Ragaa Thabet laughs as she helps her son Mena Thomas, 8, speak Egyptian to relatives on the phone Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, in their York, Pa., home. Thabet applied five times for the lottery to immigrate from Egypt. When she was approved, she was pregnant with Mena. "When I win, I don't know if I'm happy or confused or stressed, but I want to go and I want to try," Thabet said of the lottery process. About 60 Egyptian Coptic Christian families have moved to York County, Pa., in recent years to escape religious persecution in Egypt, where Copts face systematic discrimination and experience attacks by Islamic extremists.

Father Girgis Ramandious carries the incense offering in a censor vessel during a Coptic Orthodox service Saturday, July 15, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York. Ramandious is one of several Pennsylvania Coptic priests who rotate performing duties for York's Coptic church, which does not yet have its own building or priest. About 60 Egyptian Coptic Christian families have moved to York County in recent years to escape religious persecution in Egypt, where Copts face systematic discrimination and experience attacks by Islamic extremists. York County's Copts have banded together to form a tight-knit community that became Pennsylvania's 11th Coptic church, Archangel Michael & St. Karas the Anchorite Coptic Orthodox Church. Last Easter, with the aid of rotating priests, the Copts began worshiping on Saturdays in St. Mary's Catholic Church, whose Sunday school facilities they also use to hold Bible studies and teach their children Coptic prayers and lessons. Many in the community have struggled to gain an economic foothold in the U.S., where their Egyptian degrees have little value, but parents say they hope their children will succeed here while staying true to their Coptic faith. "We didn't come here for us," said Wasem Mansour, 40, who applied for asylum in 2013 with his wife and two daughters and now owns a used car dealership in Columbia. "We came here for our children."

Karoul Garas, 13 of Springettsbury Township, background left, helps distribute communion to girls and women during a Coptic Orthodox service Saturday, June 24, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York, Pa. In 2016, with the aid of rotating priests, the York County Coptic community began worshiping on Saturdays in St. Mary's Catholic Church, whose Sunday school facilities they also use to hold Bible studies and teach their children Coptic prayers and lessons.

Egyptian Coptic Christians bow their heads in prayer during a Coptic Orthodox service Saturday, July 15, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York. About 60 Egyptian Coptic Christian families have moved to York County in recent years to escape religious persecution in Egypt, where Copts face systematic discrimination and experience attacks by Islamic extremists. York County's Copts have banded together to form a tight-knit community that became Pennsylvania's 11th Coptic church, Archangel Michael & St. Karas the Anchorite Coptic Orthodox Church. Last Easter, with the aid of rotating priests, the Copts began worshiping on Saturdays in St. Mary's Catholic Church, whose Sunday school facilities they also use to hold Bible studies and teach their children Coptic prayers and lessons. Many in the community have struggled to gain an economic foothold in the U.S., where their Egyptian degrees have little value, but parents say they hope their children will succeed here while staying true to their Coptic faith. "We didn't come here for us," said Wasem Mansour, 40, who applied for asylum in 2013 with his wife and two daughters and now owns a used car dealership in Columbia. "We came here for our children."

Communion prayer cloths, held to one's mouth after receiving communion, lie on a pew near the end of a Coptic Orthodox service Saturday, June 24, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York, Pa.

Egyptian Coptic Christian parents face the east to conclude their meeting with prayer, as children dismissed from Sunday school blow bubbles Saturday, June 24, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York. While the children are in Sunday School, parents attend a meeting to discuss common issues such as raising their children in the Coptic faith. Many in the community have struggled to gain an economic foothold in the U.S., where their Egyptian degrees have little value, but parents say they hope their children will succeed here while staying true to their Coptic faith. "We didn't come here for us," said Wasem Mansour, 40, who applied for asylum in 2013 with his wife and two daughters and now owns a used car dealership in Columbia. "We came here for our children."

From left, Mena Thomas, 8, and Phelo Thomas, 5, help their mother Ragaa Thabet straighten up a blanket depicting St. Mary in their York, Pa., basement Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. After living in the U.S. for several years without a local Coptic church, Thabet was instrumental in securing a place of worship for York County's Egyptian Coptic Christians. "I need my religious tradition," Thabet said.

Daoud Tawfik of Springettsbury Township, back center, plays a game with his triplets and other Coptic Christian children during a picnic Sunday, July 16, 2017, at Cousler Park in Manchester Township, York County, Pa. Many of York County's Egyptian Coptic Christians left behind dozens or hundreds of relatives in Egypt, and consider their church community to be their extended family.

Abeer Abdelmour of York, left, helps serve just-cut watermelon to Youliana Gerges, 8, and Yoanna Gerges, 6, during a picnic Sunday, July 16, 2017, at Cousler Park in Manchester Township, York County, Pa.

Tena Zaki, 24, back right, leads a middle-school-age Coptic Sunday school class Saturday, June 24, 2017, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in York, Pa. Zaki came to the U.S. from Cairo with her parents and older brother when she was 12. Now in an eight-year pharmacy program at Wilkes University, Zaki said she struggled to adapt to life in the U.S. and encountered bullying and peer pressure over her upbringing, especially regarding dating and drinking.

Ragaa Thabet shows a Coptic cross tattooed on her wrist Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Many Coptic Christians, even young children, carry the cross on their wrists as a symbol of their devotion. Thabet, now in the U.S., hopes her sons will carry the cross once they are legally old enough to get a tattoo.