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The discovery of a hidden Bible put young Egyptian couple Raef and Sawson in extreme danger. Your gifts and prayers saved them.
“You are infidels. You have deceived me. You should both be killed!”
Raef* and his wife Sawson* cowered at the terrible threats. Raef’s father, an imam in his Egyptian village and a fanatical Muslim, was seething with furious rage. He’d entered the couple’s room while they were away, and discovered their secret Bible. Now he was confronting them in the most brutal way…
“If you stay in the village any longer, you will be harmed!” screamed Raef’s father.
Raef and Sawson lived with Raef’s parents, and Raef drove a taxi that belonged to his father. They had come to faith in Jesus about three years earlier, after Sawson’s brother converted to Christianity and shared his story with them.
The couple were part of a home church and were learning to walk with Jesus. “We were on a journey of growth and transformation,” remembers Raef, “beginning to understand the significance of an intimate relationship with Christ.”
But, that day, with their faith exposed and the father’s cruel threats echoing in their ears, Raef and Sawson packed up a handful of belongings – and left. The couple had no home, no job, and no hope. They even questioned their decision to follow Jesus.
That was when the pair met an Open Doors local partner – and your support changed everything.
“We were saved thanks to the support you extended to us in every aspect,” says Raef. “You helped us find a place to stay and even provided the means for me to buy a vehicle, so I could regain an income and provide for my family.
“Not only that, you offered psychological support through counselling and nurtured our spiritual growth through a discipleship group. We discovered a secure and nurturing community to accompany us on our journey.”
Today, Raef and Sawson continue to live a double identity; believers at home and Muslims in public. In Egypt, conversion from Islam means ongoing danger and persecution. If the couple’s faith was discovered publicly, they would face discrimination, violence, harassment and more threats.
But with your support, they persevere – holding firmly to Jesus words in Matthew 28:20: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
*names changed to maintain secrecy
Will you support secret believers by sending a gift today?
Every PHP 1,500 provides a Bible each for 5 secret believers, to strengthen their faith even in isolation.
Every PHP 3,250 provides a livelihood for a secret believer for his/her long term and sustainable financial support.
Every PHP 5,000 provides discipleship trainings and resources to 10 secret believers.
