Kidnapped!

In urgent need of prayer right now are 2 of my friends, Simon & Ikumi, currently in south of Nigeria. They've been taken hostage by who I do not know, but I know that they're in potentially huge danger. However I do have faith that the Lord will deliver them. I need all of you to join me in immediate & desperate prayer for ther safe & speedy deliverance.

I can only imagine the anguish & emotional turmoil that both of their families have undergone are currently undergoing.

I'm not sure all the politics involved, but I know that various militia groups have been operating in the Delta region of Nigeria where all the oil rigs are situated, targeting oil workers and or their loved ones as potential avenues of high high ransoms. At it's highest point, which I believe was late 2007, all foreign oil workers were evacuated from the country. Although the situation subsided somewhat, kidnappings have continued to occur since & the majority of both oil workers & expatriate workers in general in the Port Harcourt area usually travel w/ an or several armed escorts..

I know that the Family is conducting a large-scale medical camp in this area (as of today) & my guess is that Simon & Ikumi were somewhere in the interior driving between one place & another to do w/ the camp (possibly between the hotel & the camp site, or collecting supplies from somewhere) & either forgot to or didn't think to bring an armed escort & were accosted. These kidnappings usually occur at night. Whether or not this was the case this time, I'm not sure.

In any case, I know that prayer is the most powerful weapon we have.I pretty much have prayed for these 2 non-stop since getting this news, w/ a concentrated hour-long vigil held from 10:30-11:30 p.m. last night, & am also doing a 24-hour fast, which began from the moment I heard the news yesterday evening. If any of you out there do any of the above mentioned prayer methods, I know this will
help bring about their speedy release..

As I was praying I claimed many of the Psalms of David which I read throughout my prayer vigil. Psalm 17 in particular came alive in this situation, which reads:

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer wichi si not from decietful lips.

2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

5 Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me,
O God;
Incline Your ear to em ,and hear my sppech.

7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up agains them.

8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,

9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.

11 They have surrounded us now in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the eart,

13 Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,

14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life...

15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.--Psalm 17, NKJV

Thank you, everyone for praying..

In an unrelated note: It's my 30th Birthday today!