This is an amazing hostage story
Please watch. It’s not long.
All the hostages were not kept under the same circumstances or by the same people, so there was and is some variation their experiences – plus of course the variation in their personalities prior to being taken hostage. This young woman seems to have drawn on a source of strength that she may or may not have exhibited prior to her becoming a hostage. Perhaps her captor was also less hardened and sadistic to begin with than many other captors. But for whatever reasons, she was able to project some unusual quality of – for want of a better word, I’ll use her captor’s word – light in the darkness.
Very moving. I don’t understand when she was released — do you know? recently? or with some of the other released hostages?
F:
She was released November 30, with some of the others who were released.
Her boyfriend is assumed to still be in captivity.
For people who have only a casual relationship with their religious training, think about what will sustain you in a crisis. If you don’t know the words of scripture and prayer, what will you think of? From whence will come your help?
Kate:
Having read a great deal about people in extreme circumstances – prisoners of war, concentration camps, survival in disasters – I have noticed that religious people sometimes find that their religion and faith sustains them, and sometimes they lose their faith and fall into despair. In addition, the same is true for people who have no prior religious faith. Sometimes something else sustains them, not religious faith. Sometimes they find they gain faith. Sometimes nothing sustains them and they fall prey to despair.
My favorite Psalm is 2. “let us break off their chains ” The thing about the Psalms is they all work.
I was thinking just yesterday about a book I read as a kid, ” The Hiding Place ” , by Corrie ten Boom. The Boom family were part of an underground railroad during WW2 smuggling Jews. The family had a hiding place behind a false wall in the family home. Eventually they were caught and the family was sent to the camps. It has been decades since I read the book , but as I recall, Corrie’s sister was the stronger sister when it came to faith and really helped pull Corrie thru psychologically, though her sister ultimately lost her life.
https://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Place-Triumphant-Story-Corrie/dp/0553256696/ref=asc_df_0553256696/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312174369544&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13335555767859028255&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026339&hvtargid=pla-434414001979&psc=1&mcid=900ce42c5131335c86b65bfa3f488735&gclid=CjwKCAiA75itBhA6EiwAkho9ex6Fe6RU-SnGIVSmJ2gtD17CHFSjXMPtTh6xzFRxjnn_pMPpCiqPqBoC9swQAvD_BwE
Kate, Per their religion it shouldn’t have happened. The thing about Muslims though, is they’re human.
I remember reading a piece by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about something he noticed when he was enduring his darkest moments in the gulag(s). He said the religious prisoners held up better to the brutality of the conditions. Also he said they were less likely to give false confessions as “encouraged” by the sadists in charge. FYI he was a Christian, became an atheist under the spell of the promise of the “Workers Paradise” and reverted back to Christianity as an older and much wiser man. I was reminded when I watched the video.
The thing about killing elephants is there are lots of places you can shoot them, only to piss them off. For such a huge animal the target is surprisingly small. The brain is about the size and shape of a football. And given the fact elephants keep moving their heads hitting the brain is like hitting a can of peas on the back seat of raging Camaro.
The heart seals up. The critter. Can go for hours with a leaky pump. You need to hit the aorta.
The elephant I killed had just killed a man. Killed is too soft a word. All that was left was a red stain on the road and a pair of bloody jeans.
Point being, it’s a precise shot. And it wasn’t even the best game shot I ever made. That was the 300 meter (we measured it) heart shot I made on African antelope.
Right now you’re wondering if there’s a point. Of course there’s a point. Every time I killed an animal some part of me felt bad. From my first duck to that elephant. But that’s the price of life.
I’ve never killed a human being, though. Not that I know of. I had hoped to God and tell Him that while I signed a lot I’ve never killed. I’m thinking, since October 7 that I need to add that to the list.
All spelling and grammar mistakes are due to autocorrect
Steve57:
Great story even without a point!
You’re an interesting fellow.
I was trying to remember the story of a Catholic priest who took the place of another prisoner to die in a Nazi concentration camp. Chat to the rescue!
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You are likely referring to Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
Maximilian Kolbe was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz in 1941. While there, a prisoner from Kolbe’s barracks vanished, prompting the camp’s deputy commander to select 10 men to be starved to death as a deterrent against further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out in despair for his family, Kolbe volunteered to take his place.
Kolbe was subsequently locked in a starvation cell. Remarkably, he survived for two weeks without food or water. Eventually, the Nazis killed him with an injection of carbolic acid. He was later canonized as a martyr by the Catholic Church and is remembered as a symbol of selfless sacrifice and solidarity. His feast day is celebrated on August 14th.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s story is one of profound heroism and is often cited as an extraordinary example of compassion and love for fellow human beings, even under the most horrific circumstances.
I asked Chat whether Franciszek Gajowniczek survived.
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Yes, Franciszek Gajowniczek did survive the Auschwitz concentration camp. After Saint Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place in the starvation cell, Gajowniczek was spared from the immediate death sentence that had been imposed as a punishment for a prisoner’s escape. Gajowniczek continued to endure the harsh conditions of the camp.
He was liberated from Auschwitz in 1945 when the camp was freed by Allied forces. Gajowniczek lived for several decades after the war, passing away in 1995. He often spoke of the sacrifice made by Maximilian Kolbe and attended Kolbe’s canonization in 1982. The story of Kolbe’s sacrifice and Gajowniczek’s survival is one of the most poignant tales of selflessness and humanity emerging from the horrors of the Holocaust.
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I do love a happy ending.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciszek_Gajowniczek
Speaking of happy endings, I missed exactly one shot on that trip. Not the elephant, natch. Nor the Impala. I wasn’t out for Impala but some locals stopped by and it was the Zimbabwean version of the 4th of July and they needed to have a BBQ.
It was the Baboon. I wanted a trophy Baboon. They’re not hard to find in Zim, so in short order we rustle up some Baboons. So I got this monkey dead to rights. I’m squeezing the trigger on a big male when this girl Baboon reaches over and, uhh, starts pleasuring him
It’s too late. I’m committed to talking the shot. But now I’m laughing so hard I deliberately miss. I don’t know why I was surprised; after that time in Singapore I should know better about Monkeys.
Professional courtesy? It just would have been rude.
Singapore. I don’t know if I should clear that up. The monkey part; nothing else happened, swear. Just off Singapore there is Sentosa Island. Relatively speaking it’s rural.
Yes, alcohol was involved. So I’m hiking around Sentosa and come across some monkeys. One of the males is playing with himself. So I’m pointing and laughing and calling to my friends because I’m all about sharing.
Up until that moment I never knew monkeys could take offense. Damn was that monkey offended. And he had friends. They were all offended. And I’m surrounded. I barely kicked my way out of that circle.
I hate monkeys. I’d rather fight pit bulls.
How do I know if rather fight pit bulls? I’ve done it. Well, one pit. The others were a German Shepherd, a Rottweiler, and a Shar Pei.
Not all at once.
I think that’s enough for one lifetime.
Ah, an Officer AND a Gentleman…
(Our very own Hemingway…? Or Kipling… Ever read the story about the monkeys in the “Jungle Book”? Probably could have written it, actually…. Hypnotizing… Kipling didn’t think much of monkeys…)
Psalm 27 (your number may vary), which ends “Wait for the Lord with courage, be stout-hearted and wait for the Lord”.
Hunting big game, or even small game, would be sporting if the game could shoot back. Otherwise it’s a coward’s undertaking. And an obscenity.
The Great White Hunter who is posting those stories is full of shit. Even if his stories are true. Which is doubtful.
*P.S. This is — What? — the third time that Great White Hunter has bragged in a post that he hasn’t killed a man. Like that’s something to brag about.
A different sort of hostage story: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/383740
huxley said: “You’re an interesting fellow.”
I say he’s a fabulist. And, possibly, mentally ill.
There is a Hanukkah message that explains why the lights are celebrated the for Hanukkah and not the victory of the war that is quite powerful.
May the world see peace in our life time.
https://youtu.be/V292j4BNS6Q?si=MgfYLF5auONElbZj
Last weekend I saw Verdi’s “Nabucco,” which by a remarkable coincidence the Metropolitan Opera is staging this season. It’s about Nebuchadnezzar II, who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and took the Jews captive in Babylon. It’s most famous for the chorus “Va, pensiero,” sung by the captive Jews, and based loosely on Psalm 137, which begins
Va, pensiero
A very moving experience in light of current events.
This young woman’s story is truly a divine appointment. She let her light shine and it was undeniable, irresistible. God only knows the impact that light has on others. It’s often difficult to see but there is touchable humanity in everyone. March is the “30 days of prayer for Islam.
@SteveS > “30 days of prayer for Islam”
I had never heard of this annual event, so I looked it up.
https://www.pray30days.org/store/30-days-of-prayer-for-the-muslim-world-2024-pdf
“This year, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World looks at Muslim communities HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE – in their historic birthplaces, in migrant communities, on dangerous journeys to new places, and in all the corners of the world. Whether Muslims stay in their cultural birthplace as it transforms around them or relocate to a new town or a new continent, by choice or by necessity – the process of adapting to change is stressful and challenging. Christians should be the ones who welcome and support others – even in cultures where they are themselves a stranger, following the command of Christ to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
This prayer guide will help you pray for Muslims here, there and everywhere, and inspire you to pray especially for Muslim communities nearest to you where you can be a light and blessing to them, for the glory of God.
Get the 2024 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World prayer guide and join us in praying for Muslim peoples and nations this March and April. The colorful, picture-filled booklet will inform, inspire and prepare you to pray with knowledge and faith.”
Costs $2.50 for a pdf, so I haven’t looked into exactly what they are praying for.
I’m curious about the appeal to Christian doctrine, but IMO it’s an attempt to guilt-trip people in mostly (or formerly) Christian-majority countries who are wary of a large influx of Muslims into their communities, often with good reason.
OTOH, there are also immigrants who aren’t a problem, but they usually don’t make the news (the trouble-makers tend to be ignored by the MSM, for reasons).
@ Jimmy > “Last weekend I saw Verdi’s “Nabucco,” which by a remarkable coincidence the Metropolitan Opera is staging this season.”
We saw the live broadcast streaming to our local theater in Denver metro, as one of sons was in town that week and he’s a big opera fan. I’m a moderate fan, and AesopSpouse goes along for the ride.
It was a magnificent production, and I recommend it, although there is only one aria and the “Va, pensiero” chorus that are “singable” outside of the context of the show. The libretto is only very loosely based on the Biblical history, but it’s still got a great plot, allowing for the usual lack of logical connection typical of operatic plots.
The story of the opera itself, Verdi’s reluctance to write it, the effect on his life and work, and the myth of the adoption of that chorus by Italian patriots of the 19th-century Risorgimento as an analogy for their own nationalistic longing was quite interesting, and the true story is almost as good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabucco
“Although the audience did indeed demand an encore, it was not for “Va, pensiero” but rather for the hymn “Immenso Jehova”, sung by the Hebrew slaves in act 4 to thank God for saving his people. In light of these revelations, Verdi’s position as the musical figurehead of the Risorgimento has been correspondingly revised”
As Jimmy said, the timing was serendipitous, since the Met’s schedule was undoubtedly set far in advance of 10/7.
https://www.metopera.org/season/2023-24-season/
The list is aphabetical rather than chronological; mouse over the title to see the dates. They should be coming to a theater near you!