My time in Egypt was one of the most memorable times of my life and one that I will never forget, for as long as I shall live. Whilst in Egypt I visited most of the greatest cities and tourist areas, including the temples and other historical places, like the Valley of the Kings. I will never forget the city behind the city – what I mean by this is the people who make up the population of those cities.

With the help of my good friend Shaban, age 27 and who can speak Arabic, English and German, I was shown that as an older person, we don’t know everything about life just because we are older and should know what is right and wrong. The wisdom and experience that I found with this young man, one can only say was just wonderful and inspiring, and we all have much to learn, no matter how old we are.

The cities I visited included Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor and Aswan but the most important place to me was in Upper Egypt. There, in a small village, I met so many wonderful, caring and the kindest people I have ever met in my life. They had nothing to give me apart from themselves, but they gave me everything that I needed. The people in that small village showed me the true meaning of Spirituality for all mankind – the human race. They didn’t care about what I had or what I could give them, all they wanted to do was to please me, and to give to me whatever they had; they invited me to visit their homes for a cup of tea, or to eat something with them and their families.

Despite their hardships, living off the land and just trying to survive whilst still holding on to their culture and family values was the most important thing to them. The very same values we once had here in England some forty or fifty years ago. Shaban, who gave so much of his own time and of himself wanted nothing in return, giving me a true picture of his and his people’s way of life and it will live with me for the rest of my life. It was there, that I realised that my heart and my love for those people and their country became so overwhelming.

I had made friends with many families and had been welcomed as a guest into their homes, but I was taken aback when my friend asked me to go and see his sick aunt whom they thought was coming to the end of her days. All the family had been summoned to come and see her before she passed away. Somewhat nervously I went in and sat by the lady’s bedside, which was made up of clay. A little while later my friend noticed I was holding her hand. He asked me to let go of her hand as it is forbidden for a stranger to touch women in many countries. I pointed out that she had in fact taken my hand and held it gently for almost a quarter of an hour. Then he understood and continued talking with the rest of the family.

Naturally, there was a language barrier between myself and the aunt, but I started asking her questions in my mind and was taken aback when she either nodded ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I asked her more questions and could even sense her asking me too. As much as I was giving her Spirit healing, I felt this wonderful warmth emanating from her towards and into me. Although we could not speak to each other, we were communicating on a different level and I felt we were certainly touching each other’s soul.

I asked Spirit to help and give her the healing she needed. I heard a few days later that she was recovering and soon after that she was up and about again. I was feeling stronger too, and it just made me think that wherever you travel in life and whomever you meet, there is a commonalty of spirit and Spirituality within us all.

With the help of my church at Maidenhead and friends I sent out sixteen cases of much needed clothes, books and teaching equipment for the children and people of the village where I stayed. I felt this was one small way in which I could repay them and thank them for their generous hospitality and friendship even though they had neither wanted nor expected anything in return from me.