BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/03/2007

Midland Empire church members thrown out of Belarus; accused of promoting Christianity

KQ2 sat down with the deported who have a new appreciation for freedom.

Nine local Christians went to a church in Belarus to teach English in February.

"As representatives of the church we were hoping to share a little about Jesus with them and show them that Americans really aren`t that bad," Bethany Immanuel Baptist Church Pastor, Bruce Williams, said.

During the first week, class was interrupted.

"The police came in and television cameras and a reporter and so on and we learned we were accused of teaching religion instead of teaching English," Williams said.

Williams and the other members from Trenton, Mo. were detained at the Belarus immigration office for hours. They were released and told not to teach religion.

"But we found out later that they had stamped our passports and said we had committed a criminal activity," Williams said.

Four days later they were accused of something else.

"T.V. cameras again, police again and they told us we were now accused of teaching English without permission," Williams said.

So it was back to the immigration office because their Visas didn`t specifically say they could teach English.

"Of course they were written in Russian and what they actually said was that we were there for humanitarian purposes," Williams said.

When the group went back to pick up their passports they were in for a surprise.

"They said you have two strikes on your passport you will be deported," Williams said.

Another couple was also deported. They said the whole experience made them respect America even more.

"It?s taught me that I need to use that freedom more," Christine Ward, taught in Belarus, said.

"I hear people complain about America and I just want to grab them and say go to Belarus," Ron Ward, taught in Belarus, said.

"I really believe that many of them came just out of curiosity to see if Americans are really these nasty mean people and so many told me they were pleasantly surprised," Williams said.

One of the young ladies said she came there to learn English and she learned about love and kindness and that made the whole trip worth while.

Members of the delegation will have to wait two years before they`re legally allowed to go back.

Source:

http://www.kq2.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=4941