Wednesday, Jan. 18 2012 7:49AM

SCA students attend missions conference

The Summit Christian Academy halls were quiet Jan. 11 as the entire high school student body attended a missions conference in Lenexa, Kan.

One of the featured speakers at the conference was Gracia Burnham, the widow of missionary Martin Burnham.  For 17 years the Burnhams served with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines. On May 27, 2011, while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort off Palawan Island, the Burnhams and other guests at the resort were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group, a militant group of Muslims.

During their 376 days of captivity, they faced near starvation, constant exhaustion, frequent gun battles and intense soul searching.

“Mrs. Burnham shared her story and how she persevered through adversity,” SCA senior Mathias Ham said. “She encouraged us to open our eyes to the vast number of people around the world, as well as locally, who don’t know God. She wanted us to realize that we are all called to missions, so it is just a matter of identifying where we are to share the gospel locally or globally. This was a great conference that caused me to really think.” “We want our students to understand that God has a heart and a passion for all people and he desires to use us in his redemptive plan for mankind,” SCA Secondary Principal Emir Ruiz Esparza added.