ARMED REBELS WHO robbed a missionary center as fighting and looting swept the West African capital, last month, threatened to return and kill the two Western leaders.
Sue Pratt, from England, and Renee Schudel, from the USA, were among almost 120 evacuated by helicopter, after the "terrifying" confrontation.
It was the third time the pair have been forced to flee the country because of unrest since they established Youth With A Mission's work there in 1989.
The two women and their team of Liberian co-workers were stranded in their building, not far from Monrovia's city center, as fighting between rival factions raged in nearby streets.
The group - including six children - sheltered for three days with food and water supplies as the warring groups fought and looted throughout the capital in the latest outbreak of violence since civil war clamed thousands of lives in 1990.
As other foreigners in the capital were being evacuated, tensions mounted when the YWAM property was visited by three different armed groups in one day. Two vehicles and household goods were stolen, and both Pratt and Schudel threatened.
"One group said as they left that if they saw us again they would kill us," said Pratt. "It was scary, but I felt that God would protect us. When our phone went dead and we were completely cut off, we knew that it was not safe to stay any longer."
The two women were taken in by security guards at a neighboring property until the leader of another faction arrived to escort them out of the city. While they waited, there was shooting outside between two other groups.
"It was a tense situation for a time. During the fighting a hand grenade was thrown into the yard of our property, but didn't explode," said Pratt.
She and Schudel were finally driven out of the city under escort to the ELWA missionary radio station, from where along with others they were evacuated in a convoy the following day to the peacekeeping forces' base. From there they were flown out of the country by helicopter. Their Liberian colleagues were able to leave the city on foot, without incident.
After meeting with regional YWAM leaders in France, the pair returned to their homes - Pratt in southern England, and Schudel in Seattle, Washington - to be reunited with their families.
During their time in Liberia the pair have organized discipleship training courses in local churches and a roofing program to help families whose homes have been damaged by the fighting.
The population in the capital has been swollen to over twice its size by an influx of refugees fleeing sporadic fighting in the interior. The latest clashes in Monrovia came just as the country seemed close to finalizing a peace accord between the different groups. "The only hope for the country seems to be if the Christians really unite in prayer," said Pratt.
Last updated: 1996, June 08 /pf