As Christian organizations that support missionary efforts in Egypt continue to monitor the instability in the North African country, one group has growing concerns about the safety of its personnel in that nation.
Protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down still continue in Egypt. While protestors defy curfews and the U.S. government works to evacuate Americans, Christian Aid partner organizations in Egypt report heavy looting and violence and say families are guarding their property and their lives.
“The terrifying moment was [for] Christian missions in that country, and we’ve had a very difficult year,” reports Bill Bray, Christian Aid development director. In 2010, he says there were “probably more martyrs, more jailings [and] more difficulties for the Christian church and for the mission organizations we support in the country.”
Bray warns that many of the Islamic extremist groups are highly organized, and the protests in Egypt could spread to other nations.
“Now that they’ve seen this happen, I think it would be more and more possible for the extremists to quickly mobilize mass movements, mass demonstrations, [and to] take over these movements and therefore hurt the Church,” he explains.
As banks are closed and ATM machines are out of cash, Christian Aid is further concerned about how families will secure sufficient food if the situation continues. But two ministry partners that work with local communities have formed neighborhood committees to help those most vulnerable.
(Source: OneNewsNow)