—Man Thi Jones, a 54-year-old nurse from Folsom, California, was released December 3 after two months under arrest in Phan Rang, Vietnam. Her husband, Jack Wade Jones, paid a $1,000 fine because his wife gave away ballpoint pens with Christian crosses on them. Man Thi Jones is a native of the Vietnamese village; she became a naturalized U.S. citizen 22 years ago. Since the United States normalized trade relations with Vietnam in 1995, at least 10 Americans have been fined and expelled for religious activities.
—Pastor Dennis Podorozhny, 25, and his assistant Lev Folkovitch spent 12 and 10 days in a Tashkent, Uzbekistan, jail in November after a police raid on their Word of Faith Church congregation. Police arrested the pair along with 62 others meeting for a service at a tennis club. The others were released after a few hours. Podorozhny and Folkovitch were charged with teaching religious beliefs without a government permit. Podorozhny also had been arrested and fined for holding a worship service in September.
—Paul Thompson, a former executive with World Vision and Operation Blessing International, is the new president and chief executive officer of MAP International, a medical relief-and-development organization based in Brunswick, Georgia. Thompson replaces Larry E. Dixon, who resigned as president to become vice chair of MAP’s board of directors.
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February 3, 1997 Vol. 41, No. 2, Page 78
