{"id":5094,"date":"2019-02-21T23:58:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T23:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=5094"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:23:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:23:57","slug":"out-of-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/out-of-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of Egypt: A Journey to True Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"
My name is Ashraf Khalil, but everyone who knows me calls me Ash.<\/p>\n
I was born in Cairo, Egypt, in August 1969. My family members were Coptic Orthodox Christians. They worked hard and were well educated. I was the first child and came along when my father was 51. Exactly one year later, my brother was born. My mother didn\u2019t make it through the delivery, so my father faced life as a widower and single father.<\/p>\n
Life was tough for Christians in Egypt. Christians were persecuted by Muslims more and more, and curfews were imposed on the people. So when I was seven, my father decided we needed to leave. As a child all I knew was that we were moving far away.<\/p>\n
We moved to Long Island, New York, and stayed with my uncle and his family over two years. The culture shock hit me hard, and I forgot how to read and write Arabic.<\/p>\n
We then moved to New Jersey. I experienced prejudices from students in the public school because of where I was from. On one occasion some boys picked on me and wanted to fight. One of them spat in my face. A short, young boy came in the middle of us and told them to leave me alone, and they did.<\/p>\n
My dad wanted to leave New Jersey and meet a man named Oral Roberts. He had seen him on TV and was intrigued by him. He asked me where Oral Roberts lived, and I pointed out a state called Oklahoma on the map. So off we went to Oklahoma.<\/p>\n
When we arrived, we immediately went where Oral Roberts was. My father\u2019s high hopes were short lived. We had little and soon secured an apartment in low-income housing on the north side of Tulsa. The area was extremely poor and infested with drugs and gangs.<\/p>\n
My brother and I attended the Catholic elementary school directly across the street from our apartment. A mission there was staffed by nuns, who lovingly helped us get on our feet. There was no Coptic church, so we attended the Catholic church attached to the school.<\/p>\n
My brother and I became altar boys. That is also where I had my first job during the summer doing odd jobs around the school and helping with the mission garden.<\/p>\n
A wonderful elderly man named Mr. Curtain was my speech teacher. I was a shy, fat boy, but he was willing to develop me. After some time, he entered me in the state speech contest, and I tied with another student for first place. That gave me the confidence to speak in public.<\/p>\n
After some time, the priest of the church had me lecture the Word of God to the congregation during mass on Sunday. I really liked speaking the Word there. We lived in this area until I graduated from Bishop Kelley High School in 1986 at age 16.<\/p>\n
I entered the University of Tulsa at age 16 on an academic scholarship, with matching scholarships from TU and the Catholic Diocese. I loved learning and studied hard. But I got into many sinful things during my college years. Just because a school is private doesn\u2019t mean it is Christian.<\/p>\n
During these years I met a friend who opened my eyes to the errors of the Catholic church. She taught me about the many pagan practices and that Sunday worship was not biblical, etc. I then visited the priest and presented him with these things. He informed me that we were to follow what the pope and bishop say. I then realized I was being groomed for the priesthood. I couldn\u2019t agree with him.<\/p>\n
I left behind the Catholic church, many friends, and everything I knew. After this, my scholarship was pulled, so I had to withdraw from school after my second year. My father disowned me and was angry with me for leaving the church and embracing new beliefs. I was forced to leave his house on bad terms. I still loved and forgave my father for what he had done, and made a constant effort to visit him. I helped him with what he needed, especially in his old age, because I loved him.<\/p>\n
I worked three jobs and tried to attend a community college at night to finish my degree, but it ended up being too much for me. I landed a good job in a company with a lot of room for advancement and moved up in the company quickly.<\/p>\n