Journey Back to Eden.pdf - St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Chicago

A TIME OF CELEBRATION 95posure to their Church and to their ethnic community. They arepleased that I am able to report favorably about everything that Ihave experienced.It seems that the longer I stay here, the more important it is tomany of the monks that my impression be a favorable one, that Iwill be able to report good information, and to report it positively.They know by now that there are any number of things I have observedthat I could report in a less than favorable fashion, if thatwere my intention. But I think they are growing in confidence thatmy intentions are honorable in their regard. They are becomingmore and more forthcoming, less idealistic in what they express tobe the case of their Church and their monastery. They now feelthey can rely upon my good intentions toward them.The Winter of FaithJANUARY 21, WEDNESDAYThe desert is extremely cold now. I’m continually surprised athow cold the climate can become in the Sahara. I hadn’t imaginedhow much more I would suffer from the discomfort of the coldthan from the heat. That, in fact, has so far been the case here. ByJanuary, the sun can only warm for an hour or two of the day, andsometimes not even that much. There has been an overcast complexionto the skies these last few days. Waterless gray clouds deprivethe surface of the desert of solar heat, the little bit that thereis. So I’m more and more confronted with a paradox that I hadn’texpected: the cold Sahara.Of course, there is a certain joy in this, because I feel more immediatelyin touch with the earth and its seasons here, in the colorlessSahara Desert, than I felt in the States, where I am able to exercisea greater control over the comfort and discomfort of theseasons. There, the ranges of temperature are even more modest;the discomforts, at least, are more reduced. That is, I can turn onthe air conditioner there, or I can turn up the heat. I can managethe controls in the car, my office, or my room. I can turn the hotwater faucet up or down in the sinks, showers, and bathtubs. I canadd more ice to my Cola, or reheat my coffee. I can even jump intoa pool. The possibilities of escaping the discomforts of the seasonsare all greater there.