Fried Chicken and Egypt
It’s shocking how many Kentucky Fried Chicken’s there are in the world. To be honest I haven’t thought much about KFC in awhile. Have you? It’s not that I dislike the commonwealth of Kentucky, or fried chicken (cause who doesn’t love fried chicken) or don’t support the troops (colonel joke) – I just haven’t thought much of KFC. Yet the attention the world gives to KFC might suggest that I am alone in how often I think of or go to this franchise, since there are nearly 32,000 locations around the world. Not only that but KFC makes around 31 billion dollars in revenue a year.
If you delve more deeply into the KFC cyberspace, you’ll find even more shocking information. The first KFC was founded in Kentucky, right? Wrong, Salt Lake City Utah. Colonel Sanders, was a rough and tumble military man? Not quite, he was only in the military for around 5 months. Later in his life he delivered babies at a hospital.
Like KFC, the YMCA may shock you. Did you know that the Y is in 120 countries around the world? Not only that but on every continent. And yes before you start googling, there’s one in Antarctica. You can thank the Argentinian Air Force for that one. Ok maybe you should google it because I don’t even understand how that one works.
The YMCA continues to shock me not only because of its organizational grandeur but its spiritual fervor. On February 21st, 2025 our 8 man team landed back on American soil after spending 12 days in Egypt. Coming into the trip, I had no idea how many YMCA’s were in Egypt. I didn’t even know what the YMCA looked like in Egypt. By the end of those dozen days, it was obvious the Y in Egypt is being used by God.
If you were to guess how many Y locations there are in Egypt, how many would you think there are? One or two? Maybe one in lower Egypt, another in upper? Which is confusing because lower egypt is in the north and upper is in the south. There are 27 Egyptian YMCA locations with around 77,000 members. Their newest location in New Valley will be the country’s largest advanced vocational training centre, specialising in agricultural, animal production and ornamental plants.” Though it’s impressive what the Y in Egypt does for the country, I was blown away by the Egyptian leaders’ love for God and others.
The purpose of our travels and time together was to put on a conference for YMCA leaders and release a book on the YMCA in Arabic. The Egyptians showed us how to love one another and God. With the help of a generous Egyptian donor, this book (the Shining Light) will be placed in YMCA’s all across the Middle East.
My confidence in the Christian mission of the YMCA grew after our time together. It’s obvious that Christ still has a strong hold on the YMCA, even in a country that is predominantly Muslim! God continues to shock me with how He’s moving all across the world through the YMCA, particularly in places where the gospel of Jesus is least accessible.
Check out upcoming trips and events to be equipped and sent out in the name of Jesus through the YMCA for the advancement of the Church to see the Gospel of God advanced throughout the world.