In the Presence of My Enemies

Rating:
Summary: Exciting and Very Sad
Review: Gracia Burnham dedicated the book to her husband Martin who died while in captivity. Gracia is an intelligent and educated woman. She does an excellent job in retelling their story by interweaving flashbacks of her life while bringing the reader back to the kidnapping. The digressions are interesting and add depth to the story. The reader learns of the Burnham family's history before they were married and their life as missionaries delivering supplies and encouragement to sick patients in the Philippine jungle. The few disturbing visual descriptions of their year of terror are retold without gory details. Martin and Gracia were courageous Christians while facing many near death circumstances in the jungle. They redeemed tedious hours of captivity by singing psalms and quoting scripture. They prayed for their enemies and encouraged other missionary captives. As the book concludes, it is hard to hold back tears. The Burnhams' exemplify God's command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44). God's word was written on the hearts and minds of the Burnhams. His word uplifted and encouraged their spirits during the most difficult trial of their lives. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting and Very Sad
Review: Gracia Burnham dedicated the book to her husband Martin who died while in captivity. Gracia is an intelligent and educated woman. She does an excellent job in retelling their story by interweaving flashbacks of her life while bringing the reader back to the kidnapping. The digressions are interesting and add depth to the story. The reader learns of the Burnham family's history before they were married and their life as missionaries delivering supplies and encouragement to sick patients in the Philippine jungle. The few disturbing visual descriptions of their year of terror are retold without gory details. Martin and Gracia were courageous Christians while facing many near death circumstances in the jungle. They redeemed tedious hours of captivity by singing psalms and quoting scripture. They prayed for their enemies and encouraged other missionary captives. As the book concludes, it is hard to hold back tears. The Burnhams' exemplify God's command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44). God's word was written on the hearts and minds of the Burnhams. His word uplifted and encouraged their spirits during the most difficult trial of their lives. I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: RonB
Review: Honestly is much easier to dislike yet Gracia's stark honesty endears her to us and is hopeful in their hopeless world. Their ongoing "adventure" seems as endless as His grace and far more daunting but there's a quality in her soul of grace when they needed to be gracious and a strength when they needed to strong. A lethal combination. Remarkable sharing of a gut wrenching saga of loss but a true example of anticipation of challenge; the next one.

Rating:
Summary: honest, but not exciting
Review: I really liked this book. The author, Gracia, was very honest in what day-to-day life in the jungle was like, traipsing thru the woods with her captors day and night with little to eat. She and her husband had a few chances to escape but chose to stay together and wait it out. They were in the jungle for over a year! Very interesting story.

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Story Full of Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness
Review: IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES is the true account of the horrendous ordeal that missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham endured after they were kidnapped by terrorists while celebrating their anniversary in May 2001. Held captive for a full year, the couple were within minutes of rescue when Martin was killed by "friendly fire" --- gunshots from their rescuers, who were soldiers in the Philippine army.

The skeletal story of the Burnhams' captivity and mistreatment at the hands of Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group active in the Philippines, is well-known to American audiences given the understandable media attention Gracia Burnham's release and homecoming generated. That story pales in comparison to the compelling account Burnham and veteran Christian author Dean Merrill provide in this book.

Whether due to Merrill's deft touch or Burnham's natural instincts, the two skillfully manage to avoid turning the memoir into a sensationalistic politic diatribe or melodramatic evangelistic treatise. The contributing elements were there: tireless workers on the foreign mission field enjoying one night of extravagance during their first real vacation in years, yanked from their cabin at gunpoint, subjected to horrific circumstances and conditions, with only one missionary left alive to tell the story. But Burnham and Merrill realized that the drama was inherent in the facts of the story, and any attempt to overdo it would have diluted the impact of Gracia's straightforward narrative.

The horror of what she experienced and witnessed during her year of captivity is difficult to fathom: beheadings, near-starvation, day-long marches that ended exactly where they began, forced "marriages" between captors and captives, even the fear that the Philippine army would make a rescue attempt --- a fear that proved to be well-founded with Martin Burnham's unnecessary death. And yet, Gracia relates the events of the year with such grace and skill that her story maintains a steady forward movement; she never stops the momentum by expressing outrage or analyzing the reasons why certain incidents occurred. What happened to the hostages on Sept. 11, 2001, for example, would have compelled a lesser person to rail against God and reject him completely, but Burnham --- who must still wonder about the timing of the events of that day --- seems to have come to terms with every aspect of her ordeal.

Perhaps the most surprising element of her story is the relationships that developed between the terrorists and the hostages. Their conversations were often friendly, and at times, the hostages realized that, in a sense, they were all on the same side, trying to avoid a deadly confrontation with the soldiers who were tracking them. In a particularly enlightening section, Gracia takes the reader into the mind of a terrorist who expressed genuine shock that the hostages thought they were being mistreated. Similarly, she recounts a conversation about the Koran in which her captor maintained that a verse condemning killing did not apply to him. Neither did an admonition against stealing.

Most of all, Burnham's account comes across as honest. She openly writes about those times when her faith in God vacillated, when her hope would turn to despair, and when the sheer boredom of the daily routine began to get to her. In short, her story rings true.

Burnham and Merrill deserve whatever honors and attention this book gets, because this is far more than a dramatic account of a momentous event --- it's an unforgettable story saturated with grace, mercy and forgiveness.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

Rating:
Summary: Glory in the Story
Review: Since I live Gracia Burnham's home state and attend a church with a serious commitment to supporting missions efforts, I wanted to buy this book to help support her. I was dreading reading it, knowing the outcome, but I'm so glad I did!

Gracia Burnham is the kind of stoyteller that puts herself right at the reader's level. Her story is frank and honest and in some ways, so brutally factual that you almost miss the powerful emotions that she must have felt both during her imprisonment and after as she began to live her life without Martin. She does discuss her captors with compassion in some instances, but always acknowledges their brutality and the corruption that runs rampant through the group. She states that she "always knew who the bad guys were" a number of times throughout the text.

I appreciated her confessional style and the fact that she painted herself not as anyone special, but someone who had to constantly lean on the Lord for understanding and forgiveness. As a Christian I always wonder how those who are persecuted can keep on going day in and day out, not knowing when they'll be free. With her help, I think I had a window into that world.

You DON'T have to be a Christian to appreciate this book, but Christianity is the most powerful influence in her life. She doesn't glorify anyone's actions or behavior -- only God's work during their year in the jungle and the power of prayer. I highly recommend it to anyone who followed the Burnham's story.

Rating:
Summary: An Encouraging Story
Review: There are few people I admire more than missionaries. They represent such a selfless expression of Christ's love - people who dedicate their lives to sharing the gospel with those who least want to hear it, but most need to hear it. Not only do they forsake the comforts of Western society and leave behind friends, jobs, church and family, but they often put their lives in danger by ministering in unstable nations.

In The Presence of My Enemies tells the story of Martin and Gracia Burnham, a missionary couple who were kidnapped and held for over a year by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group with ties to Osama Bin Laden. While celebrating their anniversary at a small resort in the Philippines they were snatched away and spent the next year of their lives on the run, fighting to survive in the Philippine jungles. They were constantly faced with incredible hardship and often lacked even the most rudimentary comforts. They were held pending the payment of a large ransom, one which missionary groups will never pay. It was not until the aftermath of September 11 that real progress was made in trying to rescue the Burnhams.

The author provides interesting insight into this small but radical and powerful terrorist group. We see the interaction of the various members of the group and the methods they employ to draft soldiers to their cause and to take more hostages. We see the Islamic faith through the eyes of some of its most radical followers as they seek to live and, if possible, die for Allah. Contrasted to this is the simple faith of two Christians, who share love when all around them are filled with hate. We continually see Christ's love shining out in the midst of pain, loneliness and terror. Gracia is honest in portraying a faith that sometimes wavered, yet stood the test because it was built on a sure foundation.

In the end we have to conclude with the author that God is gracious, and above all, sovereign. Nothing that happened surprised Him, and the Burnhams were never outside of His sight. Whenever they felt lowest, He provided something to buoy their spirits. When they were in good spirits, He used the opportunity to teach them about Himself.

The book is very well-written and moves along briskly. At times I wished Gracia had gone into more detail about her spiritual state as well as her husband's while they were faced with trials, but she does mention that her memory of many events is hazy, so I presume that is the reason she does not delve deeper into that area.

A powerful book and one that is sure to provide encouragement, and I am happy to recommend In The Presence of My Enemies.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: This first-hand narrative tells what the newspapers could not in writing of the kidnapping of a missionary couple. All the questions we might have for Gracia are answered in this transparent account of her time in the jungle at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group with ties to Osama Bin Laden. This book tells of her doubts about God's goodness and grace and how they were resolved. She never forgets who the enemy is and, with her husband, endures an amazing year-long captivity with fortitude and poise, even though her husband is killed and she is wounded in the rescue. Every Christian should read this riveting book as well as those who want to read an exciting, well-written new book.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book, a must read!
Review: This was one of the most innspirational books I have ever read. Gracia and Martin are so spiritual through the hardest time in their life. The Burnhams have such strong faith and never question or blame God. Truly an inspiration and testimony of faith. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book, a must read!
Review: This was one of the most innspirational books I have ever read. Gracia and Martin are so spiritual through the hardest time in their life. The Burnhams have such strong faith and never question or blame God. Truly an inspiration and testimony of faith. A must read!