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

A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY 13means whatever. But everyone here seems to think that somethinglike this must be arranged through the Pope himself.I’m becoming familiar with many of the secretaries and thestaff who work in the papal curia in Cairo. Now they’re beginningto bring me bottles of Coca-Cola, little snack candies and chocolates,and they all want to practice their English. It’s a real fixationamong the young, especially. Apparently they realize that there areeconomic opportunities which will become available to them to thedegree that they can master this important language of commerce.They also ask me about their relatives who have gone to America,in case I might at least know something about the places to whichthey’ve gone.So, one by one, they trickle in to see me. I’m beginning to haveguests as if I were a special legate to the Coptic Church! Peoplecome in and ask me questions. They’re curious about what I’mdoing here, but they’re more interested in exploring the Englishlanguage with me. I’m happy to oblige, as I have absolutely nothingelse to do and it’s a way of making some informal contacts.Surprise!SEPTEMBER 11, THURSDAYToday in the Talat Harb Hotel, I found a Romanian gentlemansleeping in my room! They’re doubling people up, apparently,without asking! Poor man, he’s trying to get to Italy instead ofgoing back to Romania when his state-sponsored engineering jobin Egypt is finished. I listened to him complain, then cry, about themisery of his life in Romania, and found myself writing a checkwhich emptied out my entire academic budget. It was a check foronly a couple of hundred dollars, which I probably would have hadtrouble cashing here anyway, since I have no local bank account.But he has an account somewhere and feels that he can buy histicket and visa now. And so I pray:Merciful Father,You saw the affliction of your people in slavery and youheard their cry. As slaves and children of slaves, they nolonger remembered your name, nor were the gods of their enslaverstheirs to invoke. They were born into misery and they