The Egypt Diocesan Association (EDA)

Letter from Ramez and Rebecca Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. May 2010

My Dear Friends,

Here we are at the beginning of a new decade.  We enter with confidence, encouraged by the faithfulness of God, thrilled with Who He is and all that He has done!  And we enter with many dreams!  There are 2 questions that I have been asking lately.

Question 1:  How can we reach an Oral people who have moved into the Satellite and Cell Phone era?

While statistics vary greatly, we say that about half of Egyptians can't read, and the other half don't!  This is due in part to the great difference between colloquial (spoken) and classical (written) Arabic. Thankfully, the great love and respect for the Scriptures keeps people reading the Bible.  Yet in order to understand and enjoy the Bible, especially for all those who are illiterate, our many attractive Audio and Visual scripture products (in colloquial Arabic) have been an essential resource through the years. 

Now however, Satellite TV, affordable, uncensored, with hundreds of channel options, is the chosen means of information and entertainment for the poor.  Audio-visual sales plummet dramatically, as people simply buy a satellite, rather than cassettes/CD, video/DVD or even computer. Cell-phones are also being used increasingly as multi-purpose audio-visual devices. As we look to the coming years, our challenge is to provide an oral community with valuable audio and dramatized Scriptures in the new formats, with easy access. 

Question 2:  How can we extend the "Bookfair Experience" through the whole year? 

Bookfair 2010 distribution numbers have again confirmed our impressions. People in Egypt want the Bible.  In just 2 months, 72,531 Bibles were sold, outnumbering even the New Testament sales (58,560).  We are asking ourselves, why should we be satisfied with only 2 weeks per/year of such a unique atmosphere of open interaction with the public. 

As the extent and use of new media increases, especially Satellite TV and internet, people are receiving many and contradictory messages.  The result is searching people who desire to discover the truth for themselves. 

Diverse customers come with a range of questions. It is not odd for someone who obtained a booklet several years ago, to look us up in order to ask further questions and purchase additional resources. Customers find the atmosphere to be welcoming and peaceful and simply wish to talk awhile and develop this annual friendship, often continuing an ongoing dialogue from bookfair to bookfair!

But why be captive to these 2 weeks of bookfair?  We have extended that impact in part, to the two months of "bookfair season" with all products discounted and available from all our outlets and bookshops. Such an overall positive response makes us realize that we must make a greater effort to re-create this unique situation for interaction and impact.

Our staff is brainstorming along these lines, and we welcome your prayers, and any suggestions or ideas, as we dream and work to make God's Word even more widely accessible, year-round, to thousands in the public sphere, to masses of people, many of whom are eager for the Truth.

Expectant and optimistic,

Ramez Atallah

General Director, The Bible Society of Egypt

1 Aly Fahmy El-Zanaty St. PO Box 5277, Heliopolis West 11771, Cairo, Egypt

Phone: +202-26361980

Fax:     +202-26363979

Email: admin@bsoe.org

Please remember that if you would like to contribute to the Bible Work in Egypt, an easy way to do that is through our Ten-Bibles-a-Month Club.  Americans can receive tax-deductible receipt, and there is a way for Canadians to receive the same if you contact us at: admin@bsoe.org 

Letter from Ramez and Rebecca Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. February 2010

Dear Praying Friends,

Thank You for your prayers with us for the Cairo Bookfair!  We have had unusually warm weather and my wife was blamed for it.  A staff member overheard someone yesterday: "Rebecca prayed that the rain would stop so that people would come to the bookfair.  This heat wave is all her fault!" 

In spite of the economic and political and religious tensions, this was the most peaceful and pleasant bookfair yet, one of the most encouraging years ever.  All customers from all backgrounds were respectful and courteous, and the Bible Society staff was happily busy with people who were not contentious but rather, were eager and hungry to receive God's word.  We know this is the result of your prayers, and rejoice in God's rich mercy poured out so graciously.

Some of our Customers

Selling the New Testament for just 1 LE attracts many customers.  2 sisters purchased the NT at last year's bookfair as a gift for a friend.  Before giving it away, one of the girls read some.  Her sister discouraged her, saying, "No you might understand it wrong."  They gave the gift, but this year they came back to purchase one for themselves.

Another two women, mother and daughter came to buy Bibles.  They had seen our billboards on the highway, promoting: "The Bible is the Best Gift for Every Occasion."  They bought 4 New Testaments and one Bible as gifts for 5 special friends.

One lady shared, "I grew up in a boarding school, and each night, the nuns would read us a Bible story before we slept.  From time to time I remember these stories.  When I saw your book stand here, I was so happy for the chance to get myself a Bible so that I can read those same stories again to myself now!"

A young accountant, interested in religion, expressed his ignorance.  He felt that all he knew about Christianity came from non-Christian sources.  He purchased a Study Bible to read and find out for himself.    Another seeker, an elderly man, bought the Bible saying, "Now I am very old, and soon I will be in God's presence. I want to be ready."

We had many new products for children this year as well.  One little girl came into the booth with her mother towards the end of the day.  Going directly to the Kingo products, she stated, "I already have all the videos."  Looking at the Kingo activity books, she found 3 that she did not have.  When her mother was ready to go, she was told that after a long day at the bookfair, there wasn't enough money left to get the books.  The girl burst into tears as she set the books down.  Meanwhile, another little girl who had been browsing the Kingo products as well saw all that happened.  Fully empathizing with her, she quickly took permission from her daddy, purchased the 3 books and ran after the girl and handed her the treasure.  The mother returned to the booth, profusely thanking everyone for the gift and for making her little girl happy with Kingo!

Keep Praying!

While the Bookfair is over, the special offers are available in all of our bookshops till the end of February. This is our peak sales season, and so we ask for you continued prayers that many people will continue to purchase the Scriptures.  Our desire is simply that all would be blessed according to the promise in Revelations 1:3, "Blessed is the one who reads… and those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." 

I will write soon with final distribution numbers.  In the meantime, please click on this link for our annual report 2009

Sincerely grateful for your partnership and prayers,

Ramez

Letter from Ramez and Rebecca Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. January 2010

The International Cairo Bookfair: 28 January –13 February, 2010

Dear friends,

Pioneering the Way.

17 years ago, the Bible Society of Egypt placed their booths at the Cairo International Bookfair with the goal of making God's Word accessible to the masses, most of whom would never attend church.  Over the years we have encouraged and assisted many Christian publishers to seize this opportunity to reach out to the new market.

The International Cairo Bookfair 2010 is now upon us, and again, the Bible Society of Egypt would like to pioneer the way for many. 

Courage to Care 2009 in Egypt has seen the unusual economic strains, increased denominational tensions, an extremely unstable academic year due to fears of H1N1 etc.

Many Egyptian Christians are fearful. Without belittling the very real pressures, our desire as the Bible Society, is to somehow encourage and inspire Christians to "count their blessings" and to look outward with concern.  We want to remind ourselves of just how much we have in comparison to others, instead of contemplating our own problems and internal issues.  Moreover, that we would reach out to the world around us in love and sacrifice.

We Need Your Prayers

Please pray for us, that as the Bible Society presence at the Cairo International Bookfair has inspired many others to be there as well, that we might again be used to provide a catalyst in these times of pressure when many Egyptian Christians are tempted to feel defeated or discouraged.

Please pray, not only for the Bible Society, but for all the various Christian publishers and groups represented at the Bookfair.  Pray that our collective presence, literature and materials, would be used by God to meet each individual need.

Please pray that there will be good attendance.  We have three booths at the Bookfair this year, and two of them are out doors, which is a positive and desirable location for those uneasy about H1N1 germs!  As always, please pray for the sales team, for wisdom and discernment, and for security.

I look forward to updating you in the days to come!

With warm greetings, Sincerely, Ramez

Letter from Ramez and Rebecca Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. Sept 2009

Egypt - the most Religious Country in the World!

A Gallup Poll, posted Feb 2009, compiled findings about the importance of faith to individuals in 143 countries.  Egypt was listed as the Most Religious Country in the world!  When people were asked "Is religion an important part of your daily life?" Egypt registered in at 100%.

As the Bible provider for Egypt, the Bible Society of Egypt (BSOE) is fortunate to work with such religious people!  A major problem of Bible publishers in many other countries, and especially the "Christian West," is the lack of interest in the Scriptures, with one of their main tasks being to convince people of the relevance of the Bible.  

BIBLES IN DEMAND

Not a problem in Egypt!  Scripture products are constantly in demand by all, gratefully received and valued, and the Church is essentially overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the needs. Operating at full capacity, the Churches in Egypt are only able to serve 20 – 30% of the total Christian population (10-12 million).

The Gallup article states, "Obviously, these data only compare the importance of religion in people's lives -- they say nothing about what being highly religious means in different parts of the world and among different faiths".

EGYPTIAN RELIGIOSITY

For many in Egypt, being "Christian" simply means being baptized, married and buried in the Church, and there is great security in that.  Many are culturally Christian, very passionate about their religion, simply because they are intensely non-Muslim.  While many would desire the blessings of attending church or reading/hearing the Scriptures, the pressures of life and difficult economic situation leaves little time or energy for this.  Many in fact, have no church in their vicinity at all.  

Coptic Christian festivals in honor of a variety of saints are a good example of Egyptian religiosity.  Held annually at many traditional sites where Jesus passed through Egypt as a small child, festivals last from 5 days to 2 weeks.  A very festive atmosphere, vendors of every sort sell food and drink, literature, music, clothes, make-up, toys, etc. from their makeshift booths and tents.  Children swarm about small carnival-type rides.  Families save throughout the year in order to make this annual visit, camping out for days, making do with crowded and less-than-adequate facilities.  Children are baptized, and many receive the customary cross tattoo on the inside of the wrist.

KEY OPPORTUNITIES TO DISTRIBUTE SCRIPTURE

The attendance at these occasions is in the thousands, even millions.  Poor and illiterate people attend particularly, even some Muslims, in order to seek healing or blessing from the saints.  The vast majority are unable to read the Bible or understand the classical Arabic used in Church, have little Biblical knowledge, and are steeped in folk religion and superstition. 

Such large gatherings provide a key opportunity to increase awareness and availability of the Scriptures.  Bible Society representatives set up booths alongside the others, pointing people to the Scriptures in daily discussions with many, pleading and urging these religious Christians to seek protection and peace in God's Word.

POVERTY – BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL

Along with the tragic spiritual need, there is heart-breaking physical need.  Many in Egypt, both old and young, suffer from poor vision.  One family came to the booth several times, their attention focused on the large-print Bible.  An expensive item, sold at a discounted price, still cost too much.  The staff offered the Bible, originally priced at 200 LE, to them for just 25 LE ($5).  Emptying their pockets and purses, they came up with 23 LE, which the staff accepted.  On afterthought, the salesman asked the family if they had money for return transportation to their village, which they did not.  Some money was then returned to the family for travel fare.

Through these festivals, the Bible Society is reaching masses of religious Christians who might not access the Scriptures otherwise.  The Coptic Orthodox Church approves BSOE materials and is very supportive of our efforts to provide them with the "source texts" of the Faith.

BEING HIGHLY RELIGIOUS

Please pray for the millions of people who have received God's Word through all these past years of Bible Work in Egypt.  Pray that for many, "being highly religious" would come to mean a close and personal relationship with Christ through His Holy Word.

Grateful for your prayers and support,

Please remember that if you would like to contribute to the Bible Work in Egypt, an easy way to do that is through our Ten-Bibles-a-Month Club.  Americans can receive tax-deductible receipt, and there is a way for Canadians to receive the same if you contact us at: admin@bsoe.org 

Ramez Atallah

General Director, The Bible Society of Egypt, 1 Aly Fahmy El-Zanaty St. PO Box 5277, Heliopolis West 11771, Cairo, Egypt

Phone: +202-26361980, Fax:     +202-26363979, Email: admin@bsoe.org,

Letter from Ramez and Rebecca Atallah, The Bible Society Cairo. June 2009

Dear friends,

The girls and women tearfully gathered around me, each with Egyptian Pounds (LE) 10 (about $1.75) in her hand.  With genuine repentance, each one expressed how sorry she was to have stolen the fruit.  I accepted their money, reminding them that God had provided a way for forgiveness, through the death of Jesus on the cross for them.

This was the last night of the last of the 5 camps for the Garbage People, for which many of you wrote to say you were praying.  These are the girls and women of the Vocational Training program of the Garbage Village School, at which I have volunteered for almost 27 years now.  We had taken them to a different center than the usual one, a piece of land in the desert which had been donated to the Church at the Village and which is being developed into both a farm and a retreat center. We had almost 50 campers, plus 58 children, at this camp!  The pastor who is responsible for our school spoke to the adults and I coordinated the Children’s Program.  I had heard that there had been a lot of spiritual response on the part of the adults, but this night I saw the proof.

 

There are apricot, mango and apple trees on the farm, and the campers had been told they could eat from the trees but not to take fruit home.  Nonetheless, that afternoon our teachers (also all from the Village) had seen them sneaking in to their rooms with bags of fruit!  The teachers were very upset by this and encouraged me to take a stand on it.

So that evening, at the start of our usual, last-night party, three of us spoke to them, explaining that this was stealing in God’s sight and also a very bad example to their children.  We then told them to make things right they must confess their sin to God, pay at least L.E. 10 for the fruit and write to the pastor (who runs the farm) asking his forgiveness.  After leading them in a prayer of confession, we cancelled the party and gave them the chance to ‘pay-up”.  We were very encouraged that—out of the estimated 18 who had stolen—14 came to me with their money.  This seemed to us to be proof of their repentance, as this was a fairly hefty sum for them.  The next day we helped them to make a lovely poster for the pastor, for most of these girls and women are not very literate.

Usually in my camp letters, I write about the wonderful times experienced in the camps for the Disabled and Handicapped.  (The next part of this report is from a Canadian-Egyptian volunteer, Mina, expressing some of his feelings about those camps.)  However, this time I wanted to tell you about this camp for these girls and women, thanking you who prayed for what I feel was a very significant time spiritually.  These are some of the very poor of the Village, many of whom were married and had children while still teenagers.  Quite a number are new in our school so have perhaps never heard the Gospel presented clearly before. 

Mina writes:

“The handicapped boys’ camp was wonderful. The servants (volunteers) were exceptional and loving. From the first day in the camp, I made friends with most of them. All of them gave the camp a hundred percent of their energy, and cared dearly for the boys…  These boys came to the camp not only for fun and games, but to be loved…I personally went in not expecting to make any friends, but I ended up making friends with a lot of the boys…

The handicapped girls’ camp and the deaf boys’ and girls’ camps were together. I was given the responsibility to serve the deaf. Most of them were in their late teens and early twenties. This small age-gap gave me the opportunity to get close to most of them and to learn more about their lives and what they do. I also learned a bit of sign language so I can communicate with them…

Before I went to the camps, I just had one goal, and that was to do what I was asked to do and try my best not to do any mistakes. As it turned out, those camps were physically and mentally demanding, but they were also fun, lots of fun….I learned a valuable lesson, and that is Love is a universal language. I was not well trained to deal with the handicapped or the deaf, but love gave me more than just serving them, it gave me new friends.”

So thanks again, dear friends, for praying!  Without your prayers, I would never feel able to hold such difficult and even dangerous camps!  Once again, we have proved that “with God ALL THINGS are possible!

Rebecca Atallah

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