Most Muslims in Egypt do not have good impressions of Christian missionaries in Egypt. We earlier, in 2004, had discussions about this in Arab-West Report. There are good reasons for these negative impressions since there are indeed Christians proclaiming their faith and speaking very negatively about Islam. Many other Christians, however, do not agree with such an approach to Christian witness. One of them was Annemarie Graf, a Swiss-Dutch missionary and AWR reader and resident of Egypt between 1995 and 2007 in Egypt, who passed away in January of 2017.

Friends of Annemarie organized an in memoriam service at St. John the Baptist Church in Maadi, Cairo on March 1, 2017. Attendees could write thoughts in a book that was placed in church.

Annemarie had been sent to Egypt by the King's Highway Fellowship (KHF) in Barneveld, the Netherlands. To Annemarie, being a missionary meant living her life in service to others and being a witness of her faith.

The texts in the in-memoriam book in church show that Annemarie Graf was a Christian believer radiating a light that was widely noticed by those who had the privilege of knowing her. Annemarie was always ready to help others in need. Several people mentioned her prison ministry. For years she visited prisoners in Qanater prison, north of Cairo. Egyptian authorities allow Egyptian pastors to visit prisoners belonging to their churches and non-Egyptians can visit non-Egyptian prisoners. Many of the non-Egyptians in prison are there for involvement with  drug smuggling. For these crimes felony punishments in Egypt are extremely harsh, often  involving prison sentences of 15 to 25 years. Prisoners do not have much privacy. They sleep in crowded halls with many other prisoners. If they get gifts from visitors they are often forced by other prisoners to share these gifts. .Furthermore non-Egyptian prisoners find themselves  into an environment that is entirely Arabic speaking, and thus, in order to survive they need to learn (spoken) Arabic. In Qanater there are opportunities for sports and crafts and many are involved in this for their personal health and passing time. It is one thing to be in prison for a limited time but it is something else to be there for years and years in a country which is not one’s own with family members typically living far away. These prisoners receive very few visitors. It is important for these prisoners to maintain hope for the future, and in her ministry Annemarie was giving them hope. Of course, she could not challenge the prison sentences – how could she? She was not a lawyer. The sentence was a given fact in her opinion, albeit harsh when compared toWestern prison sentences. But Annemarie spoke about God providing hope through Jesus Christ.  One of the former prisoners witnessed in the in-memoriam book about her work:

“She brought me a lot of things needed by a prisoner and she encouraged me about prison life, and how to help myself inside the prison. She told me to find any work to support myself and to study the Bible and join the fellowship [in prison].”

The prison ministry was not easy. “Just getting to the prison and going into it was almost a half  day task,” one person wrote. Getting inside prison meant going through various bureaucratic and security procedures that were very time consuming. Inside prison, one would get only very limited time with prisoners, whereby prison authorities would at times show leniency concerning the time Annemarie was spending with prisoners.

Annemarie had true love for the prisoners she ministered to, the same person wrote. How else would someone be able to do this work? And this love was contagious. Annemarie drew others into her ministry and they too visited prisoners.

Leslie from Belgium, who is still in prison, wrote:

“Anne-Marie, I thank you for all what you have done for us. For me you were the light on my path. The Lord has in you so that you could bring a message to others. You gave us hope and made our faith stronger. I thank you to guide us through this darkness we are in. You put a smile on our face even in difficult time. You bring us closer to God and I thank you for it. May we carry your message to others in time of difficulty.”

I know Leslie’s parents Frans and Brigitte. They are coming every year to visit their son in prison who was, with three other Belgians, arrested at Cairo airport in 2006 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison. This was Leslie’s first flight to Egypt. He had never been in Egypt before and had never seen anything of the country. Leslie had been lured into carrying drugs with him to Egypt. This was likely a plot by people in Belgium he was then involved with who wanted to get rid of him by sending him with drugs to Egypt,  knowing  the countries harsh sentences for drug trafficking. Frans and Brigitte come yearly in February where they celebrate their son’s birthday in prison. Also, this time in February, they were for one week in Egypt, seeing Leslie on a daily basis. Frans and Brigitte got a lawyer for Leslie in an effort to challenge the verdict. They are making all possible efforts to reduce the prison sentence.

Meanwhile Leslie has learned Arabic in prison. He is engaged in sports activities to keep himself fit and is involved in crafts. He remains in good spirits, his parents say. And once he comes out he is determined to warn other youth never to get involved with drug smuggling or trading.

Annemarie was not only a light in the prison ministry. She was involved in the benevolence committee of the Maadi Women’s Guild and was running a small, but well organized guest house below the flat where she was living. She lived only a block away from where our family lived. Thus when we had guests we gladly made use of her guest house. The guesthouse was simple. Each guest having their own room but sharing the kitchen and bathroom. In the hall of the guesthouse one always found lots of products of the various ministries Annemarie was involved in. No guest or visitor could miss this.

The Community Services Association honored Annemarie in 2000 as the Mother Theresa of Cairo!) Mr. van der Mast writes that she received on June 10, 2000, the “Betty Atherton Volunteer Award,” during an event on a boat on the Nile. With this award she received 1000 EgP that she donated to a good purpose of her choice. Betty Atherton was the wife of a US Ambassador, posted in Cairo between 1979 and 1983 who had done a lot for women in Egypt. 2)

Annemarie had to be operated in 2005  in Cairo because of breast cancer. In 2007 Annemarie returned to the Netherlands but remained deeply involved in Egypt. Friends in Egypt kept Annemarie informed about the different activities she had been involved in and she made several visits to Egypt.

On September 13, 2014, she, along with two members of her church in Groningen in the Netherlands, and myself visited the Coptic Orthodox Church in Qufada. Abuna Yo’annis explained her the efforts needed to give the most needy people in the village projects so they can generate their own income. The idea was to give them loans that could be paid back after they had started to generate an income. Members of the church came one after the other in his office to explain to Annemarie what projects they would like to receive a loan for. One woman asked for a sewing machine so that she could make an income.

Another person wanted a loan for equipment to make fool (brown beans) and tawmiya (made of chickpeas), Egyptian staple foods that are commonly eaten  in many villages. The smaller projects were very reasonable but some people also came with wishes that were far too big, such as a driver wishing a loan for his own pick-up truck.

After the presentations Annemarie selected one of the small projects and left 300 Euros behind for the lady to start working on this. Annemarie would have wished to do more seeing all these needs but this is what she was able to do. Others would have to step in to support other small projects.

Annemarie was following Arab-West Report reporting closely, also after she returned to the Netherlands. This was a major source of information for her about the general situation for Christians and Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt. Annemarie was not naïve. She knew that many people tell stories about situations in a way that is often slanted towards their own personal interests. Arab-West Report helped her to see that social realities in Egypt are often much more complicated than what people would tend to present to foreigners and the press. Thus Arab-WestReport provided the wider context and understanding of society in which she was so active and did so much good work.

Mary Lai and Annemarie Graf were long time good friends. In December 2016 Mary Lai flew from Egypt to the Netherlands to see Annemarie Graf for Christmas in her city of Groningen. Mary Lai knew that Annemarie was sick but neither of the two realized that this was the last time they would meet on this earth. After Annemarie had passed away Mary Lai took the initiative for the in memoriam service in St. John the Baptist Church and Mary Lai composed,  with help of Annemarie’s family and friends, the text about her life.

Some readers of Arab-West Report will be surprised about an in-memoriam for a Christian missionary. Christian missionaries in Egypt, in general, do not have a good name. They are often seen as people who proselytize, try to bring Muslims to the Christian faith. Annemarie was in agreement with the responses of Rev. Dr. Jeff Adams to the critique on Christian missionaries. See:http://www.arabwestreport.info/en/year-2004/week-50/28-reflections-christian-mission-and-methods

For Annemarie being a missionary meant living her Christian faith in the way she did. She explained anyone who asked about her faith what she believed. It did not matter for her if they were Christian, non-believers or Muslims or whatever faith background they had. But Annemarie would not go to people who had not asked her. She would also never speak negative about other faiths. For her it was living her faith and explaining to anyone who asked the hope that was in her, as the Apostle Peter wrote:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

(1 Peter 3: 15).

This was Annemarie’s life: living the hope in her and always prepared to explain it to others without pushing or forcing her beliefs on anyone and neither compromising her faith in her life and words. In this she always showed gentleness and respect. She was an example to many. We will miss her.

1) The text of Mr. Willem Frans van der Mast reads the ‘Mother Theresa of the Maadi Community Church.’ I have corresponded about this with Mr. van der Mast. It is unclear whether should be the ‘Mother Theresa of Cairo’ or the ‘Mother Theresa of the Maadi Community Church.’ It is also not clear if the comparison to Mother Theresa was made during the “Betty Atherton Volunteer Award,” or was separately honoring the work of Annemarie. A fact is that her work was widely appreciated. 

2) See for a background on Betty Atherton http://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Atherton,%20Betty.toc.pdf

Sources:

In memoriam book for the family of Annemarie Graf

Parents of Leslie

Mary Lai

Mr. Gerard Zwinkels, see also his memories to Annemarie Graf in our Dutch newsletter of April 1, 2017

Mr. Willem Frans van der Mast, member of the church of Annemarie in Groningen

Personal experiences

References to earlier discussions in Arab-West Report:

Cornelis Hulsman, Respect Needed in Speaking and Writing About People of Different Faiths,Arab-West Report, 2004, week 50, art. 26, December 14, 2004, http://www.arabwestreport.info/en/year-2004/week-50/26-respect-needed-speaking-and-writing-about-people-different-faiths

Dieter Tewes, The Contemporary Understanding of Mission of the Mainline Christian Churches,

Arab-West Report, 2004, week 50, art. 27, December 14, 2004

Jeff Adams (Rev. Dr.). Reflections on Christian Mission and Methods, Arab-West Report, 2004, week 50, art. 28, December 14, 2004

‘Amr As‘ad Khalīl (Dr.), My Personal Encounter With A Great Missionary, Arab-West Report, 2004, week 50, art. 29, December 14, 2004

Remembering Annemarie Graf

Willem Frans van der Mast

Text Mr. Willem Frans van der Mast as presented in the Christian Church Groningen (an international church, previously Andreas Gemeente) of Annemarie Graf, October 7, 2007.  Annemarie was the daughter of the founder of this church. This text is background to the Arab-West Report Newsletter of April 1, 2017. Annemarie Graf was Swiss and only had the Swiss nationality but had been living long-time in The Netherlands and for this reason one can call her Swiss-Dutch.

Annemarie 7-10-2007

Vanmorgen is een historische gebeurtenis:

Ons oudste gemeentelid ( ik bedoel daarmee de jaren dat iemand lid is) komt terug van een missie, en voor het eerst in de gemeente gaat een zendeling met pensioen.

Vandaag hebben we een feestje rond Annemarie Graf, dochter van de stichter van onze gemeente.

Ik heb een paar dingen over Annemarie op papier gezet, zodat we allemaal weten hoe het ook weer was.

Annemarie kwam uit Zwitserland  met haar ouders en zus op haar 11e naar Stadskanaal. Haar vader stichtte daar een gemeente.

Annemarie was al vroeg in zending geïnteresseerd, en overwoog zelfs om dat in China of Tibet te worden. Voorlopig werd zij maatschappelijk werkster.

Toen zij 21 was, werd het woonhuis aan de Nieuwe Boteringestraat (nummer 50)  gekocht, en daar werd een korte periode een bijbelschool gevestigd. Er was veel te doen, voor het uitwerken van een  zendingsidee was geen tijd. 

Vanuit de Boteringestraat werden evangelisatieacties gehouden in de stad, en werden boeken verkocht met een bakfiets op de Grote Markt. In het huis aan de Boteringestraat had Annemarie een leuke kamer, die ze al gauw afstond om daar een boekwinkel te kunnen vestigen, en Annemarie ging naar de zolder.

Toen zij 23 was, werd de kapel gebouwd, achter het woonhuis. Er waren nog niet zo veel gemeenteleden, maar visie dreef haar vader tot daden.

Toen zij 24 was (we zijn dan in 1963) werd de “Stichting Gemeente Gods”opgericht. In die tijd werden er tentsamenkomsten georganiseerd in Paddepoel en in de Korrewegbuurt. Ze deed tussen 1966 tot 1968 een drie jarige Bijbelschool opleiding in de Verenigde Staten, die ze in twee jaar met royaal succes afrondde.

Toen Annemarie 46 was, ontmoetten wij haar voor het eerst, ze was toen voorganger in de gemeente, samen met Piet de Vries en Henk van Wijhe.  Zij heette iedereen persoonlijk welkom aan de deur, en haar hartelijkheid maakte, dat we er zin in hadden.

Toen zij 49 was ging zij met  haar ouders en zussen terug naar Zwitserland, en diende daar vervolgens ruim 4 jaar in de gemeente. In die periode overleed eerst haar vader, kort daarna haar moeder. Daarna ging zij naar Engeland, waar ze Zwitserse “au pairs”  begeleidde. Ze kreeg daar een profetie, waar ze straks zelf ongetwijfeld iets over zal zeggen,  en besloot om in 1995 naar Egypte te gaan om te werken voor “Kings Highway Fellowship”, een afdeling van de NEM..

Uit de verslagen van de zendingscommissie van die tijd lees ik een stukje voor van het gesprek met Annemarie:

“Toekomstverwachting: Annemarie hoopt te gaan samenwerken met een team; zo is er een handelaar, verscheidene verpleegkundigen, een maatschappelijk werker en Annemarie is officieel bevoegd om Engels als 2e taal in een 3e wereldland te doceren. Maar zij zou ook als oudere dame kunnen gaan die van haar vervroegd pensioen gaat genieten in een interessant land en daarbij nog probeert Arabisch te studeren.

Tijdsduur: Op de vraag hoe lang ze denkt daar te blijven gaf ze aan: “Als dit de plek is, waar de Heer mij wil hebben, dan wil ik er wel tot mijn 65e blijven.”

Annemarie bleef uiteindelijk langer, en met pijn in het hart.

Wat heeft ze er echt gedaan?

Na een maand Cairo schreef zij over haar reis, hoe ze aangekomen was en: “Omdat er toch veel te lopen valt heb ik mij een fiets aangeschaft en trek er veel bekijks mee. Mannen fietsen hier alleen maar.”

Annemarie is iemand, die aan de slag gaat met wat de hand vindt om te doen, en het meest in het oog springende werk wat zij deed was het bezoeken van gevangenen. Dat is niet onopgemerkt gebleven, en zij kreeg in 2000 de onderscheiding die jaarlijks aan één of twee mensen werd uitgereikt van een stichting, die door een Amerikaanse ambassadeur in Cairo is opgericht, de Community Services Association in Maadi.

Bij deze award werd gepubliceerd wat Annemarie zoal deed, ik vat het vertaald even samen:

Annemarie Graf is onderscheiden als  de “Moeder Theresa van de Maadi Community Church.” 1)  Zij is een vrouw met groot meeleven en dient mensen die in nood zitten, onafhankelijk hoe wanhopig de situatie is of hoe groot de nood is. Ze geeft alles, en haar huis staat altijd open.

Ze is nu vijf jaar in Egypte, en vulde de tijd met veel goede werken. Ze zit in het kerkbestuur van de Maadi Kerk (Maadi Community Church) en coördineert het “omarm de behoeftigen” programma. Ook is ze in het bestuur van de School voor Soedanese kinderen.

Ze doet veel meer dan gewoon een bezoekje brengen aan een gevangene.Ze koopt cadeaus, vaak uit haar eigen zak, en brengt deze, met voedsel naar de gevangenissen, om dit aan de gevangenen uit te delen. Ze helpt ze met hun post, ze helpt ze aan geld, om hun wettelijke betalingen en hun transport bij vrijlating te kunnen voldoen. Elk bezoek vereist toestemming, van te voren gegeven, dan een uur of meer met het openbaar vervoer, dan drie uur wachten bij de gevangenis, om ten slotte een half uur een gevangene te mogen spreken. Drie gevangenissen. He maakt haar niet uit of er één of meer gevangenen zitten.

Ze werkt voor vluchtelingen uit Soedan.

Ze helpt altijd,  het is moeilijk om alles precies te beschrijven. Ze is een werkelijk nederige dienaar en haar grond motivatie is een diep geloof in God.

Ten slotte is ze ook nog een paar jaar gastvrouw geweest voor baanbrekers, aspirant vrijwilligers, die een periode kunnen komen kijken en meewerken op het zendingsveld, en moest een nare operatie in Cairo ondergaan.

En nu weer hier. Het is een paar jaar later dan de 65 jaar geworden, en zo zal het wel door gaan. Het is hier niet zo warm als in Cairo, en dat geeft weer nieuwe energie.

Pensioen?  Het moge zo heten, er is genoeg te doen. Gelukkig gaat het goed met Annemarie’s gezondheid, en ze is mobiel.

Drie weken geleden belde een vriendin, die uit NL in Zwitserland was, dat ze haar pols had gebroken, en even niet wist hoe terug te komen. Annemarie haalde haar met haar vriendin op met auto en veel spullen.  Hoe hard rijd je dan, Annemarie?  Ongeveer 139, 140, soms moest ik een beetje afremmen.

Ik hoop, dat jullie een beetje een beeld gekregen hebben met wie we te doen hebben.

We gaan nu een DVD laten zien over leven in Cairo, en misschien kun je je daarbij een beetje verplaatsen in de eerste gevoelens, die Annemarie had toen zij net in Cairo begon.

Ze schreef  in haar eerste nieuwsbrief:

“De eerste morgen werd ik wakker van de oproep tot gebed, dat wel van vier kanten over luidsprekers te horen is, en daarna door het geblaat en gemekker van dieren, vermengd met het geluid van de Metro.” 

Willem Frans van der Mast,

Eelde

[email protected]

1) Cornelis Hulsman: It is unlikely that the Community Services Association in Maadi, which is not related to the Maadi Community Church, would award Annemarie Graf as the “Mother Theresa of the Maadi Community Church.” It might have been Mother Theresa of the Maadi or Cairo.