2024 the best of enemies true story review

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In the Presence of My Enemies, the gripping true story of American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham’s year as hostages in the Philippine jungle, was a New York Times best seller and has sold nearly 350,000 copies. Now releasing in trade softcover for the first time, this updated edition has a new look and contains never-before-published information on the capture and trial of the Burnhams’ captors; Gracia’s secret return trip to the Philippines; and updates on recent events in Gracia’s life, ministry, and family.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0842381392
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tyndale Momentum; Enlarged edition (January 1, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780842381390
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0842381390
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.1 inches
Reviewer: Joanne Fadem
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Powerful story
Review: Powerful story of a powerful, gracious God working through committed and submitted human beings. I was enthralled with this book.

Reviewer: General Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Powerful
Review: This book is an amazing true story, well written and concludes with encouragement.

Reviewer: Andi
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Classic tale
Review: This is a classic tale of our times. It so well written. Of course the author is a survivor so it's 1st hand. Scary but true. A true tale of the power of the goodness of God toward our enemies. The enemy fears God.

Reviewer: MarkJ
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Amazing Story of One's Journey through Severe Trials
Review: Just finished reading the story. Very moving. Amazing story of how Gracia Burnham and her husband persevered through the jungles of various Filipino islands as hostages. Great testimony of the struggle believers have in severe trials and how each can encourage the other to stand firm. The most recent edition (2010 copyright) has an additional followup chapter that is a bit long, but interesting and brings a good measure of closure. It shows how God works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. I greatly appreciated the fact that this story was committed to writing. What an amazing memory Gracia must have! Thanks for sharing.

Reviewer: Colleen Flynn
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Gracia's story and fitting tribute to Martin
Review: This book is hard to put down. Even though I followed the news about Martin and Gracia throughout their ordeal, I wanted to understand what really happened. This book fills in the blanks between the news reports and brings you inside the hearts and feelings of Gracia, Martin, their fellow hostages and even the thinking and philosophy of their captors. It is truly tragic that what began as a hoped for short kidnapping for ransom turned into over a year of captivity for Gracia and Martin (the two that were held the longest). As one by one, the other hostage were either released, killed or ransomed, Martin and Gracia remained behind, holding out to the hope that they would be freed. They were lied to by their captors, and forced to march and slog through miles and miles of jungle terrain, underfed, ill, and chained to trees at night. The captors became increasingly frustrated and greedy, and failed to free them after a significant ransom was paid, spending the money on trivialities, and then running them off again as the demands continued to escalate.Gracia tells it like it is. There is no sugar-coating her horrifying experience, emotional ups and downs and her own reaction to her captors, as well as the callousness and cruelty of the terrorists. She also captures the human side of the hostages and captors, and the mundane and ordinary moments they all shared together, including a feel humorous moments. They talked about their faiths, Islam, Christianity, and what the requirements of Allah were as contrasted by the mercy of Jesus. At one point, they all agreed that everyone had sinned and needed to be judged. The big difference is who pays for the sins. When Gracia said that Jesus is God who came to earth and paid for her sin, Solaiman (one of the captors) said that he will do his own paying. Later they reflected that he might just get his wish and started praying for their salvation.How did Gracia get through it all? Through the optimism and support of her husband Martin, who stayed calm, was always there for her, and through their faith in the Lord Jesus. They learned to lean on God, their faith was severely tested and tried, but on the day Martin died, he quoted Psalm 100 and vowed to serve the Lord with gladness. Even though sick and emaciated, Martin carried a huge load of provisions, including mortar shells without complaining. Gracia was filled with compassion for an injured teenage soldier who was earlier throwing rocks at her that she washed out his soiled underwear when he could only lay there moaning. Such is true service to the Lord, even to their enemies. Throughout their ordeal, they learned that God's grace is sufficient, His strength is made perfect in their weakness and that the power of Christ rests in them. Otherwise there was no way they could have put one foot in front of another, leaning on, serving and glorifying Him throughout their entire ordeal.

Reviewer: A Grey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Challenging, Engaging Read
Review: It was a blessing to read In the Presence of My Enemies with my husband as we made our weekly treks to church and our mentors’ house.This book is extremely well written… Engaging and thorough. The couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, were serving in the Philippines. They had taken a short weekend vacation to celebrate their anniversary, when they were startled awake and received the order, “Move! Move! Move!” from three men dressed in black. We soon learn that they are part of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist organization (Muslim extremists). Their main reason for taking the Burnhams hostage? Ransom money for funding.We never wanted to put the book down when we arrived at our destination. There were even a few occasions where we looked up and said, “Whoa. We aren’t in the Philippines.” Yes – the book is that engaging. I was encouraged by Gracia’s straightforwardness – life as a hostage was not easy and brought out the worst in those involved. I was also challenged by her and her husband as they clung tightly to their faith, knowing that God is still good even when circumstances are not.If you’re looking for a modern Christian biography that will encourage and challenge you, this is my highest recommendation. I easily give is 5 stars!

Reviewer: Susie Homemaker
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Inspiring
Review: Gracia is wonderfully open and honest as she relates her incredible story. This is a gripping story that is hard to put down. It really gives one a window into the terrorist mindset and one is struck by the human element of radical Islam that is not often considered in other true life stories. Her ability to work through and set aside bitterness and hatred and replace it with forgiveness and compassion is a wonderful testament to God's work in one's life. Gracia is careful to give God the glory throughout. I recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with or has dealt with any kind of traumatic event, especially for those victims of senseless crimes.

Reviewer: James M. Hartnett, Jr.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Benefits of Living in America
Review: It is a very long book and it took me quite a long time to read it, but I consider it well-worth the time it took me to read it. It is one of the most interesting, enjoyable and inspiring books I have ever read. I recommend that any person who has the opportunity to read this book, do so and avoid missing the opportunity they may have to do so. One of the advantages I feel there is in reading it is that it will demonstrate to whoever reads it that we don't have it nearly as bad in this country as we may think we have. One of the advantages I experienced by reading Martin and Gracia's story about their having been captured and restricted to living in the jungles of the Philippians was that of realizing that since they were required to endure those harsh conditions they were required to endure, I can appreciate it much better, what I have here in America than I have been doing.

Reviewer: Knockknock
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Quite a story. I almost couldn’t put the book down. Highly recommend it for somebody who wants to get insight on what it is like to be a captive or information on the radical Muslim element in the Philippines.However the real story is a message of forgiveness and hope in Christ.

Reviewer: Aquamarine
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very fascinating real life book about the life in captivity of these two Christians and others. Inspiring.

Reviewer: elkapitan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: highly recommended to everyone! an eye openner!

Reviewer: Elvira W.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Enjoyed reading this book, very matter of fact, truthful book. Struggles are real, but God is our hope! Thank you for sharing, blessings to you and your family.

Reviewer: MRS S G BARRETT
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is an amazing story of how a terrorist sniper and hater of the Jewish people had his life completely transformed by the power of The Lord Jesus Christ. I highly recommend this book.