BOSTON – Members of a Boston Pentecostal church prayed for the release of its pastor Sunday after he was kidnapped in Egypt.
Rev. Jean Louis, the son of 61-year-old Rev. Michel Louis, said his father had natural medicine to treat his diabetes when he was taken, but he has no information about his condition or if he would be released.
Rev. Michel Louis was on a church trip to retrace Jesus' steps through the Holy Land with 23 other members of the clergy and worshippers when he was abducted Friday. Along with him, a 39-year-old Boston woman in the group and a tour guide were kidnapped in broad daylight.
Jirmy Abu-Masuh, an Egyptian Bedouin, told the Associated Press he was armed when he stopped the bus on a road linking Cairo to Mount Sinai, ordered the three to get off and took them captive. He said the pastor's medicine was left on the bus and security officials will have to help with getting it.
Abu-Masuh added that they would be released only after police release his uncle from prison, and he vowed to take more hostages of different nationalities if his demands are not met.
The U.S. State Department recognized the kidnappings Sunday, saying that it would be in close contact with Egyptian authorities to secure safe releases.
“We will provide consular assistance as needed,” John Echard, a spokesman, said in a statement.
Abu-Masuh said officials have visited him to discuss the captives' release.
Abu-Masuh, of the Tarbeen tribe in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, told the AP that Egypt's Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri called him personally and asked him to release the Americans "who are guests in our country." He said his uncle called him from prison pleading the same and fearing police might arrest his children or wife to pressure Abu-Masuh.
But Abu-Masuh insists that police release his 62-year-old uncle, who he said suffers from back and heart problems and diabetes. He said his uncle was arrested a week ago after refusing to pay a bribe to police who stopped him along the way.
Rev. Jean Louis said the abduction took place when his father was making his annual mission trip to the Holy Land.
"He's been doing it for the past four years now, and this just turned out to be a little different from any other year," said the younger Louis, who works as a youth pastor at a church founded by his father.
The abduction took place along the road linking Cairo to the 6th-century St. Catherine's Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai where the Old Testament says Moses received the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. The route is a frequent target by Bedouins who abduct tourists to pressure police to meet their demands, which is usually to release a detained relative they say has been unjustly arrested.
Friday's abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over the past year. Abducted tourists are rarely harmed and usually released within days.
Louis' son said the family is concerned about all three captives and does not want to discuss communications with the U.S. government so as not to jeopardize the chances for their release.
"Any other family or anybody that has loved ones that are in a situation like that can feel ... a bit uneasy," Louis said outside the family home in Boston's neighborhood of Mattapan. "In spirit, we are confident, we believe in God and we know that our God is active and is real and is gonna intervene on our behalf."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rev. Jean Louis, the son of 61-year-old Rev. Michel Louis, said his father had natural medicine to treat his diabetes when he was taken, but he has no information about his condition or if he would be released.
Rev. Michel Louis was on a church trip to retrace Jesus' steps through the Holy Land with 23 other members of the clergy and worshippers when he was abducted Friday. Along with him, a 39-year-old Boston woman in the group and a tour guide were kidnapped in broad daylight.
Jirmy Abu-Masuh, an Egyptian Bedouin, told the Associated Press he was armed when he stopped the bus on a road linking Cairo to Mount Sinai, ordered the three to get off and took them captive. He said the pastor's medicine was left on the bus and security officials will have to help with getting it.
Abu-Masuh added that they would be released only after police release his uncle from prison, and he vowed to take more hostages of different nationalities if his demands are not met.
The U.S. State Department recognized the kidnappings Sunday, saying that it would be in close contact with Egyptian authorities to secure safe releases.
“We will provide consular assistance as needed,” John Echard, a spokesman, said in a statement.
Abu-Masuh said officials have visited him to discuss the captives' release.
Abu-Masuh, of the Tarbeen tribe in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, told the AP that Egypt's Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri called him personally and asked him to release the Americans "who are guests in our country." He said his uncle called him from prison pleading the same and fearing police might arrest his children or wife to pressure Abu-Masuh.
But Abu-Masuh insists that police release his 62-year-old uncle, who he said suffers from back and heart problems and diabetes. He said his uncle was arrested a week ago after refusing to pay a bribe to police who stopped him along the way.
Rev. Jean Louis said the abduction took place when his father was making his annual mission trip to the Holy Land.
"He's been doing it for the past four years now, and this just turned out to be a little different from any other year," said the younger Louis, who works as a youth pastor at a church founded by his father.
The abduction took place along the road linking Cairo to the 6th-century St. Catherine's Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai where the Old Testament says Moses received the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. The route is a frequent target by Bedouins who abduct tourists to pressure police to meet their demands, which is usually to release a detained relative they say has been unjustly arrested.
Friday's abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over the past year. Abducted tourists are rarely harmed and usually released within days.
Louis' son said the family is concerned about all three captives and does not want to discuss communications with the U.S. government so as not to jeopardize the chances for their release.
"Any other family or anybody that has loved ones that are in a situation like that can feel ... a bit uneasy," Louis said outside the family home in Boston's neighborhood of Mattapan. "In spirit, we are confident, we believe in God and we know that our God is active and is real and is gonna intervene on our behalf."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.