They Answered the Call

Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries to the Philippines, were celebrating their anniversary on Palawan Island in the western Philippines when they and several others were taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf, a militant group associated with Al Qaida. Over the course of their captivity, several of their fellow captives were murdered by their captors, and others were released. June 7, 2002, over a year into their ordeal, the Philippine army stormed their camp and managed to rescue Gracia. Martin and fellow hostage Deborah Yap were killed in the fighting. I wrote this poem when we got the news.

Having grown up in the Philippines, and having good friends in New Tribes Mission, their mission organization, this hit close to home for us, and we followed it closely over the course of the ordeal, praying regularly for their safe release. While I didn't know them in the Philippines (that I remember), Gracia's book In the Presence of my Enemies mentions people I knew. I did meet her later, and she gave me a hug when she found out I was a missionary kid.

You can learn more about them on Gracia's website.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10

Martin and Gracia Burnham
AP/New Tribes Mission

They heard the call
The call to go
To preach the Gospel to the world

And they answered the call
No matter what the cost
They preached the Gospel
They showed God’s love
Wherever they went

It was only a break
A time of rest
How could they know
How much a rest would cost?

They answered the call
They showed God’s love to their captors
They prayed for and cared for their fellow hostages

They would spend a year
With little to eat
Moving around
In the thick jungle’s heat

Their bodies were weak
But their faith was strong
They showed God’s love
To those who hated Him

They saw the others released
Some killed
But still they were held

He was in chains
She was in pain
They went through illness
And agony

But still they answered the call
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"

At last the rescuers came
She was rescued by the army
He was rescued by God Himself

They are free
She recovers from her wounds
And her loss
He sits at the feet
Of his eternal God and King
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.