published on in Global News

CNN.com - Doug Burnham: 'Our faith in the Lord is still the same'


CNN Access

Doug Burnham
Doug Burnham 

Editor's Note: CNN Access is a regular feature on CNN.com providing interviews with newsmakers from around the world.

(CNN) -- On Friday morning, Doug Burnham, the brother of a missionary killed by Muslim extremists in the Philippines, held an impromptu news conference at a Kansas church to talk about the family's loss. Martin Burnham was killed but his wife, Gracia, survived in the rescue operation. A Philippine nurse also died. The following is the news conference, carried on air by CNN.

CNN ANCHOR PAULA ZAHN: We are going to go to a news conference that is being held by one of the members of the Burnham family after learning that one of their own was killed in the Philippines -- let's listen in.

DOUG BURNHAM: ... Good information as far as Gracia is concerned. We did hear that several of the rebels were killed, possibly some of the military were killed as well, the Philippine military that is. And that's pretty much the extent of what we know, and we'll just wait for more information when we hear it.

QUESTION: Did the military officers or the U.S. State Department notify you that this was going to happen?

BURNHAM: We had no information that this was going to happen. We knew that they were -- there was an ongoing effort to find the hostages and to try and release them safely. We didn't have any idea that this was going to happen, no.

QUESTION: Doug, what are your feelings about this rescue now that it's actually happened? They had been talking about it for over a year now.

BURNHAM: Well, obviously it's not -- it hasn't turned out the way we were expecting it to turn out. But we are thankful that Gracia is alive, and we still -- our faith in the Lord is still the same. It hasn't change, and that's what we were hanging on to.

QUESTION: What are your plans now for your family? ...

BURNHAM: We haven't made a whole lot of plans at this point. The kids are with their grandparents. (Martin and Gracia Burnham have three children.)

ZAHN: We are going to stay on this picture, as we are learning more details about the rescue attempt made in the Philippines a little bit earlier today, where Mr. Burnham, Martin Burnham was killed; his wife apparently wounded.

CNN has learned that the Burnham family found out about this horrible news directly from the president of the Philippines. As more details of this rescue operation become available, we will bring them to you live.



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