Community prays for resident held captive overseas

GREENFIELD, Tenn. — A West Tennessee community came together Monday night to pray for one of their own, held captive overseas. Mark McAlister’s family said he has been a prisoner in the country of Yemen for almost 4 months.

“We miss him, we want to get him home safe,” Dr. Scott Campbell pastor at First Baptist Church in Greenfield said. “I mean everywhere you go everyone is asking about him, praying for him. The support has been tremendous.”

Mark McAlister is believed to have been taken captive by Shiite rebels in the country of Yemen last October. His family said he was working as a contractor for the United Nations, something he has done many times before, but they have not heard from him since.

“All that we really know is that some things went wrong over there,” Mark’s son, Christian said. “He’s possibly being accused of something that he may or may not have done.”

For four long months, Mark’s family said they have been given little information about his condition or whereabouts.

“It’s just been extremely hard,” Mark’s daughter Raquel said. “I’ve always had my dad there for me, even though he was always traveling I always could speak to him whenever I wanted to and now I can’t do that.”

Mark was known for treating everyone in Greenfield like family, a family​ that now is not giving up hope.

“We’ve asked what can we do but we’re very limited,” Dr. Campbell said. “But we know that prayer is one of the greatest things you can do anyway.”

As hundreds bowed their heads, their only prayer was to bring Mark back home.

“It’s one of those things that’s just out of our hands,” Campbell said. “We’re just trusting God to bring glory through this.”

Wbbj 7 Eyewitness News reached out to the State Department to see if they could give us an update on what they may be doing to ensure McAlister’s safety. However, requests for comment have not yet been returned.