Ashley
Mullins
Talents
for Christ judges
Talents for
Christ
15 February,
2005
To Live is Christ.
To Die is Gain.
We had just closed our eyes when a fearsome barrage of gunfire cut
loose from the crest of the hill…My instincts, after sixteen previous battles,
told me instantly what to do: drop
immediately…I felt the zing! of
a bullet slamming through my right leg…I looked up and saw Martin on the
ground, too, so I quickly crawled to his side…Then I saw it: the blood was
beginning to soak through his shirt…The shooting…finally stopped… [AFP
soldiers pulled] me back toward our hammock…I looked back where Martin lay
still…And then I knew-the man I loved more than anyone in the world was
gone. (Burnham
262-263)
This
was the last night that Martin Burnham was allowed to walk this earth. The Lord called him home soon after he
had been wounded during a rescue attempt to release him, his wife, and one
other from the terrorists who captured them and several others on May 27,
2001, more than one year prior to his death.
Martin Burnham’s childhood was spent living in the Philippines with his parents and
siblings. Paul and Oreta Burnham,
Martin’s parents, had been called to serve the Lord in this foreign country
when Martin was only seven. Very
early in his life, Martin took an interest in anything that dealt with
aeronautics. Building small
aircrafts and flying them off the house roof was a hobby he thoroughly
enjoyed.
As the years passed and the Lord’s ministry continued in the Philippines, Martin, still in love
with aeronautics, desired to pursue a career in aviation, but both of his
parents wanted him to acquire a firm foundation in the faith of Jesus Christ
by attending Bible college. With
reluctance Martin agreed but first proceeded to the United States
to begin flight school. Only a
few years later, he attended Calvary
Bible College in Kansas City where he met Gracia, his eventual
wife and life-long friend.
In the spring of 1983, Gracia and Martin were wed. Martin’s occupations, while he and
Gracia awaited the Lord’s direction, varied from crop dusting to teaching
aviation classes. The country of
the Philippines was in
desperate need of a missionary pilot, and though Martin initially balked at
returning to the Philippines, the Lord’s plan became
clear. This was the field where
the Lord desired to use the Burnhams. The urgency of the mission field
required an early departure date in 1986, only about a year after missionary
boot camp.
Tickets alone cost almost two thousand dollars, but the Lord always
provides for our needs and equips us to fulfill His will. A Sunday school class in Mississippi took on the
task of providing the Burnham’s support.
Not only did they raise enough money for the tickets, but they also
raised enough to ship the Burnham’s luggage and supplies.
Martin and Gracia, blessed with three children, Jeff, Mindy, and
Zach, continued the ministry by flying medical supplies and trying to meet the
needs of several missionaries surrounding Malaybalay. When Martin was flying, Gracia was
stationed by the radio listening to weather reports and updating plane
coordinates.
In May of 2001 during the fifteenth year of their ministry, Mr. and
Mrs. Burnham took a twenty-four-hour vacation from their hectic schedule to
Dos Palmas Resort in celebration of their anniversary. They went to bed that night with not a
care in the world, but everything they had planned for the next year was soon
altered. In the early morning
hours of May 27, members of the Abu Sayyaf pounded on their door and entered
carrying M-16’s, yelling for them to leave their cabin and follow. With no time allowed to pack
belongings, Martin and Gracia left with only the clothes on their backs.
Gracia and Martin were taken to a boat where they met several other
captives, all taken for money and revenge on those who now occupied the
terrorists’ homeland. The
terrorists, who left their faces uncovered while wearing long-sleeve black
shirts and camouflage pants, inquired about profession and social status to
determine different degrees of ransom.
Martin’s ransom was set for one million dollars, a ransom that the
American government would not allow to be paid.
After five days of
unpleasant conditions, the prisoners were led off the boat only to follow the
terrorists wherever they should tread.
Location changed frequently as the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) consistently discovered the whereabouts of the hostages. Gracia and Martin moved more than 30
times and experienced 17 shoot-outs in the process.
A hospital became the first location of drastic danger. The AFP had again discovered the
captives and sought for compliance, even to the point of artillery fire. The hostages were placed in the
hospital, thinking no one would shoot at a medical facility, but this
assumption proved fallible.
Windows were shattered, and glass slivers were cast everywhere. Lying on the floor near the hostages
was a terrorist with an annihilated eye and blood pouring on to the
floor. This was just the
beginning of many traumatic experiences.
The regimen split into two groups, each deteriorated either by
death or by met ransom. Survival
now required responsibility and determination. Martin, always a capable repairman,
seemed to help the Abu Sayyaf frequently, but his value caused him to be
chained to trees and guards quite often.
Martin's faith was encouraged to grow even stronger while in the
presence of the Abu Sayyaf Muslims.
Some of the captives converted to Islam in desperate attempt to be
freed, yet their freedom did not come.
Martin used this opportunity to share Christ with the other hostages
and to plant seeds of hope in their hearts. When the terrorists asked Martin and
Gracia questions about their faith, they were ready to give a defense for the
faith that was in them.
The Abu Sayyaf also fasted quite frequently out of respect for
Allah. During the day they would
not eat, but before dawn and after sunset, they would eat more food than on a
normal day. This ritual often
meant less food for the captives.
Once, they went for nine days without a proper meal! Due to strenuous hiking, lack of food,
and illness, Martin’s medium frame of 150 pounds weighed only 125 pounds. Gracia could see Martin’s bones
protruding through his shirt.
Stealing food was not an option and asking for more was not even a
thought.
Gracia broke down into tears numerous times during the experience
and at several points alluded that she would rather die than live another day
on this planet under the rule of the terrorists. It was not an easy task to be
constantly under the watch of the Abu Sayyaf or to submit to their
authority. Her faith in the Lord
at one point was crumbling, but the Lord used this to His advantage. Martin was able to encourage her
through this situation and to remind her of all the things that the Lord had
done in their lives.
Daily prayer for the smallest blessings began, and this
communication with the Father focused their minds and hearts. Martin never wavered, consistently
praying for his caretakers, never losing sight of who the individual
terrorists were. Blaming God could have been an easy escape route, but he
chose the narrow path and learned through his situation. Full dependence on God was the
result. His faith in Jesus Christ
increased more through this captivity than if he were a free man.
On June 7, 2002, soon after Gracia and Martin prayed, gunshots
stormed the area in which they were sleeping. They tried to get to the ground, but
both Gracia and Martin were shot.
Martin was shot in the chest and soon entered the presence of the Lord;
Gracia was shot in the leg but remained focused on Martin. Martin had truly fulfilled his
goal. He was willing for the
Father’s will to be done, not his own, and submitted to the will of God and
whole-heartedly followed it. Martin’s life was constantly an example of the
surrender about which the apostle Paul wrote: “For me to live is Christ and to
die is gain.”
Works Cited
Burnham,
Gracia, with Dean Merrill. In
the Presence of My Enemies.
United States of
America: 2003.