Former terrorist hostage to speak at WLBC

Gracia Burnham

It was a horrifying experience many can barely imagine.

While celebrating their eighteenth wedding anniversary in the Philippines, missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group known for its violent high-profile attacks.

The Burnhams, along with 18 other hostages, were taken by boat to a remote Abu Sayyaf stronghold on Basilan Island.

As the Philippine authorities pursued the terrorists

and their frightened captives, gun fire continued to erupt.

"We moved constantly," Mrs. Burnham said in the July 2003 issue of Guideposts. "We scrambled all day over tiny trails in the heat and humidity, sleeping at night on the cold jungle floor, often starting awake to the sound of gunfire and mortar fire."

Barefoot and frightened the group was marched through the thick jungle undergrowth.

Lack of food took their toll on the hostages who went days without food, resorting to eating leaves off the trail, hoping they weren't poisonous.

"We drank rainwater from pools and from rivers," she said. "The days became weeks and months and still we had no idea where we were going or what would happen to us, only that we were being pursued, relentlessly pursued. "

All the while, the couple never lost their faith in God, even at a time when it could have appeared He had abandoned them. Mrs. Burnham said Martin kept her spirits up by reciting his favorite verses from the Bible, and she sang hymns she remembered from church. Their hope never faltered.

One by one the hostages were either killed or released for ransom, but the Burnhams were told they weren't going anywhere as the terrorists were asking one million dollars for the couple.

While in captivity the Burnhams befriended their guards and comforted their fellow hostages.

On June 7, 2002, the Philippine Army made another attempt to rescue the hostages. During an exchange of gunfire Gracia was shot in the leg and Martin was killed. Although she did not want to leave her husband's side, Gracia knew her husband would want her to go on, to tell their story of faith and hope.

Mrs. Burnham's story is one to be heard. Even in the most extreme conditions, she never lost her faith.

In her book "In the Presence of My Enemies," she tells her story. A story of the grace of God.

Hear her story first hand this Sunday, February 25, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at West Lake Baptist Church.