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On the afternoon of Friday, June 7, New Tribes missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham huddled together for the last time in a hammock beneath a makeshift tent in the steep mountains of southwestern Mindanao Island.

Members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group that had held the Burnhams hostage for 376 days were hastily erecting tents in the driving rain and eating rice—uncooked, since the guerrillas had abandoned their pots and pans in a recent skirmish. Abu Sayyaf knew the Philippine military was in pursuit, but the rebels didn't know they were under surveillance.

Only a few days before, the guerrillas had been forced to abandon their hideouts on the nearby island of Basilan, where they knew the territory and had the support of many residents. On Mindanao, they were constantly on the run, lost, hungry, and running out of resources.

They had recently ended a nine-day streak of living on rainwater and salt, and the group's main staples were now peanut butter sandwiches and coconuts. Leader Abu Sabaya was alternately promising to release the hostages and threatening to kill them.

"If we see our situation becoming difficult, maybe we will just bid goodbye to these two," the sunglass-wearing rebel leader said May 1. Almost a year earlier, Abu Sayyaf beheaded American Guillermo Sobero, who was taken hostage with the Burnhams last May. Abu Sayyaf also abducted Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap, who reportedly rejected an offer of freedom in order to take care of the Burnhams.

Talk between the Burnhams during the past year had often turned to the possibility of their deaths. In a videotaped interview last November, Gracia told a reporter, "We always look at each other, and I'd tell Martin, 'I love you. I want you to know before I die.' "

In recent days, it was Martin Burnham who had premonitions of his passing. He began writing letters to his three children, ages 15, 12, and 11. Each night for the past year, Martin Burnham comforted his wife by singing her to sleep. Before a nap on June 7, however, he suggested their time together was almost over.

"The Bible says to serve the Lord with gladness," said Martin, 42. "Let's go out all the way. Let's serve him all the way with gladness." The couple prayed together, recited several Scripture verses they could remember, and sang. Then, taking advantage of one of the rare times Martin wasn't chained to an Abu Sayyaf soldier or to a tree, they rested in each other's arms.

Near the Burnhams was another hostage, Edwin Reseroni, a 30-year-old local abducted by Abu Sayyaf rebels after their arrival on Mindanao. The rebels had ordered Reseroni to guide them through the terrain. Instead, say Philippine media reports, Reseroni helped the military discover their location.

Early that morning, two Filipino men—including Reseroni's 55-year-old father—found some Scout Rangers, part of a Philippine military division being trained by U.S. forces at nearby bases. Reseroni's father was carrying his son's pen and slippers, which he said had been discovered only a few miles away. It was clear that Edwin's abductors were nearby, and with the recent heavy rains, they had left a trail of footprints.

Political considerations, including the Philippine constitution, kept U.S. troops from swooping in to attempt to rescue the hostages and annihilate Abu Sayyaf, which has historical ties to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorism network.

The Scout Rangers are not to be confused with the élite Light Reaction Company, which was seeking the rebels elsewhere on the island and had extensive counterterrorism training by the U.S. Special Forces and new, high-technology equipment. The Scout Rangers, in comparison, drive World War II-era jeeps, use 30-year-old radios, and receive meager salaries between $140 and $350 monthly.

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June (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46