Rescued Missionary Josh Sullivan Describes Kidnapping: ‘Undoubtedly the worst experience of our life’
Josh Sullivan, the American missionary who was kidnapped at gunpoint while ministering in South Africa and subsequently rescued after police staged a daring rescue to locate and retrieve him, issues a personal statement on his Facebook page about the incident, thanking God for delivering him while thanking the saints who prayed:
I want to begin by thanking God for delivering me from what was undoubtedly the worst experience of our life. I also want to thank him for delivering me from my sin 28 years ago when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Because of my personal relationship with Jesus, He gave me the peace I needed to get through.
I am deeply grateful to the thousands of people who prayed for me while I was in captivity. It was because of these prayers that God performed a miracle a few nights ago.
I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the South African Police Department, HAWKS, FBI, DSS special agents, and my dear friend, Jeremy Hall, whose efforts were instrumental in locating me.
I am especially thankful for my wife, Meagan, whose strength and resilience made her the strongest woman in the world last week. As we begin the difficult process of healing and moving forward, we kindly ask for privacy during this time. I have a miraculous story to share, and I look forward to telling it when the time is right.
With sincere gratitude, Josh Sullivan
Sullivan was leading a prayer meeting for around 30 people at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell two weeks ago when multiple masked and armed men entered the church. Brandishing weapons, the assailants stole several cell phones from congregants and led Sullivan away, all the while his wife and six children looked on.
Believed to have been taken with the intent to ask for ransom, South Africa’s elite law enforcement unit, Hawks, were able to locate the safehouse and engaged in a shootout with his captors, killing three of them.
Sullivan was found unharmed inside a vehicle on the premises.
His home church shared the good news on Facebook:
More than 17,000 people are kidnapped each year in the country, which has been marked by extreme violence and political instability.
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