by Cal Uomoto

For eight years, Bethany members have been breaking in to the immigration prison on purpose. What started out as a worship service for a specific group of detained Chinese men is now six services each weekend for persons from 70+ countries who have had a brush with Homeland Security.

Many members of the Bethany community have been involved. (Hope I didn't miss any...) Dan Baumgartner, Marcia Butchart, Alan Cizik, Jane Donald, Jane Frissell, Lori Reimann Garretson, Bob Johnston, Tim Stelling, Cal and Annie Uomoto, and Gil Ward have all worshipped with detainees.

For many detainees who attend, this is their first experience of church worship or biblical teaching. One man justified his presence in the service by saying, "I am a Muslim, but I am here because I want to learn about Christianity." For others, it is a continuation of their life of faith in a confined environment. For those of us that go, it is a preview of heaven. Jane Frissell told the detainees, "In my church we just sing in English. When I come to the Detention Center I can sing and worship in Spanish and other languages."

Notwithstanding these times of grace, the reality for the detainees is harsh. On April 7 the Seattle Times* ran an article about Ana Reyes and her family who were deported back to Mexico. I would encourage you to look it up as it gives a realistic picture of what a family faces once they return. Ana is one example among thousands who attended the worship services in the Detention Center during her stay there.

Detention volunteers have increasingly tried to link those who have been deported to congregations in their homeland. For eight years one Chinese couple has traveled to China to teach and encourage those who have been sent back. Last year the Russian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan volunteers in the Detention Ministry successfully linked 11 deportees to their church networks back home. Last fall one volunteer traveled to a church retreat in the Ukraine and was able to connect with five deportees and reported that many are continuing to grow in their faith.

In February my wife and I went to El Salvador and there met Juan, who was deported there after 36 years in the U.S. He had lived in New York most of his life but came to Christ at the Presbytery's Iglesia de Restauracion on Beacon Hill. He was then apprehended, and spent time in prison. During his incarceration he completed a Bible course. After he was deported, he continued to call Pastor Corado in Seattle to ask him how he should serve the Lord. Today he is preaching weekly in a prison, in nursing homes, to young gang members, and planting a church in his city in El Salvador.

Of the 1000 detainees in the Northwest Detention Center on any given day, 800 will be deported. Please remember those who have been deported as they face such uncertain futures. Even those who have made commitments to Christ need the nurture of a good fellowship, which may not be easy to locate. Some are sent back to mission-closed countries where churches are few. We need your prayers for this ministry and the lives that are touched by it.

Those interested in further information can contact Cal Uomoto at World Relief (587-0234, ext 107) or cuomoto@wr.org.

*http://seattletimes.nw.source.com/html/nationworld/2004330695_mexicojulie06m.html