Tel-Chai Nation

Pastor Blake and his wife Beverly, who sheltered Rifqa Bary, have spoken to FOX Orlando, and it's amazing to find that this is a balanced report (Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs):

One of the first points the pastor makes is that he and his wife, Beverly, are clearly determined from the very beginning to prove they not only housed 17-year-old Christian convert for two weeks, but helped her flee her Columbus, Ohio home, all because they truly believe her life is in danger.

"She said, 'Would you please pray for me that I do not deny Jesus' name in the face of death?' Those were her exact words to me," said Beverly describing the night she received an online message from Bary asking to talk on the phone.

Through a mutual friend, Beverly tells FOX 35, the two had chatted a few times online about Bay's conversion from Islam to Christianity and her fears. Beverly had told her that she was praying for her.

Beverly messaged the teen her phone number, and said when Bary called her in a panic.

"Now, I'm replaying the conversation over and over in my mind.... and I said 'Oh my goodness, this girl is asking that she not deny Jesus' name in case she gets killed."

Beverly said the next morning, another online friend asked if she and her husband would allow the girl to flee to their home in Orlando.

"I said, 'We definitely will help her. We're ministers, that's what we do, we help people,'" said Blake. "But I also said, 'I don't know. I have to talk to a lawyer. She's a minor. She's in Ohio.' So I called a lawyer. He said, 'if she comes down of own free will...if she's fleeing for her life.'"

"Would you return someone to a place where they believed they would be killed?" asked Beverly. "We talked to Muslims, ex-Muslims that became Christians, six organizations of persecuted Christians ... everyone told me within 24 to 48 hours this girl would be killed."

Both are to be praised for their show of kindness, though I doubt the reporters for the Orlando Sentinel and St. Petersburg Times will be among those who do. Let me also note that, if an ex-Muslim asked a Judaist here for help, they too would and should do their best to provide shelter.

Update: I also suggest reading these older posts about Jewish women who stupidly married Muslim men and were fortunate to be rescued from that living hell.

Labels: Christianity, Florida, islam, Israel, misogyny, Ohio, United States