Thus says the caption for this photo of Gracia Burnham in her book "𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀" which was published in 2003. Burnham released the book just a year after being freed from the clutches of the notorious Abu Sayyaf.
Back in 2001 and 2002, the story of Gracia Burnham, her husband Martin, and more than a dozen people taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf dominated the national headlines.
Gracia and Martin Burnham were Christian missionaries who decided to move and work in the Philippines in 1986.
In 2001, during a trip to a resort in Palawan to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, they were abducted along with 17 other people by heavily-armed men who turned out to be members of the Abu Sayyaf. They were brought to Basilan where the Abu Sayyaf had a stronghold.
The story of the Burnhams and their fellow captives gripped the nation's consciousness for the next 13 months. The hostage crisis ended in June of 2002 during an encounter between the Abu Sayyaf and the Philippine military. Gracia Burnham got injured but was freed. Unfortunately, her husband Martin and a Filipina nurse captive, Ediborah Yap, were killed during the encounter.
After returning home to the United States, Gracia reportedly helped in translating a comic book series about the bible into the language that the Abu Sayyaf spoke.
This photo was taken somewhere in Tadian, Mountain Province.
