From 'garbage' to child of God: Sarah in Egypt

On the western edge of Cairo, Egypt, stands the district of Manshiyat Naser. But it’s better known by its famous nickname: “Garbage City.”

The area is overrun by garbage, with many of the residents acting as garbage collectors that sort anything recyclable and carry out the refuse on donkey-pulled carts. Most of the residents also happen to be Christians.

In many parts of Egypt, "garbage city" is an appropriate metaphor for the plight of Christians. Believers often occupy the outskirts of society, pushed to the edge of their communities, limited to the scraps that others don’t want. Particularly for converts from Islam, Egypt can be a dangerous place—people who have found Jesus while Muslim are regarded as infidels, as literal garbage.

And yet, these believers always amaze us with their faith—like Sarah*, who has endured so much in her life and lost so much because of her faith in Jesus. “God is always here for me,” she says.

But this wasn’t always her experience.
 

A life of pain and an example of hope

When Sarah was 8 years old, her parents passed away, forcing her to move in with her grandmother, who lived in a poor neighborhood in the north region of Cairo. “I was raised in a traditional upbringing,” Sarah says. “My grandmother's financial situation and resources were very limited. I grew up in poor and difficult conditions, and I had to leave school when I was 14 years old to start working.”

To support herself and her small family, Sarah began working as a janitor at a government hospital. Like many young Muslim women in Egypt, Sarah married young. At age 20, she and Rashed* wed. Sarah didn't know at that time, but her life took a worse turn after that. Rashed had a fiery temper, and he abused her both emotionally and physically. The abuse extended to their two young sons as well. “God blessed us with two children, who were the only light in my life,” Sarah says. “But I suffered a lot because I couldn't protect them from their own father.”

Rashed isn’t alone in his treatment of his wife. In some extremist Muslim ideologies, women are devalued. Their only role is to marry, have children, fulfill the needs of their husbands and to care for their family.

“I couldn't even speak logically with Rashed because [his] only [belief] was that a Muslim woman in my environment doesn't object or express her opinion; she serves and silently obeys orders,” Sarah explains. In situations like hers, women don’t have equal rights and aren’t able to speak up for themselves even in the face of constant abuse.

Sarah’s days became an endless cycle of anguish. “I entered a state of despair,” she says, bitterly.

  “The world around me was dark and sad. Life at home was a nightmare, and tears never left my eyes.” Every day, she went to work in tears, feeling a deep sense of brokenness. Yet, in the midst of her darkest moments, Sarah saw a glimmer of hope.

One of her friends at work was Lydia, a Christian woman. Lydia seemed to radiate a different kind of happiness. Although Lydia also had financial and other difficulties, it seemed to Sarah that her heart was always filled with peace. Her friend's kindness and friendship were about to make a huge impact on Sarah’s life.
 

Brought back to life

Sarah remembers the day life changed for her. She had arrived at work, once again in tears. With kindness and compassion, Lydia soothed Sarah's pain, engaging her in a heartfelt conversation.

“Lydia was the one who noticed me,” Sarah remembers. “She sat and listened to me, she opened her heart, she encouraged me and said beautiful words to me.” With tears streaming down her face, Sarah poured out her feelings of unworthiness and despair, asking God why He had allowed so much suffering in her life.

In her distress and misery, Sarah got up the nerve to ask Lydia about the secret behind her constant peace and joy. “Is it your faith that has brought such serenity to your heart?” she asked her friend. Lydia began to share the message of salvation with Sarah whose heart was deeply touched. Lydia gave her friend a Bible and helped her to read it.



At first, Sarah was confused and scared, she says. She couldn’t understand the contradiction between the hardline Islamic beliefs she was taught her entire life and the compassionate words of Jesus that Lydia shared with her. But she knew she had a deep desire to know more about the Christian faith. Sarah went on reading the Bible, making notes of differences between the Bible and the Quran. Day by day, her mind became convinced of the teachings and texts she found in the Scriptures, and she found comfort and wisdom in the verses.

  "The Bible became my daily companion; I read it every day,” Sarah says. “It was nourishment for my mind, solace for my heart and peace for my entire life. The first year of my experience with the gospel passed, and during it, I was transformed into a different person that I didn't know existed within me. The teachings of the gospel brought me back to life after I thought I had lost it forever.”
 

A dream … and a nightmare

After a year of studying the Bible, Sarah's understanding of God’s Word and His presence in her life grew even stronger into an extraordinary life-changing experience .One night, as she slept, she had a dream.

  In her dream, Sarah says God appeared to her and gently spoke to her, saying: “Sarah, why are you afraid? Follow Me, for I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When Sarah opened her eyes, she knew that her life would never be the same again. On that day, at the age of 28, she wholeheartedly accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour.

“Faith in Jesus filled my heart with joy, peace and hope,” she says. “Jesus gave me the strength that I desperately needed it. I found hope again.”

From that moment on, Sarah’s life took a new direction. She found strength and hope in her faith in Jesus, and her relationship with God filled her heart with love and peace.


 

Attacks, fear and threats

Of course, that didn’t mean her trials were over. “[When I became a Christian,] I was exposed to rejection, persecution or even divorce, if my husband found out about my faith in Jesus,” she says. “I had to be wise and cautious; I didn't want to lose my children. In addition, [there was a] possibility of someone from my community rejecting or even killing me because of my faith. I live in an area dominated by prejudice and extremism [and] a Christian who converts from Islam to the Christian faith is completely rejected and exposed to death.”

One day, Sarah's deepest fears came true. She was praying at home with the Bible in her hand when Rashed unexpectedly returned home from work early. When her husband saw the Bible in his wife's hands, he knew she had converted to Christianity. He began beating her mercilessly and brutally, threatening to divorce her and forever take away her children—then aged 3 and 5—if she wouldn’t return to Islam. 

He told her he would tell everyone about her foolish act of conversion. As Rashed beat her, Sarah fell on her head and lost consciousness. Her children stood over her, screaming for their mother in terror. Thankfully, neighbours quickly intervened, rushing her to the hospital. In total, her head wound required 17 stitches.

Rashed’s threats were not empty words. “In the hospital, I wasn’t in pain; I was afraid to lose my children,” Sarah says. “Just as I expected, Rashed handed me divorce papers, took the children, and disappeared.”



She was left in agony, not knowing where her sons were—and in immense fear of being a woman on her own, a Christian female convert in Egypt with nowhere to go. Even now, Sarah remembers the feelings: “Fear of people who consider Christians as infidels, fear that I wouldn't see my children again, fear of the unknown because I am not [just] a vulnerable woman but a woman who believes in Jesus in an environment where there is no place for someone like me.”

Her Muslim neighbors also began to threaten her. With her faith exposed and threats coming at her, Sarah had to choice but to resign from her job and move to a safer place. In the midst of her pain. She prayed, asking Jesus, “Don’t You have any alternative plans for me other than the fear and tragedy I am living in?”

Soon, her prayers were answered.
 

Heart and mind change

With nowhere else to turn, Sarah asked Lydia for help who, in turn, connected her with Shereen*, an Open Doors field worker. Shereen helped Sarah join a house church and find a safe place to live. Open Doors partners were also able to help her cover her rent and find a new job at a hospital in her new city.

“Shereen accompanied me every step of the way, stood by my side, encouraged me, held my hand, wiped my tears, strengthened my faith," Sarah says. "She taught me how to deal with my problems and how to overcome the difficulties I had experienced and was still experiencing.”

  Shereen also started an ongoing follow-up and support process with Sarah, helping her with trauma counseling sessions and guiding Sarah on a transformative journey of healing and personal growth.

“My journey made me understand that the Lord Jesus had an alternative plan for me, and this [one] is much more beautiful than the one I wished for,” Sarah says. The changes haven’t happened overnight. Even though it’s been 10 years since the darkest days, Sarah is still forced to live a dual identity for her protection. She lives as a Christian at home and a Muslim in the rest of her life. She knows if her conversion is discovered, it can cost her even more and potentially endanger her life.

Sarah has also had to learn to change her perspective about herself that she’d learned from her radical Muslim upbringing. She truly believed her role was simply to get married and serve her husband’s every need and expectation. But as she learned more about Jesus, she came to see herself as God sees her: a precious daughter of the King, made in the image of God.

“I was raised to serve, to get married and take care of my husband and children,” Sarah says. “I was convinced that this was my only role. I needed time to get over these Islamic traditions and beliefs and start seeing myself through the love of Christ—the God that loves me and knows my name.”

Sarah's heart began to experience profound transformation. She joined a discipleship group in 2017 and became a member of a ministry team who serves the Lord and helps other women who have converted from Islam.
 

Miracles of joy

Although Sarah had found true joy in her faith in Jesus, she carried a deep sense of sadness in her heart as she longed to be reunited with her children. She and other converts from Islam in her discipleship group prayed together for years seeking God's presence and intervention in their lives, and asking Him to let Sarah see her children again.

In September 2023, another miracle happened, and their prayers were answered. Sarah received a phone call from her oldest son and he told her that he and his brother had managed to escape from their father after many years of cruel treatment—and they have been tirelessly searching for their mother. The boys, now aged 13 and 15, expressed their desire to live with her. They no longer wanted to live with their father.

  Sarah remembers the moment she saw her sons for the first time after so many years. “There are no words to express the joy I felt,” Sarah says. “I understood that there are no limits to the love, mercy and grace of the Lord. I never thought that I could feel such happiness and joy.” To double her joy, her sons expressed their desire to hear about the God their mother worships. 

"They told me, 'You're very brave, Mum,' and they talked about my faith and my choice of Jesus despite all that people say about Christians and the danger that Christians around us face,” Sarah says. “They said, ‘We want to get to know the Lord Jesus like you.’” After some time, Sarah's sons eventually accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They have decided to follow Jesus alongside their courageous mother.

Open Doors’ local partners were able to help Sarah’s sons find another school in the same city as Sarah, and the family can now live together.


 

Walking with secret believers

Egyptian Christians like Sarah are persecuted, pushed to the side and reminded again and again that they are not welcome—that they are little better than garbage. Women like Sarah are victimized as second-class citizens, and when they are expelled from their home, they lose even what little value they have.

“I am a single mom with little education, living in a tough environment,” Sarah says. “But what makes it even harder is that I come from a Muslim background and am now a Christian. This makes me a target for the extreme views around me. I struggle to protect myself and my two sons and to provide for our needs. I face persecution and pressure from those around me.”

And yet, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the lessons learned in discipleship programs, Jesus is slowly changing the hearts of Sarah and countless other women in Egypt. Because of your support, our partners are able to walk with secret believers like Sarah.

“Thankfully, the constant support and help from the ministry make me feel safe and stable,” she says. “I learned to trust Jesus, knowing that He will never leave me. He is with me every day.”

As she looks back at her life and the pain and trauma she has gone through, Sarah is also struck by the goodness of God. “Some time ago, I thought God had forsaken me,” she says. “However, I have learned to put my trust in Him, knowing that He will never abandon me. I have grown in resilience and come to understand that God is always here for me.”

*Names changed for security reasons