After we left the pyramids, we drove through the City of the Dead. It is basically a cemetery. The thing that makes it different, however, is that people LIVE there, hired to guard the tombs. It was interesting. You can read about it (with pictures) HERE.
From there, we drove on to Garbage City. Yes, it smelled terrible, even with the windows rolled up in the car. It did not smell as bad as the Musuem of the Sewers here in Paris. Garbage City is the main garbage disposal system of Cairo. The men who live there go out on donkey carts throughout the city, collect the trash, and bring it back to this neighborhood where they live. The women and children sort it in a very organized system, and then recyle nearly ALL of it. The biodegradable stuff is given to feed the donkeys and pigs of Garbage City, and the other things (plastic, glass, paper, etc) is used to make things they can sell to make their living.
Because it is a life that is considered unclean, 90% of the people who live in Garbage City are not Muslim, but Coptic Christian. It was incredibly humbling to see these Egyptian brothers and sisters JOYFULLY making their life among the rubbish. I just couldn't believe it when I saw the joy on their faces. It seems that they understand enduring hardship for the sake of God's glory in a way that I don't know I will ever grasp.
I watched the following two videos on youtube and were blown away. They're well worth the time to watch!
It is amazing to see what God can do through just one man to change an entire community! As we drove on to the cave churches to see where these precious people worship, I was blown away. There are no words, really, to describe the impact they had on me. I'm still working on it in my mind of why it was so mind-boggling to me to see this. 20,000 Egyptians gathering together to worship our Lord in a church ampitheatre that is carved out of the rock in a cave? There is just something phenomenal about it to me...when I go to church here in France with maybe 20 other people, or I walk into a gloriously built cathedral that is empty.
I breathed in deep the air that reeked of garbage and waffed strongly of sinners saved by grace. The verse from Revelation, "Amen, come Lord Jesus," was carved into the ceiling. I agreed whole-heartedly...I can't wait to worship with those Family members!
Click HERE and HERE for more photos.
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