US Missionaries Detained in Venezuela Back Home

Four American missionaries detained in Venezuela last week are finally back home in North Dakota.

The missionaries from Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Devils Lake were handing out medicine and hearing aids last Wednesday when they were detained.

They were told they didn't have the required work visas, something that wasn't required in their last 14 years of missionary work in that country.

"There was so much hyperbole, but I don't want to speculate," group leader Arlynn Hefta, a hearing aid dispenser, said.

They also learned Venezuela's president accused them of being spies.

Venezuelan soldiers armed with rifles came to arrest the missionaries in the church where the Americans had set up a clinic. Hefta said that about 300 villagers surrounded the clinic, trying to protect the missionaries.

They said, 'We're protecting you, and we're not going to let these soldiers take you,'" Hefta said. "Imagine the courage."

The missionaries complied with the soldiers so nobody would get hurt. They say they hope to return to Venezuela someday.

Other group members included Desiree Bouvette, 51, a professional hair stylist; Kermit Paulson, 58, a retired 30-year military veteran; and Dr. Russ Petty, 66, a family physician.

"It was a little scary, but I guess we just felt that God's hand was leading us all," Bouvette said. "You didn't know what was going to happen from one minute to the next, but there was a peace about it."