112: Gracia Burnham | Hope After Being Held Hostage

Gracia Burnham joins me to discuss on her missionary life with Martin, being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf, and God's provision during the 20 years since being freed from the jungle and losing Martin.

Questions Gracia and I Discuss:

1. (4:38) You met and married Martin and eventually moved to the Philippines where you served as missionaries for 17 years.  Tell us what led you to the Philippines and what ministry looked like for you and your family while there.
2. (7:56) What makes you say Martin was born to fly in the jungle?
3. (10:01) You and Martin decide to take a rare trip alone as a couple to celebrate your 18th wedding anniversary.  Walk us through what happened on May 27, 2001 at the Dos Palmas resort. 
4. (12:17) Who were the Abu Sayyaf? 
5. (17:30) You and Martin, along with many other captives were held hostage by Abu Sayyaf, but the majority were released.  Why did they keep you and Martin for another year? 
6. (19:51) How would you describe the conditions overall?
7. (22:37) What thoughts about your kids would go through your mind during captivity?
8. (24:27) Martin often was the one that would kind of pull you up when you were down.. What were some of the things he would say to point you back toward the Lord?
9. (26:02) 911 put you and Martin in the forefront of people's minds. What happened after 911? 
10. (29:56) How did the events of June 7, 2002 unfold

Quotes to Remember:

"Our job to run a good flight program and Martin wasn't just an ordinary pilot. He was born to fly in the jungle. And he loved what he did."

"Martin just knew how to get a loaded Cessna down on a short jungle strip and get it stopped in the next few hundred feet."

"These militant Muslims stormed the resort. There was a banging on the door. Before Martin could even get to the door these three guys within M-16's broke the door in and one took him right out. One of them came over to the bed and lowered his weapon at me and yelled, 'Go go go!'. And I said, 'No, no, no, I'm not dressed properly.'. They took me out to after I put on what I'd worn to the beach that night.""At the very beginning, they told Martin we will deal with you last. You'll be political prisoners."

"For the most part, we hiked. We moved all the time, because we were trying to stay in front of the Philippine military who were trying to rescue us."

"Every once in a while, we would come to a place where we thought we were safe....and we would spend weeks. During those days [we were] totally bored. We were either exhausted or we were bored and witnessing the atrocities."

"This huge gun battle, number 17 (we've been through 16 of these before), this Rambo style shooting up the camp... and before I could hit the ground...I was shot in the leg and kind of slid down the slick grass....I came to rest beside Martin and I looked over at him and he was bleeding from his chest. I knew from experience that leg wounds might heal, but chest wounds don't."

SHOW NOTES cont.

Connect with Gracia Burnham at graciaburnham.org

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