American missionary pilot Kevin Rideout, held captive for approximately ten months after being abducted in Niger, was reunited with his family and welcomed at the White House on 21 August following his release. Donald Trump said Rideout, a 'brave Christian missionary’, had been held hostage, and that the administration would never leave Americans behind. Rideout and his wife Krista, in a statement released through mission agency SIM, thanked the US government and 'the countless friends, churches, and brothers and sisters in Christ who faithfully petitioned the Lord for Kevin's protection and release.' The couple said Deuteronomy 31:6 carried them through the ordeal, adding that even in the hardest and most uncertain moments, 'the Lord was present and faithful’. Despite the trauma of the abduction, they said they still love Niger and its people deeply, and asked for privacy and space as they reconnect and heal together. Rideout, who had served as a missionary pilot in Niger for 19 years, was seized outside his home in Niamey last October by three unidentified armed men; no group ever claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and details of how and when he was eventually released remain unclear.