A California missionary worker kidnapped and tortured in Africa for six years has released fresh details about his experience in a new book.
asserted
worker → kidnap → book
“All the Way Home” — released last week — recounts Jeff Woodke’s kidnapping, harrowing captivity and his struggle to rebuild his life after returning home.
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Home → release → life
The 65-year-old from McKinleyville, Northern California, who was held hostage by a West African Al Qaida-linked terror group, is warning others to be wary of the region.
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who → hold → region
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Sign → sign → California
Woodke described being beaten, drugged and dragged into captivity after armed men stormed his home in Niger in October 2016.
“They just beat the stuffing out of me and drugged me, threw me in their vehicle,” Woodke said, recalling the attack in an interview with The Christian Post.
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Woodke → describe → Post
He said the assault left indentations in his skull.
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assault → say → skull
Woodke had spent decades working with vulnerable communities in Niger and was nearing retirement when militants arrived at his home in the town of Abalak.
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militants → spend → Abalak
He said the attackers chased him as he tried to flee, striking him with rifle butts before a blow to his leg severed his Achilles tendon.
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blow → say → tendon
Woodke was then stripped and driven into the desert, where he said he was eventually sold between militant groups.
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he → strip → groups
“I was trafficked,” he said.
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he → traffic → ?
“That’s what I was.
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I → ’ → ?
I was kidnapped, and I was sold, and I was the property of another human being, or at least they thought I was.”
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I → kidnap → being
Woodke was released on March 20, 2023, after more than six years in captivity, the Biden administration said at the time.
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administration → release → time
He was taken from Niger to neighboring Mali, where he was believed to have been held by a terrorist network.
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he → take → network
A senior administration official said Woodke was released near the Mali-Burkina Faso area and that there had been “no quid pro quo” with his captors.
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Woodke → say → captors
The official said the US government did not directly negotiate with a terrorist organization, pay a ransom or make a concession in exchange for Woodke’s freedom.
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government → say → freedom
He was handed over to special forces from a third-party nation before being transferred to US diplomatic personnel in Niamey, Niger.
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He → hand → Niamey
Much of his captivity was spent in brutal conditions, including periods when his ankles were shackled and he was forced to sleep on the ground in the scorching West African desert.
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he → spend → desert
During rainy periods, he said he was left outside as floodwaters swept through the area.
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floodwaters → say → area
His food was largely limited to basic staples such as rice, dough, red sauce and occasional dried goat meat.
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food → limit → rice
The book recounts his return to his wife, adult children and grandchildren, while confronting memories of captivity and the psychological consequences of what he had endured.
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he → recount → what
He recalled his captors confining him inside a cramped box for about two months.
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captors → recall → months
The enclosure measured roughly 4ft by 4ft — leaving Woodke unable to stand upright.
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enclosure → measure → Woodke
“They would not even speak with me just to try and break me,” he told the outlet.
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he → speak → outlet
I basically went nuts for a while.
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I → go → while
His prolonged isolation and abuse eventually left him so physically weak that he could no longer walk.
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he → leave → him
At one point, Woodke said he went on a hunger strike and said he prayed for God to kill him.
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God → say → him
“I kind of lost my religion, but I gained my faith,” he said.
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he → lose → faith
The book describes Woodke’s experience as one of profound suffering, but also as a testimony to the faith and hope he says sustained him through captivity.
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he → describe → captivity
Woodke said he feared his family could have died during the COVID-19 pandemic because he had received so little information from the outside world.
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he → say → world
He also had to relearn how to function after years as a hostage.
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He → have → hostage
In his memoir, Woodke describes coming home after six and a half years away and confronting the lasting effects of his captivity, including PTSD and the challenge of rebuilding his life after years of isolation and uncertainty.
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Woodke → describe → isolation
His experience has since shaped his warnings to Western missionaries considering work in dangerous parts of the Sahel.
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experience → shape → Sahel
“If they go in there right now, they’re just going to get taken hostage again.”
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they → go → ?
Woodke said he ultimately believes the cycle of extremism and hatred cannot be defeated through rhetoric alone.
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cycle → say → rhetoric
“The only way we’re going to conquer it is not through politics and rhetoric and dogma and exclusion, but through love.”
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we → go → love
“I could not help but have tears in my eyes,” one reader online wrote.
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reader → help → eyes
“This is not a light read and the author wrestles with heavy life and death questions.
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author → wrestle → questions
I recommend anyone of faith or curious about surviving challenging times in extreme circumstance, to read and/or listen to this book.”
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I → recommend → book
“What impacted me most was Jeff’s choice to forgive his captors.
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impacted → impact → captors
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
