"God writes really good stories."
The remark came from Gracia Burnham, an American missionary who, together with her husband Martin and 18 others, endured horrific condition at the hands of the notorious Abu Sayyaf jihadist terrorist group in the Philippines who kidnapped them in 2001 and held them captive for a year in the jungle of Mindanao island. They were eventually rescued by the Philippine military in June 2002. However, the rescue attempt resulted in the killing of her husband Martin.
Speaking to Mission Network News (MNN), Burnham said there have been miraculous developments since she regained her freedom from the Abu Sayyaf 14 years ago.
"God writes really good stories. All of that could be happening in the Philippines and I wouldn't even know about it, but the Lord let me even be in on some of it, and I'm just very grateful to Him," she said.
Visiting the Philippines recently, she said she learned that some of the Abu Sayyaf militants who held them captive are still locked up in a maximum security prison in Manila.
A missionary couple who work in the prison then told Burnham that four of the Abu Sayyaf prisoners "have come to know Jesus as their Saviour."
For her part, Burnham said her harrowing experience changed her life. "I think if you were to ask my children, they would say a different mother came out of the jungle than I went in," she said.
"I was always a real black-and-white person ... Then all of a sudden the bottom dropped out from me, and I saw myself at my lowest and I saw my sin and my hatred for those guys [our captors], and it was shocking. So when I saw myself for what I really was, then I learned God's grace in a whole new way," she elaborated.
MNN asked her how her life experience has influenced her thoughts on missions.
"I think my philosophy on missions is you just love people and you invite them into your circumstances. You tell them your story and what God did for you — and how God can work in their hearts and lives as well," Burnham said.
She said she has her own prayer for Christians working in dangerous missions abroad.
"I pray they'll have a place to sleep tonight, they'll have a pillow for their head, a blanket so they don't freeze, a cup of hot coffee with sugar in it — something that will bless them, some encouragement from God's Word.... They need the basic things, so my prayers for them are very simple: God, give them what they need today, their daily bread, and give them something to hang onto from you today to encourage their hearts and let them know, 'God is here with me.'"
