June 7

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On this day in 2002, missionary Martin Burnham was killed during a rescue attempt.  More than a year before, he and his wife Gracia had been kidnapped by the armed militant Muslim group Abu Sayyaf.  Martin and Gracia had endured unspeakable conditions during their captivity but Martin determined that the terrorists would not steal his joy.  In fact, Gracia notes that every night, as he was being handcuffed to a tree  Martin would look his armed captors in the eye and thank them and wish them a good night.  Then, he would sing to try to help Gracia fall asleep as they battled the  jungle floor of crawling and biting insects.  In the final rescue attempt, Gracia was also wounded.  That ending is not what anyone wanted, but Gracia's incredible testimony still reaches souls today.  You can read about their story in her book, In the Presence of My Enemies.