The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

“God as Creator. Pensive. Excited. Inventive. An artist, brush on

palette, seeking the perfect shade. A composer, fingers on keyboard,

listening for the exact chord. A poet, pen poised on paper, awaiting the

precise word. The creator, the master weaver, threading together the

soul. Each one different. No two alike. None identical.”

-- Max Lucado

In addition to the church our group worked with in Cairo, we also

visited a church that did powerful work in each of us.

It is called the Muqattam Cave Cathedral. It is unique in that it

seats 20,000 people and is in an open-air cave. Most unusual, however, is

the route you must take to reach the church.

Church attendees either live in or must drive through Cairo’s garbage

dumps to get there.

Try to imagine what a garbage dump that collects about 7,000 tons of

garbage daily looks like. Now, try to picture what it must feel like to

the 30,000 people who live there. If you are really brave, try to imagine

what it smells like.

Why do so many people live there, and why is it the entrance to the

Cave Cathedral?

During the past 35 years, thousands of Christians, fleeing poverty in

rural Upper Egypt, have congregated into villages within Cairo’s garbage

dumps. Many of the men and their sons leave before dawn in a cart pulled

by donkey and go down the mountain to collect trash. They return home

before noon and the family sifts through the garbage for anything to

recycle.

Although the villages are disease-prone and poor, a strong Christian

community has emerged, and one of the largest villages is behind Muqattam

Mountain.

The Muqattam Cave Cathedral is affiliated with the Coptic Orthodox

Church. We weren’t there in time for a service, but we spent time walking

and praying. We were all deeply moved by what we saw as we drove through

the dumps. We were also allsurprised by the story of the Cave Cathedral’s

origin.

The pastor is Father Sama’an and he attributed the beginning to an

Egyptian garbage collector.

“Through him, I became a changed man and eventually a worker for the

Lord,” Sama’an said in an article I read.

Previously, Sama’an lived and worked in Cairo. One day, a man dressed

in dirty clothes and carrying a bag knocked on his door. The man asked

Sama’an if he had lost anything and explained that he had unsuccessfully

asked the same question at all of the apartments in the building.

The man told Sama’an that he had picked up the garbage from the

apartment building and had found something very valuable while separating

it.

“So sir, please tell me what you lost,” the man said. Sama’an told

him he had recently lost a precious watch, and the man showed him the

watch he found. It was Sama’an’s.

Sama’an was shocked and asked why he didn’t keep the watch for

himself.

“My Christ told me to be honest,” the man said. Sama’an then said,

“Because of what you have done and your great example, I will worship

Christ.”

That began a miraculous series of events over the years that included

Sama’an becoming an Orthodox priest, and Christians worldwide helping

develop schools, health clinics and churches in the dumps, including the

Cave Cathedral.

Only the master artist could paint a picture like that. Only the

creator could be that creative.

And you can quote me on that.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks frequently

to parenting groups. She can be reached via e-mail at o7

[email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach 92658.