Posted on 08/01/2002 5:23:15 PM PDT by repubmom
Settling in
SANFORD, Florida (Aug. 1, 2002): After a memorable time in Washington, DC, the Burnham family is settling into life in Rose Hill, Kansas.
While Gracia and her children, and Paul and Oreta Burnham, were on their trip to the nation's Capitol, family and friends in Rose Hill decided to prepare a surprise -- turning the house that has been temporarily provided for Gracia into a "home." They found and arranged furniture and kitchen items, then added other welcoming touches. And Rose Hill Bible Church organized a food drive.
The surprise worked. Teresa Burnham, Gracia's sister-in-law, wrote, "It was so fun to watch Gracia walk into what she thought was a basically empty house, and find it set up!"
Regarding the trip to Washington DC, Oreta Burnham wrote, "We had a very memorable time with the President. We have a good President who is genuine and interested in people. He didn't seem rushed and took time with each of us. He thinks a lot of his mother and shows it [through] his sympathy for a mother who has lost her son. After he spoke to all of us he reached over and gave me a hug and just held me close for all of the time that he talked."
The families also enjoyed a luncheon given by Representative Todd Tiahrt, an official who pressed hard for Martin and Gracia's release.
In her speech at the White House, Gracia said, "It is a great privilege … to personally thank so many of the people who worked toward the release … from our captivity. It is also a wonderful opportunity to thank all Americans who prayed so faithfully for our release."
Gracia cited specific instances where she experienced the US military's care: "The doctors at the hospital in Zamboanga when I was airlifted from the jungle; the Navy Seals who provided security; Maj. Stroh, who stayed with me the entire time until I came home; Gen. Wurster, who gave me his star and spoke such kind words to me; the C-130 crew that flew me to Manila; the people at the embassy who had our pictures up everywhere as a reminder of what they were working toward."
Gracia also thanked the many government workers and officials for their courteous welcome on her family's visit to Washington. "I'm grateful to be an American," she said.
Gracia also stated, "I need time to rest and reflect and begin to write about our lives and our experience in the jungle. We need time to grieve and to build a new life as a family." Gracia has expressed to family members that she feels like life is pulling her along at an overwhelming pace. She wants to slow down.
"My mission is going to be to raise three neat kids; they need a full-time parent, and I'm it," Gracia said.
With that in mind, she is eager to settle into life in Rose Hill. Gracia is helping her children get ready for school and also learning to use a new laptop computer. On it she will draft the text of the book she has committed to write. Gracia will not give media interviews until her book is ready to publish next spring.
Praise: * God's grace continues to touch many lives through the Burnham family. * The Rose Hill community is very supportive of the family.
Prayer requests: * Time to reflect and grieve. * That Gracia will rest in the Lord in the midst of the busyness. * Patience in establishing a workable routine. * Wisdom in choosing a floor plan for the house the Rose Hill community wants to build for Gracia. * Jeff and Mindy and their school activities. Jeff has already begun football practice. * Gracia as she prepares to home-school Zach. * Wisdom for Gracia in how best to write the story of God's faithfulness. * Paul and Oreta Burnham as they grieve and regroup. They desire to return to their ministry in the Philippines later this year.
Thank you for your faithful prayers. You have encouraged the Burnham family and the NTM family.
I'm printing out the article so I can have it handy for prayer time.
How very precious that Gracia and family will be living in Rose Hill...a lovely name for a lovely plan of Christ's. <><
I was especially touched by Martin Burnham's mom about how the President genuinely cared for his mom and expressed this care to her, as he knew she was grieving.
We can remember how our President was so sensitive to his mom when Robin, his sister died.
That's the kind of man he is.
You know, though, this will give her time to let her spirit settle, to sort out the crucial from the seemingly urgent, to discern what God wants her to emphasize, and we will be served a much finer wine when she does give interviews and has distilled her experiences into a book, because what she has been through is so horrific that she needs time to sort through it all while the true depth and beauty of God's purposes through this horror and suffering rise above the dregs. God bless this dear lady.
I sense so strongly that even the most well-intentioned interviewers would gravitate toward the splashy, the gruesome, etc., rather than the purposes of God and how He will be glorified through all of this -- Martin was a martyr, and I think that would be distorted or overlooked in early interviews ... . And who can explain the cross of Christ to a disbelieving interviewer who would focus on questions about bitterness and unfairness, etc?
I know you know all these things!
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