WORLD MISSIONS

Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer Sign at Davis-Kidd
by CA Staff for Christian Activities
6/10/2002

Nashville, TN - Shelter Now aid workers and former Afghanistan hostages Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer will launch a two-week nationwide media and book tour Tuesday to promote “Prisoners of Hope” (WaterBrook/Doubleday). Media coverage includes appearances on “Dateline,” the “Today Show,” “Hannity & Colmes,” and “Focus on the Family.”

Curry and Mercer will discuss and sign Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan (Doubleday, $19.95) at Davis-Kidd Booksellers on Friday, June 21st at 6:00 p.m.

When Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer arrived in Afghanistan, they had some to help bring a better life and a little hope to some of the poorest and most oppressed people in the world. Within a few months, their lives were thrown in chaos as they became pawns in historic international events. They were arrested by the ruling Taliban government for teaching about Christianity to the people with whom they worked. In the middle of their trial, the events of September 11th led to the international war on terrorism, with the Taliban a primarily target. While many feared Curry and Mercer could not survive in the midst of war, American nonetheless prayed for their safe return as Christian Activities carried numerous updates. In November our prayers were answered. In Prisoners of Hope, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer tell the story of their work in Afghanistan, their love for the people they served, trial and imprisonment by the Taliban, and their rescue by U.S. Special Forces. The heart of the book discusses how two middle-class American women decided to leave the comforts of home in exchange for the opportunity to serve the disadvantaged, and how their faith motivated them and sustained them through the events that followed.

Dayna Curry grew up outside Nashville and attended Baylor University in Waco, TX, where she majored in social work. She has been active with humanitarian work for several years in different countries, including Uzbekistan and Guatemala.

Heather Mercer is originally from Vienna, Virginia, and also attended Baylor. Before going to Afghanistan, she traveled on humanitarian missions in Central America, Eastern Europe, and East Asia.

The event is free and open to the public. Davis-Kidd is located at 4007 Hillsboro Road in Nashville.

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