Cairo District President

 Our Cairo church branch is part of the Cairo District.  This district covers the top of Africa including, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan.  Spencer Penrod, who we knew when we lived in Egypt previously has been serving as the district president for the last 6.5 years.  Yesterday, Spencer was released in a special district conference and Mark was called as the new District President.  

Mark met with Elder Funk and Elder Singer, of the district presidency out of Salt Lake back in August right after we arrived.  Not much happened from that meeting so we didn't think much of it. In fact, shortly after that meeting Mark got called as a counselor in the branch presidency so we figured they found someone else to replace Spencer who was moving to Virginia the end of September.  We were wrong.  About a week and a half ago Elder Funk's secretary emailed Mark asking to meet with us both. We met over Zoom and they extended the call to Mark.  

This calling is similar to a stake president in an area with more members.  While our district covers a very large area it does not have a lot of members.  I am still not entirely sure all that will be entailed but we are ready to figure it out and try our best. Mark did call one of the humanitarian missionaries currently serving in Sudan to be his counselor which will be a great help.  There could be travel involved but with Covid restrictions it may not be for awhile yet.  I think it will be a lot of mentoring and training.  There are some important people from SLC coming out to visit mid-October so we have a meeting this week to figure out what that will involve.  I read the itinerary today and it feels like a lot but the humanitarian missionaries serving here take on a lot of that planning/hosting.  The district Relief Society President is here in our Cairo branch and she helps a lot too.  It will be quite the adjustment.

Both Mark and I bore our testimonies last night to the whole district.  It was a weird sense of deja-vu as we just did this in April. Elder Hern (in Sudan), the Penrod's and Elder Funk did as well.  I went before Mark and as I finished I looked over at Jared and saw that he was asleep!!  It was so awkward.  We were unmuted and couldn't do much to wake him up.  Once I finished I just had to try to subtly wake him up.  I can laugh about it but I was just hoping not many people had their Zoom on speaker view.  A sister in the branch here sent me this picture today so they clearly had it on speaker view.  In his defense it was a little warm with all of us on the couch. I guess my testimony was super riveting. 

After the meeting concluded the four of us stayed on the Zoom with Elder Funk and Spencer set Mark apart.  We had Spencer over for dinner before the meeting started and were glad to visit with him.  Elder Funk talked about how first the district presidency had to get special permission to have Mark set apart this way from Elder Ballard who got it from the First Presidency on Thursday when they met. As the Salt Lake Temple where they have met historically is closed for renovations, they all met in a dedicated room in the Joseph Smith Memorial building that has been set up to look like the room in the Salt Lake Temple.  This room is where all the weekly meetings of the 15 senior leaders take place so that was a fun piece of information. It's odd to think that Mark was talked about for a brief minute by these leaders.  Elder Funk was explaining this to us all so Jared and Lydia could hear about this different type of experience but I am not sure they got it.  After Mark was set apart by Spencer we chatted a little bit with Elder Funk.  I was in and out trying to get Jared and Lydia ready for bed but I think it was really good for Mark to have that time.  He will be talking with them a lot now.  I am really happy he has a willing counselor to work with and one who has more flexibility to travel. He will be a great help to Mark. 

Mark Spencer and Spencer Penrod   
When he began the meeting Elder Funk mixed up their names, another sense of deja-vu as this happened when we all lived here previously. 

When we got our job offers in December I immediately had the thought, "We got this job because there is something the Lord wants us to do in Egypt." AIS is a good school and international teaching is so much more competitive than it was 13 years ago. AIS was the one school that met our criteria and offered jobs for us both.  We knew the branch president was moving to Turkey shortly before we arrived and thought maybe that was why.  We were close but not quite right.  This will be an interesting new phase for us. 

First week of 4th grade and 6th grade

 We stopped by AIS a few nights before school started for our annual back to school photo shoot.  Carrying on traditions we established in Virginia has been a high priority for me to help us all feel more adjusted to Cairo. It was a little odd to see Jared and Lydia in uniforms but they don't seem to mind them so far.  Both were fairly nervous and excited for school to start. We have been waiting for so long.  

"More Than Me" This is the AIS Middle School Theme.  Two years ago they introduced it to the Middle School with the hopes of providing service learning opportunities and helping students see that they should be able to look beyond just their own life and see how they can help and impact others.  I really love this theme and think it is great for Jared and Middle School students in general. 

After we took pictures we came home and Mark gave them each a back to school fathers blessing which seemed to reassure them both.  I think being here in Egypt will provide us with more opportunities to make use of this special gift. 

First Day of School, September 12.  We started the day with a big breakfast.  A family from church kindly bought us some bacon from the commissary and we had bacon and eggs and some cinnamon bread that I made.  Lunches were packed and we rushed out the door to school. The middle school has a complicated rotating A/B schedule.  They have 4 periods a day and go to the same 4 classes each A and B day but the time they attend class rotates each day.  So day 1 was an A day and they had periods 1-4 and then day 2 was a B day and they had periods 5-8 but on the the next A day they start with period 2 and their day goes period 2, 3, 4 then 1.  Same with the next B day.  They start with period 6 so the day goes: 6,7,8,5.  It keeps rotating each day. Each day starts with Homeroom so in homeroom the teachers remind them of what day they are on and which class they start with.  Its confusing and complicated but Jared seems to be handling it very well. 

We really like Lydia's teacher Ms. Emily.  Unfortunately the school is a for profit school so the more students they enroll them more money they make.  Lydia's class has 25 very social students in it which is 5 -7 more students then she ever had in a class at Baker Butler.  So she finds it way too loud and busy.  We warned/told her many times that students are very different here but I don't think she quite expected such a loud noisy class. That has been very hard for her.  She attends AFL (Arabic for Foreign Learners) each day (Jared has it each A day) and it is her favorite part of the school day.  She loves that it is a small class with only 3 students and that she feels challenged, like she is learning something and using her brain.  The first few days of school are quite boring so it makes sense that she would enjoy feeling like she is learning something.  She is always happy to tell/show us what she learned with Ms. Yazmine. There are some nice kids in her class and we are hopeful they will settle down a bit more at least and that Lydia will adjust as well.  She gave her first day a 6.5 which is quite high for Lydia to give anything in Egypt.  It was very hard to leave Baker Butler especially knowing what I knew about AIS.  We loved it there and I do feel like it was a better school than AIS at least for Lydia but that does not mean that AIS can't be a good experience for her.  We were just very fortunate to be at such a good, strong school.  Lydia does not love school, some days she doesn't even like it but she does love being there with Mark and I.  While the school is very large her AFL class is very close to Mark's classroom and it is Middle School lunch when she leaves AFL so she can get daily hugs and check ins from us which she loves.  We have had many talks about looking for the good at school and implemented a new requirement that she has to tell us one good thing each day and it can't be AFL. We are hoping this will help her and she will feel more comfortable soon. The kids in her class are being perfectly nice to her and I think she will be able to make new friends soon. I don't expect her to love school like she did with Baker Butler necessarily although that would be great but I do hope she can find good things and do well. Today her class did mad libs to practice types fo words and she loved it.  It was so great to see her happy about school. 

Jared seems to be doing well.  He has commented that he prefers the elementary style of staying with one teacher but is adjusting easily to the rotating schedule and figuring out how to organize his supplies for each day.  They are not sure if they will do lockers this year because of COVID so he has to make sure to pack all the right notebooks each day and his backpack is heavy!  He would love to have a locker. Kids have been pretty nice to him and we hope he can be brave and be willing to put himself out there as well and get to know some nice kids.  He chose Study Hall and Spanish for his electives and ended up with Study Hall for this semester which is good I think.  It's a good break from the loudness of his classmates.  He has commented that his social studies class is really loud and he does not like that.  Social Studies is his favorite class and we have gotten to know his teacher as she is also a new to AIS this year teacher.  She is awesome and I hope that the students in there will settle soon. He is able to buy lunch so we are using a lunch allowance for the week.  The first time it didn't go so well but he tried again and got what he wanted.  He gave his first day a 7 so that was encouraging. Both of them said it was better than they thought it would be.  We will take it. 

After school we headed over to Ikea for our traditional first day of school ice cream. This was the first year Mark could join us which was nice.  It was really nice to go and hear about their first days. I spent most of my first day helping students find classes and preparing my personal substitute binder.  Mark had a pretty good day.  He is teaching 7th and 8th grade and so far the 8th grade class is way more chill than his 7th grade classes. I have been visiting as many classes as possible so I can see how teachers run things before I fill in for them.  It is so interesting to see how different teachers are and also how they all implement some of the same things.  I do think overall the school has very good teachers who are professional and enjoy teaching.  I will be nervous to fill in regularly but also glad to as not having things to do makes for long boring days. 

One week in our mornings are still quite rushed as it feels like Jared and Lydia are so slow to get things done.  We tried letting them stay up to 8:45 and it's too late for them.  So this week we moved bedtime up to 8:30 and will plan to get them both up at 6:40.  We need to be out the door by 7:35 at the latest so we need to get more efficient.  We are lucky to live across the street from school.  Choosing this apartment was the right choice. We are all just kind of holding our breath to see if we can stay in person.  Today was the beginning of the second week and the whole High School quarantined today.  It was originally just 10th grade for the week as a 10th grader tested positive for the Delta Variant but as they looked into it more they decided to do the whole high school for today at least.  I am not sure when the other grades will be back. There was also a 2nd grade class who has to quarantine this week.  It's all just a waiting game and a time to see if people follow guidelines and the guidelines work.