Occupy Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but at the same time I feel like I have been exposed to all sorts of cancers since the beginning of this month. First, I start with Breast Cancer---if you look into your contacts you will know someone who has this or know someone who knows someone who is going through it (six degrees of separation). Unfortunately in 2011, I think I've met more people who have had or do have breast cancer including those close to me. My grandma was diagnosed in her old age and I wonder if this contributed to all the other medical issues she had before she died in 2009, but we will never know. The point is, it's everywhere. I also know people who are suffering from lukemia, lymphoma and prostate cancer. And most recently was the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who just passed from pancreatic cancer just two days ago. I heard the news while I was waking at the Lukemia and Lymphoma society's light the night walk in downtown Manhattan (i'll get to this experience in a minute)....so I was a bit overwhelmed with all the cancer going around. It's very easy to be brought down just by being surrounded by this. I wonder how oncologists deal with cancer patients knowing that some cases are not curable...but like me, I feel like strength is drawn by the survivors and their families, which brings me to Light the Night walk. I was told about this walk by a good friend of mine. I thought this would be a perfect time to take my camera and go shoot some pictures and then after join the Occupy Wall Street protests that were literally blocks away from this walk. I ended up in a sea of balloons--Red for Supporters, White for Survivors and Gold for In Memorium. Amongst the crowd I saw mainly red balloons, followed by gold then few white ones. I decided to walk with the crowd up to the Brooklyn bridge where they would cross the bridge and return to hang up their balloon outside of city hall. I was beyond touched and speechless that night. There was an energy in the crowd that I couldn't describe. Along the walk route were pictures of people who fought the good fight and it was touching to see some of the family members stand by a picture proud of their relative who fought so hard to survive. I saw old people and I saw children in those photos. I saw teams of families walk for their love ones who they lost to cancer but they were cheering along for their family member. I met a lady who has two daughters, one with breast cancer and one with lukemia...her face was stern but she spoke about how hard this journey has been on her and that she had to do this. I heard many of the walkers say that this was a better cause than the Occupy Wall Street protests that was only blocks away. Before I arrived at the finished line, I decided to look at my Twitter feed--saw that Steve Jobs died from cancer....I was overcome with emotion...I went through the finish line with sadness, but what kept me going was the energetic people around me. After the finish line, people hung their red, white or gold balloon for their relatives. I was touched to see a white balloon person who walked and just paused looking at the balloons surrounding her. I saw many gold balloons taking moments of silence...I can't imagine their struggles because the families go through the process of cancer just like the patient. I ended up sitting for a bit because I was still filled with emotion of the news of Steve Jobs dying from cancer. I was at a walk for cancer as well...I was overwhelmed. I happened to sit underneath a picture of a young child where it said 'two time cancer survivor'. I saw many just stand and stare and also tear up in front of this picture. I didn't find it appropriate to attend the wall street protests after this...I felt like I was with people who were paying tribute to their loved ones....this cause surpasses any type of political or class issues...it is universal with all walks of life. It's too often that we hear someone we know has cancer. However I dont see outrage to fight this amongst the general public. I know it's not a political or economic protest---but once you are somehow touched by this, you want to find a way to fix things. I just know the only way I can help is through support...I believe the presence at these events to raise money speaks volumes to support the survivors and their families. It shows we have compassion and can think outside of our technologically hooked lives where we dont see past our own phones or computers. If it's not cancer, it should be something else that we reach out to the human race---it can be feeding the homeless or whatever it takes to go from a selfish to a selfless society. I hope that just as Americans are protesting the injustice of wealth we also protest and occupy the horrible diseases like cancer.

reflections of a dual identity after 9/11

I was born in Brooklyn, NY. My father came from Egypt in the late 60s and mom in mid-70s. I grew up in suburban Westchester County outside of NYC area from first grade on. In first grade, I learned all the patriotic hymns like God bless America; You're a Grand Ole' Flag, This Land is Your Land and of course our national anthem The Star Spangled Banner. I was the only Egyptian-American student in my school at the time...I didn't think about being Egyptian because I was too busy being a patriotic American every morning saying the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a patriotic song. I learned about American History and how great the USA is. My dad told me that in 2nd grade that my teacher was going to quiz me on all the Capitals of the US. So I spent my summer memorizing the US map. Until today, I can probably remember about 90% of the Capitals. That same summer, was my first trip to Egypt. I didn't know much about it except for the Pyramids, my church that I went to on Sunday recited prayers in Arabic. I think the entire family met us at Cairo Airport. I got applause coming out sitting on the luggage carriage waving both the American and Egyptian flags. I think people thought I was a daughter of some diplomat but I was just showing Egypt that I was ready to meet my ethnicity and that I was American born and raised. I had no concept of religion outside of Christianity, so I did ask my uncle why there were so many nuns in the country. I had no concept of what Islam was and that women were wearing the hijab--they weren't nuns (i was 7 years old by the way)

Growing up, my parents wanted me to learn my Egyptian culture, by forcing me to speak Arabic on the weekends. I threw tantrums to speak English, but Saturday mornings were met with a 'switch'. I was embarrassed because my friends would have to hear me speak to my parents in some crazy language. I think I gained popularity in school when there was a unit done on Egypt and I brought in Omar Sharif's narration of Mystery of the Pyramids. In college, I decided to take Arabic classes and concentrate in Middle Eastern Studies (as part of my international affairs degree). I became more in tune with the Egyptian/Arab culture, while also tuning into everything Washington DC had to offer. I volunteered for the NATO 50th anniversary celebration. Everytime you stepped on 23rd Street at that period there was another motorcade. We tried to guess who was in there....going to volunteer there, I went to old government buildings--there was history, grandeur--contributing to my country was a great feeling.

9/11 happened. It was my first week as a paralegal at a firm in DC. I was just out of college. My family and friends were in NY. I had to evacuate not knowing how to get back to my house in Virginia. I randomly found someone in the office who was going in my direction and we hitched hike from constitution ave in DC to courthouse area in virginia . We knew this was dangerous, but honestly we didn't know what was going on. I immediately got on the phone and attempted to call everyone in NYC but wasnt able to. 2 hrs of trying to actually get out of DC we walked from courthouse to clarendon and could smell the smoke coming from the Pentagon....we ended up in a coffee shop where we would rest before my coworker dropped me off at home. I got through to people speaking half English/ half Arabic. My coworker said 'honey if I were you, I wouldn't be speaking that language now'. I responded 'I dont care what you think'. We watched CNN at the coffee shop and I was already dealing with the sorrow of what was going on with my city but I had to deal with the ignorance at that point of my ethnic origin. 9/11 I thought of the WTC and how I was just there just weeks before the towers went down, I thought of Trinity Church and the day care center they had because I was in the first class of their day care. I thought of all the people I knew and what was going to happen next. That evening, I attended a prayer meeting at the Coptic Church in Virginia where so many people came up to me to make sure everyone I knew was okay. I called my family in Egypt and Canada to let them know we were safe. I felt the unity of everyone coming together....there was kindness...and there was darkness as well.

Darkness came from attacks on people who looked remotely Middle Eastern...even Sikhs got targeted. These last 10 years I have had to prove that I am a loyal American. I have been met with discrimination due to my ethnicity at the workplace and on vacation. So many times someone asks 'where are you from?' I respond: 'New York'. They ask: 'no ethnicity'. Me: "I'm Egyptian'.....and the smile goes away and body becomes all tense. sometimes they continue the conversation by asking 'So do you like celebrate Ramadan?'...I say 'Um, do you see this cross I'm wearing? I'm Christian'. Them: 'oh so you're not Muslim but you're Egyptian?'....me: 'not everyone from the Middle East is Muslim and not everyone is a terrorist'...I walk away because I can't believe the ignorance. One lady at work refused to work with Arabs....three years later when she was forced to sit next to me while I was filling in for her partner, she apologized for her racism saying that 9/11 affected her and made her angry against all Arabs.....I told her that those who terrorized us that day were not representative of the entire community....and I had to remind her that I was AMERICAN and I was brought up in a dual culture household; proud that my ancestors were the likes of King Tut (well she bought it...I can't track my family that far back)

When going to Egypt, I was met with some animosity since I did come from the US...it didn't help that I was Christian. During the 00 decade, I would go to Egypt at least once a year to see my ailing family (uncle and grandma God rest their souls). I remember being in a supermarket getting a stare down from women because I wasnt veiled. I was extremely uncomfortable...I got hissed and whistled at...but I was told to ignore -- something I normally don't do. I was hissed and whisteled at in Morocco back in 2000--and they didnt think I understood Arabic...until I opened my mouth and basically gave it to the two guys sitting making obnoxious comments..... They're mouths literally dropped to the ground (the NYer in me can't just stay quiet). So many other things I realized in Egypt, I'm not an equal to the rest of the population.


It is plain and simple ignorance on both sides of the Atlantic. Proving I am just as American as Wonder bread has not been an easy task. And in Egypt, completely different story. At times, I didnt think I belonged anywhere. Only during early 2011 when people would ask about my ethnicity and I would respond: Egyptian...I got hi fives for the revolution. I had people who I was out of touch for years come out of the woodwork to ask about my family and the Egyptian revolution. If anything, the terrorist stereotype briefly vanished as everyone wanted to know what was going on, listen to my opinions and to ask when my mother would be able to leave the country (she was stuck in Alexandria and left late Feb back to the States). It was a great feeling because I was able to use what I knew through my culture and education to give an educated view of what was occurring in Egypt.

Now it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I choose to honor those who perished that day. I choose to honor the first responders and all those who sacrificed their safety to help others. I will not be making this political. I've seen some articles regarding how American Muslims have been discriminated against in the past 10 years....media, it's not just the Muslims, but anyone who looks remotely 'Arab' regardless of religion. I'm not Muslim but I have felt the brunt of discrimination. My goal is to continue to educate to show that there are great American citizens of with ethnic origins that trace back to the Pharoahs and to 2011 revolutionaries, while of course I continue to sing my heart out at the Yankee game 7th inning stretch of God Bless America.

The Aftermath...

As many people are aware, Hurricane Irene struck the eastern seaboard of the United States affecting approximately 65 million people. This hurricane was a category 1 and as it moved up towards New England it was downgraded to a tropical storm. This was big news all over the world...we got phone calls from Egypt and other parts of the US making sure that we were okay. Thank God we were. The overnight of the storm was a bit scary as I did hear trees fall. After the storm I saw that half of one tree was down and ontop of it another one. We were the lucky ones...no flooding in my house, but others down the street did, we still had power, just nerves shaken. The story was different from house to house, street to street, town to town, etc. The local news did an excellent job of covering each part of the tri state area, because while people were back into their routines in Manhattan on Monday morning, others were still reeling from the damage. The apparent overhype or whatever you wanna call it from the storm was necessary because people for the most part, heeded the warning and another Katrina aftermath was avoided.

There is a human side to every disaster. After each disaster, we find ourselves coming together as a community. I decided to head out yesterday to survey the damage in the area. I ended up in a Panera Bread while waiting for my car to be serviced. It was packed with people charging their laptops, cellphones, iPads, iPhones, iPods, etc. They have free wi fi and it was turned off because many people who came to eat couldnt find a place to sit due to those who came to Panera Bread just to surf the net. I spoke with some people who told me that their entire town had no power. I also noticed, people were kinder to each other...taking turns using power outlets, etc...I heard a lot of people speak about their experiences to complete strangers. This would not happen on an ordinary day. I headed to a supermarket where the cashier was asking each customer if they were okay. Yesterday I couldn't count how many people asked me if I was okay....I didn't know anyone....this reminded me of other disasters like the blackout, the earthquake of last week, 9/11, blizzard... we all stepped out of our zones of just focusing on self and focused on others. In a busy NY Metro area, we are always rushing to get to the next place, we don't stop...literally we don't. If we do, it's an inconvenience and often we miss out on finding out someone else's story. I got to survey damage of down trees and power lines in front of homes literally on the block behind me. People were just very nice and jokingly told me they would charge me $2 to take a picture. What I took away from this, is that we shouldn't wait for a disaster for us to stop and ask about each other. I met so many resilient people yesterday that had more taken away from them, but they were willing to ask me if I was okay. I was touched...

For those who watched this hurricane from a distance and mocked the media attention...there are places that look like a war zone, people still without basic needs, houses damaged by water, power out, highway collapse and towns that are rivers. Support us with your prayers instead of mocking that this storm was 'nothing'. It was something for many people, life changing event. It was also a missed opportunity for some to reach out to the other. Honestly, I felt the love by so many people who texted, called, sent me twitter/fb messages asking if I was okay...and I was one of the lucky ones... Let's not wait for something horrible to happen to keep in touch but rather let's take away that we all need to pause so that we can see the world through not just our own eyes, but through others.

confessions of a single coptic woman

i've been avoiding this topic or speaking exclusively about this on my blog for many reasons. however after having so many conversations with people, i think it is time i addressed this issue from solely my perspective with some input from conversations ive had over the past month or so. as always i would like to keep my blog as positive as possible because i feel that we tend to just look at the negative side, however im not going to make this another rosey 'God has a plan' for you type of post. While I firmly believe in God's plan for us, I also believe that some issues need to be addressed.

so yes, i'm over 30, single, Egyptian Coptic American. I'm proud of my status. Our community puts pressure on people like myself asking 'what happened? why aren't you married yet? you're too picky' and hear a whole load of unsolicited comments about my single state. every wedding is a nightmare because you are met with these comments and because you're not married, you get seated with much younger people since all your friends are married. okay i cope and move on...

then i watch CTV--the coptic channel...where i hear bishops and priests talk about this impending 'crisis' that there are so many single women over 30 not married and that the church must get to the bottom of this. hence, there is a convention sponsored by one of the diocese entitle something like 'struggles of a single coptic orthodox christian' for single copts 30 and over. I was told I should attend and when I looked at the flyer my reaction was 'you gotta be kidding me'.

I appreciate that the church is trying to help us over 30 single folk get married, but im kinda sick and tired that the single status is being treated like a disease. It isn't a crisis, it is just a reality that many of us decided not to lower our standards to marry just anyone, we didn't rush because we were focused on our careers and studies and one thing, we refuse to get married to a guy that just wanted to use us as a ticket to America. There's nothing wrong with that and instead of being treated like that we have leprosy, we should be treated with respect. We don't need to be reminded every second while in the church that we need to get married and that there is something wrong with that and because we're single it doesn't mean we don't have lives.
I recently have taken up photography as a hobby, it's great...it doesn't define who I am, but it definitely adds a fresh perspective on life. There's more to life than just getting married and having kids. I really think that everyone has a different path in life and it just so happens that the issue of marriage is delayed for me for a reason only God knows.

Again I appreciate the efforts of the church, but I wish it wasn't so reactionary. We need to have more social gatherings, but not with just getting all single people into one room. Many of us have life balance issues or could be looking into getting into another career field. Focus on that...focus on our spirits that that we are not reminded every second that we are the outcasts...priests shouldn't be asking every second 'haaa fee haga gadeeda?'...I will let you know if there is...but for now...leave everyone alone...give us the spiritual support that we need instead of scrambling to be matchmakers (which most often than not tends to be disastrous...everyone is good in the eyes of a priest).

I have to say while I do struggle a lot, I'm also extremely thankful. You'll hear many people like me say that. We are not in unhealthy relationships, nor are we stuck with someone that we dont want to be, and we know what we want. I'm thankful that God has give me the opportunity to do things in life like travel and serve. I know my path is different than others, I just ask for support instead of just stating the obvious. Believe me when I say, God protects and God knows exactly what we are feeling. It's normal to lose hope, because our culture does a number on us...we have a tendency to look at what others have and not focus on ourselves. Because so and so got married at 25 and has 3 kids by 32, doesn't mean I am the same. It's also saddening when I hear our younger generation like ages 8-10 say that people must get married by 25. I know 25 is old in their mind, but what are the parents teaching them? It's the same attitude that has put our mature single community stereotype that there's something wrong if you're not married by a certain age. We need to instead educate our kids about how God is truly in control of life and that not every Egyptian is meant to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or a pharmacist (with all due respect to those professions). We have to stop putting everyone into a box because the reality is--people are living outside the box doing different things, getting new degrees, traveling the world to serve and learn from different cultures. So I refuse to succumb to the uneducated mentality that my goal in life is to just get married. The goal in life is find my way to eternal life, so my way is different than yours. I respect yours, so respect mine.

in conclusion, i welcome new ways of making the single life more acceptable in our community. it shouldn't be a moseeba, but rather something that people should be proud of. For my single community of friends---i know we will continue to have great conversations and be a support to each other. For my married friends--I love you as well, but please be more understanding and empathetic. To the church--don't be reactionary...be supportive...

stop, drop and roll

every year while i was in elementary school, the local fire department came by the school to educate us what do to do when theres a fire. one of them was stop, drop and roll. you stop what you're doing, drop to the ground and roll on the floor to get rid of the flames. thankfully i have never been in a fire, nor plan on being in one...however this technique was needed for my life..i haven't been blogging since elevator follies, so that i could do just that.

life before my stop drop and roll...has been crazy. i was running around like a crazy person doing everything for everyone and not taking care of myself. this sounds so familiar to so many people...because it happens to everyone. it got to a point where i was not benefitting from my church service and all i wanted to do was give up...i didn't understand why God wasn't helping me out with anything and i started to build a resentment towards God....so i stopped...i got to sit with my father of confession..and if anyone is against talking to a priest or a spiritual guide...you're definitely missing out. it was one of those really tough conversations but i came out feeling like i just unloaded everything that was on my heart and a sense of peace that everything was going to be OKAY.
next i dropped--i went on vacation. i dropped everything at home, work, service and life to embark on an 8 day adventure to Florida with two of my friends. i really can't tell you how much i needed this. every day was the same, wake up, eat, beach/pool, eat, sleep...it was great. i didnt have to run anywhere to be anywhere and at night we got to walk along the beach. one thing i miss is getting in touch with God's creation of this earth...where ever you are a simple walk does it. whether you're in a city, beach, mountains, suburbs, anywhere...these walks are quiet times...
i came back rolling--i felt like i got the flames off of me and i was literally ready to roll, but coming back i dealt with going back to the old ways again before i went on vacation. this time for me was different. i am saying NO to things that i know i cannot humanly possibly do. saying NO is very hard for me because i always like to help out, but i found out that it's okay to say NO if it's really going to make me feel miserable. also im trying to keep up with what makes me happy. going out in small groups, long walks and of course photography. i cannot lose myself in the busyness again. i need to stay connected to the things that make me happy. most importantly--taking care of myself.

so the fire department was right in one thing...the stop, drop and roll technique really does work...it works when there's a fire in your life.

Secular separation

Again so much is happening and I haven't had a chance to really sit down to organize my thoughts until now. However the points that I will be making in this posts are only based on my limited knowledge, I don't have facts but I report what I hear from people that are going through or what I hear in media circles.

Today in Egypt there was a demonstration for civil divorces for Coptic Orthodox Christians to be granted in order to bypass church mandated rules regarding divorce. personally the media that has reported this has left out a lot of information about the stance of the Coptic church regarding this issue, with the exception that the church is against divorce. Okay that's fine but to an outside reader it just puts the church in a very bad light. This situation also brings up the issue of separation between religion and state within Egypt. So that will be another issue that I hope to address.

first you can read all about the sacrament of matrimony according to the Coptic church here http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/sacraments/6_matrimony.html
the sacrament of marriage is quite beautiful and if youre not so distracted with all the petty details of the wedding, the prayers are amazing. A mystery is occurring. Even the hymn of the Holy Spirit is sung during the ceremony. A traditional Coptic wedding is done with liturgy immediately following the matrimonial ceremony since the sacraments in the church normally have you take communion immediately following the type of sacrament. It is quite beautiful to see the newlywed couple taking communion together for the first time as husband and wife. I've been to several of these traditional weddings. They are long but they are worth it. I could go on forever, but let's not digress.


Understanding the church's stance on divorce is simple...the church leans on the teaching from the Bible regarding adultery as being the reason. Bishop Paula is the bishop of family affairs and he is the one who ultimately grants the divorce. He has a weekly show on ctv ( Coptic channel ) called beit ala el sakhr or in English: house on a rock. Here he addresses many relationship issues and many people call in or come on the show to speak about their horror stories. Their cases are heartbreaking and some have had their pending cases for many years.
In my own opinion there needs to be more than one bishop assigned to this. It seems like the separation rate within the Coptic church has increased. So I believe the Coptic church needs to somehow reform on how they tackle this, not alter Biblical teaching which they must uphold as church leaders. Part of the reasons of protesting is that many cases have been just dragged on for years without any movement...this can take an emotional and physical toll on the couple.

Those who separate or divorce in the church suffer from being treated like outsiders from other parishioners because somehow we have in our brain that divorce is haram...priests and servants in th church need to do better outreach to families who need help instead of waiting for some big blow out to occur then become the next pariahs of the church.

Getting back on track with this issue is a bigger problem....some people resort to converting to Islam to get what they want. I don't know about you, but converting religions just to get what you want is unacceptable from both ends. I do not want someone converting to Christiantiy just so that they can get married and not really believe in Christ. I believe the same goes for other religions. Taking these extreme measures puts one in a position where they have severed themselves from other sacraments such as Eucharist. I know the situation is difficult but that's where the church can somehow streamline this process and give out their decisions faster.

Civil marriages require a secular state. As of now, Egypt is not a secular state, and many revolutionaries are fighting for this. Egypt has two types of citizens, Muslims and non Muslims. On the national ID card the religion is stated, which can lead to discrimination if you are not Muslim, especially if the person who is trying to hire, help, arrest, or whatever has something against you being not Muslim. Egypt needs to get on the program eliminating this. When I show my driver's license here in the US, my religion is not stated on there. Same should go for Egypt and their national ID card. Have each religious institution deal with their follows in a spiritual not political way. Not all Egyptians follow a religion, so if they were born into it and have to follow these rules that they don't follow to begin with it causes issues. So establishing a secular state will allow for a secular solution to gain divorce.

I can go on and on about this but enough for now. The Coptic church needs to do a better job outreaching families, education thru pre marital sessions and couples meetings after, and delegation of more learned church clergy to assist Bishop Paula in granting divorces or streamline the process so that one is it left 7 years in limbo trying to get a separation from someone who potentially can do physical or emotional harm.

elevator follies

this past weekend, i attended our church's servants retreat. to be quite honest, i really didn't want to go. ive been really jaded lately regarding church service (i'd rather not go into this now), however this weekend i was pleasantly surprised by how filled i got with the topic regarding the gifts in Romans 12. in addition, something that was truly needed this weekend was to built a bond with the servants in attendance. weekends like this, you get to speak to different people that you normally don't see on a regular sunday since we are all busy serving. it was a good time and then the icing on the cake came on the last day.

there were 12 of us who got onto an elevator. as soon as we get on, martha said 'imagine we got stuck on the elevator'...of course we kind of just joked around about it. the elevator opened on the second floor and mariam got out...we thought we were home free. somewhere between the 3rd and 4th floors, the elevator suddenly stopped and the comment all of a sudden became reality. i have never been stuck in an elevator before in my life. ive always heard about it and you watch stuff on tv where the elevator gets stuck and at the end it can fall all the way down. so i was stuck...all 11 of us were stuck. we called for help and used our cell phones to contact the rest of the people from the retreat just to let them know we were okay.

however i really didn't expect to be stuck for up almost 50 minutes. we kept the mood relatively light as we joked around a lot. we were thankful that we all knew each other, and that there were no kids stuck with us. the most calm person the entire time in the elevator was my dad. sometimes when people are silent they think something is wrong...but my dad had the right attitude. he had taken communion that morning and also for the first time in his life he was asked to hold the Offering of the Lamb in the beginning of liturgy. he was particularly touched by this and he gained a peace he's never had...so in his mind...whatever happens happens and just go with the flow...mr. star again, truly a star :D

i particularly got concerned as it got hot in the elevator and there was a lack of ventilation. i was concerned for the older people as time went on. we kept joking but we also resorted to prayer. yesterday was the feast day of st. george of el-mezahem. if my arabic serves me correctly...mezahem comes from the word of zahma meaning crowded....we sang a tamgeed or glorfication in the elevator mentioning this saint. we also sang kirye eleisons. we heard our group on the outside singing praises as well.

part of me understood why st. paul would praise God in a prison. i mean you can't really compare much between a prison and an elevator. both circumstances are very different but there's a similarity of being trapped and not being in control of the outcome of the situation. we resorted to God joyfully and with a knowledge that there's nothing we can do except praise God and ask for His mercy. this point really hit home as i started fanning myself and the person next to me.

the ending was particularly touching...we felt the elevator move and the power somehow back on. as we got to the lobby everyone greeted us (i did a zaghroota coming off the elevator), the greeting was very touching...they were cheering but i also saw the stress in everyone's faces. some of the mother's were crying and hugged all of us. one person rescued us with water. we had joked in the elevator that we should use this to take advantage of the situation...we wanted all sorts of special treatment with sandwiches and drinks to greet us. but we got something even more special...the love. we were all united in that moment. we knew that everyone was praying inside and out of the elevator. being stuck for that period of time felt like an eternity...and we were almost packed like sardines. we all bonded inside the elevator and we knew there was a bond happening outside.

the ironic thing was that the fire department showed up after we had just stepped off the elevator. apparently there was a lot of politics of trying to get out us and thankfully we were unaware of this. we also found out that we had lost power between the floors...also something we were unaware of. i dont wish to comment on the negative things since the outcome of this was favorable and everyone was safe.

our positive attitude and prayerful spirit is what kept us going. it was a take home lesson for me to always stay hopeful in a negative situation. i hope never to get stuck again in an elevator but for some reason, im thankful for this experience. our group somehow grew closer together and that is the true meaning of fellowship.