The Rev. Tom Randall is thankful to be home.
The staff pastor at Christ Community Chapel returned to Northeast Ohio last week from the Philippines, after being freed from jail and cleared of charges related to allegations that the orphanage founded by him and his wife, Karen, was a front for human trafficking and that some of the children there had been raped for years.
This weekend, during worship services at the Hudson church and via live stream at campuses in Aurora, Stow and Akron, he addressed his church family in an interview-style format with the Rev. Joe Coffey, lead pastor of the church. Randall and his wife walked onto the church’s stage to a standing ovation, whistles and cheers.
The couple moved to Stow last summer from Oklahoma. Randall, who has declined interview requests, joined the local church staff in November.
During his opening remarks, Randall apologized for any disgrace that he may have caused and thanked everyone who supported him while he endured 22 days of incarceration in a detention center in Manila.
“I want to thank all of you for the incredible support. I can’t tell you what it has meant to me. You guys trusted and prayed for me and got behind me,” Randall said.
He apologized, saying, “I never wanted to bring this stuff on the church and on God’s word and the gospel.”
Randall, 60, was arrested Jan. 12 during a raid by the Anti-Human Trafficking Division of the National Bureau of Investigation at the Sankey Samaritan Missions Inc. Orphanage in Lucena City. Filipino authorities also arrested Perfecto “Toto” Luchavez, who had served as the Sankey administrator since 2005, and his son, Mark Jayrold “Jake” Luchavez.
Randall had been charged with obstruction of justice for negligence in handling allegations of abuse and sex trafficking. The Luchavezes were reportedly charged with violating Filipino anti-human trafficking laws. The younger Luchavez was also charged with rape.
On Sunday, Coffey, announced that the charges against the Luchavezes had been reduced and that they were free on bail.
Coffey, who has stood by Randall as a personal friend and colleague, called the weekend worship services “a welcome home” for the Randalls. He told worshippers that there had been a lot of misinformation circulating in media reports and that Randall would be sharing more in the future. He asked worshippers to continue to “pray for the truth to come out.”
Both Coffey and Randall expressed concern for the 31 residents of the orphanage who were released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development after the raid. Coffey said there is a good chance that the orphanage will be reopened.
Randall said his goal is to be reunited with the residents who have been scattered throughout the country in foster homes and other institutions.
Coffey recapped that the Randalls were in the Philippines at the time of his arrest to do typhoon relief work, to evangelize through Randall’s basketball and unicycle outreach and to check on the orphanage and its residents.
Randall called his arrest “shocking,” particularly because he has spent years fighting against human trafficking. He said once he realized that he was being locked up, he felt like he was going into the “pit of hell.” As he entered, he said he made four promises: “I wanted to take Jesus with me. I wanted to share what I have. I wanted to treat everyone the same. I wanted to be the best inmate they’d ever had.”
Although he had moments of despair, Randall said he spent quiet time reading and praying and shared the gospel with guards and fellow inmates. He said the inmates who shared his cell were charged with everything from murder for hire to Ponzi schemes and were from a variety of places, including Israel, Iran, Germany, Taiwan, China and Korea.
Randall said his time in jail was an opportunity to share the gospel with others and to give him a deeper understanding of the sovereignty of God.
In his closing prayer, Randall said “Lord, I pray that we will find the blessing in this, that you will turn what was meant for evil into something good.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.