WITHDRAWING FOREIGN NATIONALS
Thursday 2, January 2003

[the year started with this communicate that a correspondent sent me].

Thought some of us might want to see this.

- Larry

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
LCMSNews -- No. 1

January 2, 2003

Missionaries leave Venezuela

Because of an ongoing labor strike and growing tensions, eight Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod career missionaries and their families have left Venezuela, where they were serving, and returned to the United States. The missionaries departed the country the week of Dec. 23 and all were out by Dec. 30, according to Rev. James Tino, area director for Venezuela and the Caribbean with LCMS World Mission.

The Synod's mission board had pulled its volunteer missionaries from Venezuela on Dec. 10, and on Dec. 21 notified its career-missionary staff that they, too, would be evacuated, based on recommendations from U.S. embassy officials.

"No missionary was in any physical danger at any time," Tino said. "However, the ongoing national labor strike has caused severe shortages of goods and services. The U.S. embassy evacuated their non-emergency personnel, and recommended that U.S. citizens in Venezuela leave the country."

Tino added that LCMS mission leaders plan to meet later this month "to review the situation and make a determination as to a future course of action."