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Help the brothers prepare for their release
Most of the brothers imprisoned in Egypt that we minister to are serving 15-20 year sentences. Many were young men fleeing poverty or civil war in their homeland during the 80's, or got involved in smuggling drugs. As they passed through Egypt they were arrested and taken to trial, where they had no legal representation and as they could not understand Arabic, could not contest their cases. As a result they were sentenced to 20-25 years in prison! The Good News was that there, inside that prison, they found Jesus! Many participate in bible studies and fellowship meetings; some are even studying for theology degrees by correspondence course from Nations University in Tennessee; some feel called to special ministry or attend bible college once they are released; but very few of them have experienced life as a committed Christian outside of the prison. Here in the USA there are many programs to help with the rehabilitation of prisoners after their release, but that is not the case in Egypt or many other countries. These brothers have to pay their fine (as previously mentioned), and even must pay for their own airline ticket to return to their homeland. Once there, some will be returning to families who may help them - or may reject them for converting to Christianity! Some have lost all contact with family and will need to find a job and somewhere to live. Undoubtedly ALL will experience considerable difficulty adjusting to life in the 21st century - with computers and new technology, rapidly changing 2nd and 3rd world countries, and even growing persecution of Christians in many of their native lands.
Books and resources
One of our TFO partners has organized the "TFO Library" - coordinating the sending of bibles, study books and useful, contemporary Christian reading materials to the fellowship inside the prison. In this way the brothers can receive good practical teaching on living a Christian life in our world today, as well as keep abreast of important developments around the world. We are also developing contacts through other ministries within the inmates' native countries, so that the brothers can develop relationships with fellow believers and fellowship groups, before they even leave the prison. In this way, they will more quickly be able to become part of a local fellowship upon their return home. If you would like to send books or Christian literature to help these brothers, contact us now:
Rehabilitation centerOur sister organization in England, Christian Prisoners Support Network (CPSN) has started a rehabilitation project in Accra, Ghana, to help the several prisoners who have returned there recently from prison in Egypt. "Hope House" is being run in conjunction with a local ministry there and will benefit locals who need a home and job training, in addition to helping more prisoners who will be released in the next year or so from Egypt. Plans are also underway to start a similar project in Nigeria. For further details, check out the website of CPSN: http://www.cpsn.co.uk
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