“Early morning on January 22, Erin left the house to take Amon [her younger brother] to school in a neighboring village,” Erin’s brother explains. “After that, she headed to college to take an exam.”
A few hours later, Erin’s mother tried calling her, but the number wouldn’t go through. Late in the afternoon, when Erin still hadn’t returned home, her mother grew very worried. She placed phone calls to family and friends, to see if they had seen Erin, but no one knew where she was. Erin’s brother and uncle searched schools, hospitals and neighborhood hangouts, but their efforts came up empty.
After waiting the customary 24 hours, Erin’s family reported her missing to the police. However, they refused to sit idly by as the police ran their investigation.
Erin’s family obtained a digital copy of her birth certificate, thinking it might help the investigation, but were shocked to see that her official religion had been changed to “Muslim” just the day before.
“We have learned that in recent days, Erin had befriended another young woman in medical school whose father is an extremist in the area,” Erin’s brother says. “We suspect that this friendship led to her disappearance.”
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Then, on February 15, weeks after her disappearance, Erin’s family received a chilling phone call.
“We received a phone call from an unknown number. It was Erin. She was screaming and crying. She told us that she had been taken. She even told us the name of her kidnapper. She told us the general area she was in. She begged us to come find her before the call ended abruptly.”
Erin’s brother and uncle returned to the police station and told them about what had happened. But the police were apathetic and dismissed them without doing any further investigation.
It’s been six weeks and Erin, a persecuted Egyptian Christian, is still missing. Her brother says, “We are miserable without her. Please pray for us.”
We can’t imagine what Erin must be going through, having been taken and ripped apart from her family. But we pray that she take comfort in John 10:28, which says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
We come before our Lord with heavy hearts, but we know He sees His daughter and continues to have a plan for her, even through her strife and struggle. Join us in prayer now for this persecuted Egyptian Christian.
God, we ask that You comfort Erin in her time of fear and panic. Be near to her and let her feel Your presence.
We pray for Erin’s family. Comfort them during this time of distress. Let them not lose hope that she will be returned to them.
And we boldly pray that those who have taken Erin will immediately free her to return to her family. Lord, work in this situation. Let it somehow bring You glory. Amen.
*Representative photo of a persecuted Egyptian Christian
About the author
Tim Dustin is a writer and editor for Global Christian Relief where he shares stories of Christian persecution with believers around the world. Read the latest Christian persecution stories on our website and learn more at GlobalChristianRelief.org.
