Posted on 11/30/2001 7:05:07 AM PST by SLB
CBN.com - Despite the fact that their situation often looked hopeless, Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry never gave up the hope of being rescued from the Taliban. Since their dramatic rescue, the now famous Christian aid workers have been giving God the glory for their freedom.
They say it was the power of prayer that saved them from the clutches of evil and paved the way for their harrowing escape. "We know we're here because of the prayers of people all over the country and all over the world," Mercer said.
"We would not be standing here if people hadn't prayed for us. It truly was a miracle," Curry agreed.
And the miracle unfolded for the entire world to see. In their final hours as prisoners of the Taliban, there was no doubt every prayer was priceless. Their lives and the lives of six other Christian aid workers were literally on the line, but the forces that held them were no match for the power of prayer.
Many, like the folks back at their home church in Waco, Texas, were praying around the clock for their release. At CBN and in homes and churches across the nation, many prayed that Jesus would set the captives free.
Then, after more than three months in captivity, the final hours before their dramatic rescue unfolded like a Hollywood script.
After the capital city of Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance, they were suddenly roused from sleep and put into vehicles that sped south to the town of Ghazni, about 50 miles south of Kabul. They were then locked into a freezing cold steel shipping container for the night, without any blankets.
The next morning, they were forced into another jail, worse than any of their previous prisons. Then, just two hours later, a rebel soldier told them the good news — the Taliban had fled and they were free.
But that was not the end of their ordeal. Some of the local townspeople began to think they might get some ransom money out of the prisoners and were reluctant to let them get away. But word of their release had reached the ears of the U.S. military.
That night, with angry locals on their trail, the desperate aid workers had to use some of their clothes to build a fire in a local field so U.S. helicopters could find them. Finally, in the predawn hours, three U.S. Special Forces helicopters picked them up and flew them to safety in Pakistan.
Since their rescue, what have the two most famous former prisoners in the world been up to? After a hot bath and a hair cut, Heather and Dayna met the press in Pakistan where they relived their three months as prisoners of the Taliban.
"Emotionally it was a roller coaster. There were days that all of us despaired, not knowing if we were going to come out. There were a thousand times that things could have happened but the way we got though it was with faith," Mercer said.
Since then, Heather and Dayna have become household names as they make the rounds on network television, newspapers, magazines and radio. But a highlight for the famous aid workers came earlier this week with a White House press conference and meeting with President Bush.
Bush called them courageous souls saved by prayer during three months in an Afghan prison. "I sense no bitterness in their voice, no fatigue, just joy. It was an uplifting experience for me to talk to these courageous souls," the President said.
The two are now looking for a press agent to field all the interview requests, book proposals and even movie deals coming their way, but despite their newfound celebrity, their hearts seem to still be in the land where they believe God called them — Afghanistan.
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