Main YWAM Page, or to YWAM Communications, or to Main News Digest PageA YOUNG MISSIONARY couple endured nearly six months' imprisonment in a basement prison by memorizing the Bible and praying for the needs of others - including their kidnappers.
Daniel and Paulina Brolin, both 23, returned home to Sweden last month after finally being released unharmed 165 days after they were abducted while returning from a church meeting in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, southern Russia.
Sent out to serve in the Caucasus region by their home church in Vasteras, the Brolins were taking part in a six-month training program run by Youth With A Mission when they were kidnapped.
During their imprisonment, the couple are believed to have been held somewhere in Chechnya, which neighbors Dagestan and where growing lawlessness and a failing economy has led to a string of kidnappings of foreigners for ransom.
In an exclusive interview with the Swedish Christian daily newspaper, Dagen, the pair told how their faith had sustained them through long days of fear and uncertainty in a small, five-foot by 12-foot "hole" lit only occasionally by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. They kept track of the days from the crack of natural light that came through the locked door.
Each morning after breakfast they would sweep the floor with a piece of cardboard, and keep fit by exercising as best they could in the limited space. They made their cell homely by decorating the walls with flowers made from colored paper, and turned two computer disks they had been carrying when they were taken into a soap bowl, knife and lamp.
Although at times the situation became difficult to bear, they were kept generally in good spirits through promises they felt God gave them through reading the Bible, that they would not die and that release would come eventually.
They both lost weight from their limited diet, but neither became sick during their captivity. "Before every meal we prayed for God's blessings over the food, so what our bodies needed would still be there in the food," said Daniel.
The couple - whose plight prompted worldwide prayer - followed their home church's schedule of services and prayer meetings through a handmade calendar. "As soon as we thought of someone or some situation we prayed for it," said Paulina. "That was our way of keeping our thoughts in order and on the same time do something for the ones we knew who would be worried for us.. Of course we prayed for our kidnappers as well."
The Brolins were allowed to record three videos for their church to let family and friends know they were alive and well. Their eventual release followed lengthy negotiations. The Swedish foreign ministry said that no ransom was paid.
Returning to Sweden after five days' debriefing, the couple went into seclusion - apart from their one interview - with relatives and professional crisis counselors who praised the resilience the pair had shown. "They did everything by the book," said one.
While their future is uncertain, the Brolins know that they will not be returning to the Caucasus. "Mission lies close to our heart, and we feel more than ever for the region, but it is impossible for us to ever return because of our and others' safety. That is a great sorrow for us," they told Dagen.
YWAM European regional director Jeff Fountain said that the Brolins' story was "a wonderful account of God's grace in suffering". He added that the kidnapping of the Christian workers - the first in the region - had "shaken" the missionary community.
"However, we came to realize how God has used similar situations in history to reach the unreached... in the Old Testament with Joseph and Daniel... with Patrick who reached his captors, the Irish Celts... for the Vikings, who abducted Christian girls on their marauding trips."
The Brolins' suffering had not been in vain, he added. "Their captivity has drawn prayer attention to the 50 unreached peoples of the Caucasus region as never before, particularly in our mission. After 99 days of captivity, for example, we had a worldwide day of prayer for the '99 lost sheep' of the region. We want to continue to pray that these peoples will receive the light of the gospel one day."
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