Summary
For American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, what started out as a relaxing, once-in-a-lifetime anniversary getaway at an exotic island resort turned into one of the most horrific nightmares imaginable.
Kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group with ties to Osama bin Laden, the Burnhams were snatched away from friends and family and thrust into a life on the run in the Philippine jungle. During a perilous year in captivity, they faced near starvation, constant exhaustion, frequent gun battles, coldhearted murder—and intense soul-searching about a God who sometimes seemed to have forgotten them.
In this gripping firsthand account of faith, love, and struggle in the face of unnervingly casual brutality, you’ll go behind the scenes of a real-life drama, told in gritty detail by the least likely survivor. You’ll learn about the methods and motives of a radical terrorist group whose members are determined to meet their objectives, no matter what the cost. You’ll be inspired by the ultimately triumphant faith and enduring love of an ordinary couple thrown into extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
Whatever the struggles of your life, you’ll find encouragement and hope in this refreshingly honest story of a yearlong struggle with the darkness that inhabits the human heart.
“The issue…is not why an all-powerful God might choose to subject a man to evil, but how a man, with God’s help, responds to evil…The Burnhams, under torturous conditions, befriended their guards, comforted their fellow hostages and kept their faith in a God who seemed to have abandoned them.” USA TODAY
En Espanol
En la Presencia De mis Enemigos.
un escape de aniversario relajante en un recurso de una isla exótica se convirtió en una
de las pesadillas más horribles que se puedan imaginar.
los Burnham fueron arrebatados de su amigos y familiares y empujados a una vida en
la selva filipina. Durante un año peligroso en cautiverio, enfrentaron casi la hambruna,
el agotamiento constante, frecuentes tiroteos, asesinatos despiadados y un intenso
examen de conciencia acerca de un Dios que a veces parecía haberlos olvidado.
brutalidad inquietante e informal, irás detrás de las escenas de un drama de la vida
real, contado con gran detalle por la sobreviviente menos probable.
Amazon Reviews
Ignatious Valve
This is an incredible account of two people who found themselves held against their will for over a year. Not only were they held against their will, but also they were mistreated and lied to on a consistent basis. The story was truly amazing, a demonstration of how love and kindness can be shown in the most adverse of circumstances. Yet the most interesting part of the book was the contrast of the captors view of God (Allah) and the Burnhams view of God.
I found it absolutely terrifying at how the Abu Sayyaf captors viewed and responded to their concept of God. At the same time, I was amazed at how Martin and Gracia Burnham responded to their concept of God. In the jungles of the Philippines, theory and debate about abstract terms were not important. These two groups of people lived their day-by-day lives based on their views of God. This story is an amazing apologetic for and attestation to the Christian view of God. Every Muslim should read this book and face the questions that the story so obviously brings to the forefront.
I read the book in two days. I could not put it down. But I found the last chapter the most remarkable. If nothing else, read this chapter.