Martin and Gracia Burnham, long-term missionaries to the Philippines, lived this nightmare. While celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at a Philippine resort, they were kidnapped by rebels from the Abu Sayyaf Group.

During their horrendous year as hostages, the Burnhams struggled to live faithfully before the Lord whom they had come to the Philippines to proclaim. On June 7, 2002, in a fierce gunbattle between government troops and the terrorists, Martin and another hostage were killed and Gracia was wounded in the leg, but freed.

A CNN account tells how Burnham praised her husband as a "source of strength for all the hostages." "He was a good man and he died well," she said.

Upon her return to the United States, Gracia thanked everyone for their prayers, saying every prayer was needed during their ordeal. "Keep praying for me and my kids as we begin to rebuild our lives," she asked.

I recently had the good fortune to visit with Gracia Burnham. We were both attending a foundation meeting in Wichita on which I serve as an advisory board member. After hugging her and introducing myself as a former missionary, we talked about the difficulties of coming home from the mission field.

Although Gracia’s reentry was unique, I knew she and her children surely also faced the common challenges of reentry. I was proud that some of the cutting-edge work in this area had been done by members of the churches of Christ, most notably by Clyde Austin, retired professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University. Gracia wanted to know more of what we had to offer and I was confident we could help her and her children.

Where did I turn to find the needed resources? To Missions Resource Network. In no time at all their helpful staff located Clyde Austin’s books and also provided a reentry packet for returning missionaries.

I spoke to Gracia again recently and she was extremely appreciative of the help provided by Missions Resource Network. "This has really been hardest for my kids," she said with her typical upbeat spirit. "Thank you for your prayers and help."

(Greg and Debra Carr served as missionaries in Kampala, Uganda. They now live in Witchita, Kansas.)