Sunday, February 07, 2010

Robert Park's family meets him upon arrival in Los Angeles

Christian human rights activist Robert Park was greeted by his parents and brother after arriving in Los Angeles on a flight from Beijing, after being released by North Korea where he was detained for 43 days. He looked thin and pale, and kept his eyes downcast. He said nothing.

Park's brother, Paul, says Robert cried as they met. The family said it hadn't had time to ask Robert if he was abused, but Paul Park says as he hugged his brother, "there didn't seem to be anything broken."

The family's plan was to feed Robert a spaghetti dinner -- his favorite meal growing up.

Robert Park can also expect a grand homecoming from his friends in Tucson.

"We'll definitely have some kind of party for him to welcome him back and surround him with a lot of people that love him," said Rev. John Benson, pastor of Life in Christ Community Church.

Park is no stranger to helping others, Benson said, often helping others in the community even before he was ordained by the church to become a missionary. Benson said he would always be seen helping feed the poor at their church and going to assist the poor in Nogales, Mexico.

"A lot of people were definitely praying for him to come back home," Benson said.

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