Missionary held hostage says God was with him throughout ordeal

There is always hope for hostages being held in Gaza and elsewhere. A missionary who was held captive by Al-Qaeda for years said God was with him the entire time.

Dr Ken Elliott of Australia and his wife, Jocelyn, both were kidnapped in Burkina Faso after serving as medical missionaries for 44 years. Ken was 82 at the time of his kidnapping. The Elliots treated everyone who came to their clinic regardless of religion, earning them the respect of the majority-Muslim locals. When they were kidnapped, both Christians and Muslims from the community were outraged.

After a few weeks in Islamist terrorist captivity, Jocelyn was released. Ken was left to bond with a fellow captive, Romanian Julian Ghergut. “When I met him, he had been a captive for nine months,” Elliott said. “How can anyone stand this for nine months?’ I asked myself. I ended up being there for seven years and four months.”

Conditions in captivity were bleak, and Elliott had no access to proper nutrients or medical care. His legs swelled up, leaving him in constant pain and unable to walk. “I had seen only one case of scurvy in my medical career” he said, “and that was me.”

His captors also insisted he convert to Islam, but he persisted in his Christian faith. “The Lord has been good to me,” he said. “There’s no way I was going to dishonor Him by converting to Islam, or even pretending to convert.”

The ministry Open Doors said the area where the Elliotts ministered is becoming increasingly dangerous for Christians. The charity, which ranks the countries where it is most dangerous to be Christian, states that the “expanding influence of jihadist groups in Burkina Faso is having a catastrophic impact on Christians” there, with many facing violence, death and the destruction of their churches and villages.

When asked if his years alone, being bitten my scorpions in the sand and unable to leave a dirty shelter that was hot in the day and cold at night made him doubt God he said:

“Never. No. He was always there.”

The circumstances leading to Elliott’s release in 2023 are unclear, but he is certain of how it came to be: “The only reason why we were released is because there were a few hundred, if not thousands, of people praying for it. And we believe in prayer.”.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice