Cracks

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George was in his second summer course in 2009 and asked to be moved up to Level 2 for more of a challenge. This meant that he was in my class 3 days a week. I admit to being worried when I heard that this change would be made because last summer George came across to several of the teachers as a sullen, angry young man who was often unresponsive in class. The one day I interacted with his class last summer, he asked sometimes inappropriate questions and simply could not fathom how I could be a pastor AND take care of my responsibilities at home. When I explained that my husband and I shared responsibilities at home, he was dumbfounded. That day in class was the extent of our interaction last summer. In part because George’s English was so poor, and in part because he wanted little to do with me.

This summer started much the same. When I saw George I would say hello and try to engage him in conversation, but he would often shake his head and walk away. I noticed that George was often singing when he walked down the hall or was working in the library so I began to comment on that and told him that I also liked to sing. As he gained some confidence with his English, he began to speak a few words from time to time, but the interactions were still limited. I began to joke with him in class and he would break a smile or even join in laughing with the others.

In the third week of the course, George and I ended up sitting at the same table for lunch. George was desperate for a classmate to join him but they did not come to his rescue. So George and I sat together throughout the meal. The conversation started slowly but I asked him questions about his family and his home. He told me that he used to be a Protestant but he had joined the Coptic Catholic church because he saw in the priest someone who put his words into action, which he had not seen in his church. As he gained confidence in his speaking, he eventually asked me again about being a pastor in America. I explained that I served my bishop and not in a parish. He asked if Hans was a pastor and I explained that he was not and told him about the work he does. He asked again how our home gets taken care if we are both working. I explained again, “Sometimes I make dinner, sometimes Hans makes dinner. Sometimes I clean the house, sometimes Hans cleans the house. Sometimes I go to the store, sometimes Hans goes to the store. We share these responsibilities.”

As I spoke George listened and nodded. And then he said, “I think maybe this is better in America than in Egypt.” I tried not to fall off my chair or show shock. These are the last words I expected to hear from George.

Now I’m not sure that George really meant what he said. If push came to shove, I’m pretty sure that George would not really support the idea that sharing household responsibilities is good for Egyptian families and society. But in that conversation and in that comment, I saw a crack. Not the crumbling of a foundation to be sure, but a crack in which a young man who last year seemed so certain of his view of the world, was willing to admit that maybe there are other ways to order the world that aren’t necessarily bad. And if he can admit that there are other ways to order the world at large, maybe he can began to see that there are different ways to order HIS world. By God’s grace and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, maybe George can be one of the agents of that change in Egypt. This will be my prayer.

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