I was born into a Coptic Orthodox family. I used to go to church but never understood the Gospel clearly. One day my cousin invited me to an evangelical church. I enjoyed the Christian community and all the fun activities after the service. I continued to go there. 

When I was fourteen years old, my mum died and I felt like I lost everything. Everything was dark and gloomy, and I stayed at home and stopped going to church. My leaders from the church came to visit me and asked permission from my father so that I can attend a conference. Usually, my dad wouldn’t allow me to come home after hours, let alone attend a conference and stay for days away from home. He is a very conservative Upper Egyptian. So initially he said, ‘NO WAY!’ Later on, in the same week, these ministers came back trying to convince him to allow me to attend this retreat. Eventually, he agreed, after they said that I need to listen to God’s word during these tough and sad times. 

That was the first time for me to be in a Christian retreat. Sadly, however, as soon as I arrived, I became so sick and I had a fever and stayed in bed for two days. On the third day, I started praying that I could get better and go have fun with my friends. On that evening, I became better and could listen to the sermon. God spoke to me through the preacher who was speaking about God’s love and how he showed us His love on the cross. I couldn’t stop crying. After the sermon, I went and spoke with the preacher and told him about what I was going through. He prayed with me and on that day my life changed. 

After that, I started going to church every week, and studying the Bible. After being discipled by two of the church leaders, I joined the ministry team and became a leader in the church’s youth group. I felt like I was growing with God every day. At 18 years old, I started working with a large evangelical campus ministry, and later became a full-time worker with them. 

In January 2001, I met ‘Gabriel B’ for the first time and we were engaged in 2002. After he finished his military service, we married in 2004 when I was 26. Together we became a full-time couple in the campus ministry. In 2007, ‘Gabriel’ started teaching at the School of Theology as an assistant to the principal.  Later we moved to Sydney, Australia so he could study for his PhD.