Captain Phillips Free!

Wonderful news! Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued unharmed, and three of the four pirates who held him hostage for 5 days are dead. Via CNN:

The official said Capt. Richard Phillips is uninjured and in good condition, and that three of the four pirates were killed. The fourth pirate is in custody. Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship.

Earlier Sunday afternoon Maersk Line Limited, owner of the Maersk Alabama, said the U.S. Navy informed the company that it had sighted Phillips in a lifeboat where pirates are holding him hostage off the coast of Somalia.

Phillips was spotted another time earlier in the day, the Navy said.

On Saturday, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into the hijacking of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship by Somali pirates, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which is responsible for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region, the officials said.

Prayers of thanksgiving for this successful rescue. Please continue to pray for the protection and rescue of the remaining hostages in Somalia and around the world.

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Captain Attempts Escape But is Recaptured
USS Bainbridge Arrives at Scene of Hijacking
Pirates Seize Ship With American Crew

Evening Prayer 4/11/09

This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.

This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.

How wonderful and beyond our knowing, O God, is your mercy and loving-kindness to us, that to redeem a slave, you gave a Son.

How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away. It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those who mourn. It casts out pride and hatred, and brings peace and concord.

How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God.

Morning Prayer 4/11/09

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Evening Prayer 4/10/09

Crown of Thorns Nebula

Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer: Let the cry of those in misery and need come to you, that they may find your mercy present with them in all their afflictions; and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

One Hostage Dies During French Rescue Operation (Updated: Victim Identified)

Update: Killed Hostage Identified as Florent Lemacon



One hostage and two pirates were killed during a rescue operation mounted by the French military on the hijacked yacht the Tanit. Via Times Online:

French special forces released four hostages today in a rescue operation on a French yacht off Somalia but one hostage was killed, President Sarkozy’s office said.

Two pirates were also killed and three captured as commandos swooped to release two couples and a three-year-old boy whose sailing boat, Tanit, was seized on April 4. There was no immediate word on which hostage had been killed, though it was confirmed that the boy, Colin Lemaçon, was unharmed.

The surviving hostages were in good health after the rescue, which was at least the fourth assault by French forces on pirates operating from Somalia in the past year. Thirty two French hostages have been released from the hands of pirates and, until yesterday, none were killed.

Mr Sarkozy ordered the assault after the pirates refused to accept proposals from French warships shadowing Tanit and tried to sail towards the coast, the Elysée Palace said.

“During the operation a hostage sadly died,” it said. “The President confirms France’s determination not to give into blackmail and to defeat the pirates.”

This tragic outcome highlights the danger the hostages we are praying for are in, and why governments are reluctant to attempt rescue operations, preferring to pay ransoms and buy a happy ending. As we mourn the loss of this hostage, please continue to pray for the protection of the other victims of kidnappings and hijackings, and for wisdom and strength for the government leaders who must make difficult decisions.

Bow Asir Freed

The Norwegian chemical tanker Bow Asir, with 28 crewmembers, captured by Somali pirates last month, has been freed. Via News 24 South Africa:

Oslo - Somali pirates on Friday released the Norwegian tanker Bow-Asir and its crew, having held it since March 26, its owners said in a statement on Friday.

"The chemical tanker Bow Asir was released on Friday 10th April 2009. However, the ship is still sailing in dangerous waters," Norway's Salhus Shipping said in the statement.

"All crew are unharmed and we wish to thank them for their handling of this difficult situation."

Prayers of thanksgiving for this peaceful resolution. Please continue to pray for the other ships being held captive in this dangerous part of the world.

Captain Attempts Escape But Is Recaptured

Update: Pirates Holding U.S. Hostage Reportedly Demand Ransom



The American captain being held hostage by Somali pirates since Wednesday jumped into the sea and tried swimming to the USS Bainbridge, but was recaptured by the pirates. Via CNN:

Phillips was believed to be trying to swim to the USS Bainbridge, a naval warship that is in communication with the gunmen holding Phillips off Somalia's coast, the official said.

The pirates jumped into the water, recaptured him, and returned him to the lifeboat, according to the official.

The U.S. military has every reason to believe that he was unharmed in the incident, the official said.

Phillips has been held since Wednesday, when the hijackers briefly seized control of his ship, the Maersk Alabama.

He is being held by four gunmen in the lifeboat about 300 miles off the Horn of Africa.

Meanwhile, two U.S. warships were on their way Friday to help the crew of the Bainbridge secure Phillips' release.

Please continue to pray for Captain Phillip's protection and swift rescue.

Previous:
USS Bainbridge Arrives at Scene of Hijacking
Pirates Seize Ship With American Crew

Morning Prayer 4/9/09

Psalm 102

A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry for help come to you.

2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.

4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.

5 Because of my loud groaning
I am reduced to skin and bones.

6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.

7 I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.

8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.

9 For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears

10 because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.

11 My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.

13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.

14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.

15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.

17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the LORD :

19 "The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death."

21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the LORD.

23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.

24 So I said:
"Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.

25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.

27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you."

USS Bainbridge Arrives at Scene of Hijacking

The USS Bainbridge, a guided missile destroyer, is in place and ready to assist in the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, held hostage by the hijackers who attacked the cargo ship Maersk Alabama earlier today. Via CNN:

The crew of the Maersk Alabama recaptured their ship from pirates, but their captain remained in the hands of the marauders, one of its officers said.

"There's four Somali pirates, and they've got our captain," Ken Quinn said in a ship-to-shore phone interview.

Capt. Richard Phillips was being held in the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat after the pirates reneged on an agreement to exchange him for a captured pirate, Quinn said.

"We returned him, but they didn't return the captain," he said.

The hijackers boarded the Alabama early Wednesday, when it was about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, a haven for pirates attacks in the Gulf of Aden.

It is fitting that the Bainbridge would be the ship sent to rescue Captain Phillips: it is named after Commodore William Bainbridge, a hero of the Barbary Pirates War who was himself held hostage twice.

Bainbridge joined the merchant service at the age of 14 and was given his first command at the age of 19. During a voyage in the West Indies, Bainbridge's ship, the Retaliation, was captured by the French, and he was held as a prisoner in Guadaleupe. While he there, he was able to negotiate not only his own freedom but that of nearly 300 captured American seamen.

When he returned to America, he joined the fledgling Navy and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1800. That year he commanded the George Washington as it was sent to pay the annual tribute to the Dey of Algiers, who then commandeered the ship to send a message to the Ottoman Sultan. When Bainbridge refused, the Dey haughtily reminded him "You pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves; I have, therefore, a right to order you as I please."

Bainbridge reluctantly acted a courier for the Dey, but wrote in his report to Congress that "I hope I may never again be sent to Algiers with tribute, unless I am authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our cannon."

Captain Bainbridge later commanded the Philadelphia when it was sent to patrol the Mediterranean Sea in 1803; when it ran aground off the shore of Tripoli, he and his entire crew were held hostage for two years. He later fought in the War of 1812, and in 1815 led a squadron to the fight the Barbary Pirates once more in the Second Tripolitian War.

Please continue to pray for the safe rescue of Capt. Phillips, and for the safety of the sailors aboard the Bainbridge, worthy successors to their honored namesake.

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Pirates Seize Ship With American Crew

Evening Prayer 4/8/09

O God, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on you; for in returning and rest we shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be our strength. Isaiah 26:3; 30:15