New House. Done.

Well, the settlements all went through today, but not without a lot of drama. Our mortgage company was late getting us the final paperwork, so things got held up a bit. But finally around 2 pm it was all finished.

We met the folks buying our house. A very nice couple with twin 5 year old boys. He is in the military. They were very excited about the house and we're happy they're the ones who got it. We also met the folks selling us their house. He bought a gas station in Las Vegas and is going out to run that business. They did not want to sell to someone who was just going to flip their home, so were happy someone was buying it that really wanted it and appreciated it. So in the end, all was well.

But the drama with our mortgage company really got hard to take. Things that should have been done just weren't getting done. I found out from my agent that they have experienced that with this bank quite a bit - so much so that they are cutting ties with them. But it's done. Finally.

This afternoon after closing we went over and started working on the house. We had a lot of cleaning to do, taking mirrors off walls, washing the walls and getting them ready to paint. We want to try to get that done quickly before we have too much stuff in the house. So that's the task the next couple of days. Should be tiring!  :-)

Incompetence

Incompetence really burns my butt. We are supposed to settle on our houses this morning, and the NEITHER the mortgage or settlement companies are ready. Really? Is this the first house you guys ever sold? It's going to take a mighty effort today to hold my tongue and just get everything signed . . .

Wrapping a Lot of Things Up

Well, another busy week has flown by. I was down in Florida most of the week for my Lutheran Haven Board of Trustees meetings. Left early Tuesday morning and returned late Friday night. The meetings weren't bad - we actually have an exciting building project just beginning, so lots to consider and think about. If all goes well, I think this will be an good addition to the campus and help turn the place around. Our new CEO has been doing a good job of that on the operations side, now we need to do so on the long range planning and facilities. The only bad part of the trip was that my flight was delayed 3 hours coming home. but JetBlue surprised me with a $50 rebate the next day, so that says something.

We settle on our housing this week - Tuesday. So this will be another busy week! At 11 am we sell our current house, and at Noon we buy the new house! Then we get to work cleaning and fixing and moving. My father, brother, and sister are all coming to help, and it will be nice to all be together again. That doesn't happen too often these days.

School is starting back up for the semester as well. This summer of moving has set me back a little. I am hoping to take my French exam in the not too distant future, and then try to buckle down on my reading. I was hoping to have all my exams done this fall, but as I said, this summer has set me back a little and now it looks like Spring.

I'll try to post some stuff a little more often now that most of the summer's upset is winding down. We'll see, right?  :-)

Churches Burned in Egypt

Here is a list of the churches the have been burned in Egypt (HT: Father Z). Please keep the Christians of Egypt in your prayers.

Alexandria

1. Father Maximus Church

Arish

1. St George Church | Burned | Source

Assiut

1. Good Shepherds Monastery |  Nuns attacked
2. Angel Michael Church | Surrounded
3. St George Coptic Orthodox Church | Photo, Photo, Photo, YouTube
   
4. Al-Eslah Church| Burned | Source
5. Adventist Church | Pastor and his wife kidnapped | Photo
6. St Therese Church | Photo
7. Apostles Church | Burning | Source
8. Holy Revival Church | Burning | Source
9. Qusiya Diocese | MCN

Beni Suef

1. The Nuns School | Photo
2. St George Church | al-Wasta

Cairo

1. St Fatima Basilica | Heliopolis | Attempted Attack
2. Virgin Mary’s Church | Hakim Village | Burned | Photo

Fayoum (Five churches)

1. St Mary Church | El Nazlah | Gallery
2. St Damiana Church | Robbed and burned
3. Amir Tawadros (St Theodore) Church | EgyNews (Arabic), Twitter
4. Evangelical Church | al-Zorby Village | Looting and destruction
5. Church of Joseph | Burned | Source
6. Franciscan School | Burned | Source

Gharbiya

1. Diocese of St Paul | Burned | Source

Giza

1. Father Antonios
2. Atfeeh Bishopric

Minya (Around twelve churches)

1. Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram | Delga, Deir Mawas | Source
2. St Mina Church | Abu Hilal Kebly, Beni Hilal | Source, photo
3. Baptist Church | Beni Mazar | Source
4. Monastery | Deir Mawas  | Ahram (Arabic)
5. Delga Church | Attacked (Previously attacked with fire)
6. The Jesuit Fathers Church | Abu Hilal district
7. St Mark Church | Abu Hilal district
8. St Joseph Nunnery | Photo, photo
9. Amir Tadros Church | Photo, photo, photo, album, photo, photo
10. Evangelical Church | Photo
11. Anba Moussa al-Aswad Church | Photo
12. Apostles Church | Source

Qena

1. St Mary’s Church | Attempted Burning

Sohag

1. St George Church |Photo album, photo, photo, video, source, source, video
2. St Damiana | Attacked and burned | Source
3. Virgin Mary | Attacked and burned | Source
4. St Mark Church & Community Center
5. Anba Abram Church | Destroyed and burned | Source

Suez

1. St Saviours Anglican Church | Source
2. Franciscan Church and School | Street 23 | Burned |Photo, photo, source/photos, photos
3. Holy Shepherd Monastery and Hospital | Photo
4. Good Shepherd Church (molotov cocktail thrown)- Relationship with Holy Shepherd Monastery unknown.
5. Greek Orthodox Church | Photo, Photo

Christian Institutions

• House of Father Angelos (Pastor of Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram) | Delga, Minya | Burned | CBN News, Ahram (Arabic)
• Properties and Markets of Copts | al-Gomhorreya Street, Assiut
• Seventeen Coptic homes | Delga, Minya | Burned | Source, Source
• YMCA | Minya| Burned | Photo
• Coptic Homes | Qulta Street, Assiut | Attacked
• Offices of the Evangelical Foundation & Oum al-Nour | Minya
• Coptic-owned shops, pharmacy, and hotels | Karnak and Cleopatra Streets, Luxor | Attacked and Looted
• Dahabeya Nile Boat | Minya| Church-owned | Source,Photo, Photo
• Bible Society bookshop | Cairo | Burned | Photo
• Bible Society | Fayoum | Photo
• Bible Society | al-Gomohoreya Street, Assiut | Photo, Photo
• Ezbet el Nekhl | Source, source, source (Arabic)

A Good Thought

Saw this posted on another blog:

Those who have abortions are "not willing to sacrifice their comfort or convenience for a child, but they have no problem sacrificing a child for their comfort and convenience."

That's a great quote.

Yet lest I get all "holier than thou," I recognize how I am often the same way. Not with abortion, but other "inconveniences of life." How I hate to be inconvenienced or interrupted when other need me, but expect others to be so for me when I need them.

I am not better, just a different kind of sinner, and just as much in need of a Saviour.

Ouch

A day full of me and French. Oh, my brain hurts!

Back to Work

Well, my vacation is now officially over. It was quite a different vacation this year as we did not go away and get our usual two weeks with no computer, no internet, no email - two weeks of complete break. Had to stay home much of the time to take care of house stuff. In a way, that made it both easier and harder. Easier, for we did not have the worry of travel and being away from the familiar, but also harder as was harder to get away from work, which did encroach a time or two. But it was still a good two weeks. We got up to my Dad's for a few days and did some fun stuff in Philly. We also did some stuff here too. Yesterday we went to a State Park and spent the last day doing things there. I also got out to play golf with my son a couple of times, which is always nice.

The house selling and buying is coming together. Mostly we are now waiting for the mortgage company, settlement company, realtor, and seller to all get their work done. We've done what we've had to do and are anxious to get into our new home and start settling in. Settlements date is August 27. Yes, settlementS. We are scheduled to close on our sale at 11 AM and to close on our purchase at 12 Noon! I'm sure I'll have writer's cramp after signing all those papers.