Pastor Andrew Brunson said his faith in God and the support of his wife Norine helped survive nearly two years in a Turkish prison.
Brunson and his wife appeared on television’s “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday.
He said the first year behind bars was particularly tough.
“That's when I was very broken down,” he said. “I was very isolated even though I was in a crowded prison cell isolated from the outside from receiving encouragement. It was my wife really who got me through that time. God did but she is the one who brought truth into me in our meeting…”
And he added: “I kept talking to God and talking to God -- whether he talked to me or not.”
For a time, Brunson said he in a cell with 22 others. He was the only Christian in the cell. The others were Muslim.
Asked if he was able to convert any inmates while behind bars, he said: “No, they were all strong Muslims. They tried to convert me.”
His wife said she would meet with him once a week.
“I wanted to be with him,” she said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen.”
President Donald Trump welcomed Brunson to the White House on Saturday following the pastor’s release from jail. He had been detained in October 2016, formally arrested that December and placed under house arrest on July 25 for health reasons.
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