Trump secured the release of North Carolina Pastor, Andrew Brunson earlier today and the world is cheering the success!
But nowhere more than his home church in North Carolina.
From the WaPo:
Members of the Christ Community Church in Montreat, North Carolina, are overjoyed at Turkey’s release of evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson.
A Turkish court on Friday convicted Brunson on terror-related charges but released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey. The decision is expected to ease strained U.S.-Turkey relations.
Debi Forester, the church’s communications director, says the church’s Rev. Richard White has been with the Brunson family in Turkey for a day or two. The U.S. Consulate is handling Brunson’s travel arrangements to return to the United States.
She quotes White as saying the group is “all just shouting ‘Hallelujah!’ and doing the happy dance.” She says the church will have a welcome home party for Brunson sometime.
The court sentenced Brunson to a little more than three years in prison, but since the 50-year-old North Carolina native has already spent two years in detention, he won’t serve more time.
In case you missed it, we covered this BREAKING STORY earlier today, here are the details:
God bless our wonderful President Trump!
While Obama was busy paying Iran $1.7B for the release of some questionable characters, Trump has made it clear he will pay NO MONEY and offer NO CONCESSIONS to any country illegally holding American citizens!
Especially pastors!
With the same tough stance he's taken against North Korea, Mexico, Canada and China, Trump gets results.
And he just got a MAJOR result, finally freeing the imprisoned North Carolina Pastor, Andrew Brunson!
My favorite comment came from a Facebook commentor who said of the story:
"A president who will fight for you and bring you home! "
That's exactly right!
God Bless Trump!
Grab Your President Donald J. Trump and Supreme Court Justice Judge Brett Kavanaugh Collector Coin, While Supplies last!
Here are more details, from Vox:
After years of imprisonment that sparked an international furor, Turkey has released North Carolina Pastor Andrew Brunson into the custody of US diplomatic personnel. He’ll soon fly to a US air base in Germany before heading back to the United States.
Brunson was held by Turkish authorities for two years, charged with unproven crimes that he was involved in espionage. But after months of trying, the Trump administration struck a dealwith Turkish officials to bring the pastor home.
Upon hearing the news on Friday, Trump tweeted “My thoughts and prayers are with Pastor Brunson, and we hope to have him safely back home soon!”
Thus ends a saga that became deeply personal for the Brunson family and top US administration officials. Brunson is “a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being,” President Donald Trump tweeted on July 28. “He is suffering greatly.”
Trump escalated tensions with Turkey, a NATO ally, over Brunson. He placed sanctions on two high-ranking Turkish officials and tariffs on Ankara’s steel and aluminum sectors because the country wouldn’t release the pastor.
Those moves quickly plunged Turkey’s currency and may send the country into a recessionnext year. It’s possible the US will lift some or all of those penalties in exchange for Brunson’s return.
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