishing her senior year of high school in Jordan with SCUD missiles flying overhead from Iraq to Israel. The question that comes up again and again essentially boils down to "Why?" "Why do Arabs seem to hate Americans so much?" "Why are Arabs rejoicing at the horror of terrorism like we are seeing on CNN?" "Why can’t Muslims and Christians simply live in peace?" Sadly, we are not able to answer these seemingly simple questions without complex answers. And the questions do not stop there. Here in Cairo, our Arab friends—both Christian and Muslim—have flooded us with an equally powerful wave of questions, also boiling down to "Why?" "Why do Americans hate the Palestinians so much that they always take Israel’s side?" "Why is the most powerful country in the world bombing the innocent people of Afghanistan like we see on Al-Jazeera?" "Why can’t Muslims and Christians simply live in peace?"

As we near the end of our third year serving here in the Middle East, we find ourselves unable to articulate clear, easy answers to any of these "Why’s." Most of the time, we try to reframe the question a bit and add more information to the picture. More often than not, the obvious conclusions from either West or Middle East regarding each other lack a tremendous amount of information, and misconceptions abound. But at the end of the day, the questions remain, and we remain as confounded by many of them as others, perhaps even more so because ask many of the questions from both sides at once. In a sense, this is a very dark picture.

But thankfully, the darkness is not the only aspect of our lives. A light is breaking through, regardless of how small it may seem against the seemingly overwhelming darkness. As I write this letter, we are between Christmases. We have already enjoyed the Western Christmas and we will soon celebrate the incarnation with Eastern Christians on January 7.

It has been pointed out that the Church often spends a lot of time trying to "sweep out the darkness" in order to clear the way for the light. Jesus taught something different. He claimed to be the Light of the World, and that it is the light shining out that eliminates the darkness. He told his followers, "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." In other words, Christianity calls us to shine light in words and actions as the primary means to oppose darkness. What does this light look like in the Egypt we see around us? Let me give you an example. In a current trial in the Egyptian courts, 170 men are being tried as terrorists. The majority of these men are from the region of el-Minya, about 250 kilometers south of Cairo on the Nile River. Here at the seminary, at least 25 percent of the young people training to be pastors and church leaders are also from this same township—and they yearn to return to serve there.

What are the possible fruits of this work? We cannot be blind to the challenges or overly optimistic in our goals, but we can hope for genuine change. My Arabic tutor Muntassir is a Muslim who spent part of his childhood growing up in the city of el-Minya. Though Presbyterians comprise not even 1 percent of the Egyptian population, their impact on society far exceeds their numbers through churches, hospitals, clinics, and especially schools. Muntassir attended the elementary school attached to and run by the Second Presbyterian Church of el-Minya. It is impossible to quantify the impact that the school had in his life, but his high view of Christians and his vehement opposition to Islamic militancy reflect a life that has been changed by Christian witness.

We have a singular privilege of working here at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. Daily, we have the privilege of equipping church leaders to better reflect the Light of Life through their actions and words to the world around them. Unlike many of us Westerners who would be terrified at the prospects and difficulties of ministering in an area like el-Minya, our students have an exuberant, joyful love of their childhood home that gives them a passion for serving, transforming, and building these communities by the grace of God.

Regardless of how dark the world may seem at times, we hold the same hope that the early Church did in the face of the darkness of their own time, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." Our prayer is that all of us would grow in our knowledge and reflection of the Light of Life.

In the grace and peace of Christ,

Darren, Elisabeth, and Calvin Kennedy

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 138