On Saturday, Hyeon Soo Lim will be reunited with his family in Toronto.And on Sunday, Lim will return to his church family — the congregation of the Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, which has wept, prayed and organized vigils for their beloved senior pastor during the 2 ½ years he was detained in North Korea.The reception for Lim is expected to pack the 2,000-seat facility where Lim used to preach weekly.Lim’s family is requesting privacy but their reaction to his freedom was “relieved, grateful, excited and anxious to see him home,” according to church spokesperson Richard Ha.Lim has been able to phone church colleagues, who say he is doing well.“He is in good spirits,” said Jason Noh, an associate pastor at the Light Presbyterian Church.In video footage taken Thursday by a Japanese television crew, Lim is on the tarmac of a U.S. military base in Fussa, Japan. His hair is shorn, he looks thinner but appears to be smiling and walking unaided with the Canadian delegation, led by Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser, Daniel Jean.The delegation reportedly flew to Japan from Pyongyang after North Korea’s Central Court on Wednesday granted Lim “sick bail” on humanitarian grounds.The delegation did not head straight home. The group jetted to Guam for a layover, according to sources. The return flight path is not known but Lim was expected to be in Toronto by Saturday.In January 2015, Lim was detained by North Korean authorities while on a charitable mission to the country’s northern region. Later that year, the pastor was convicted of attempting to subvert the authoritarian regime of Kim Jong Un and was sentenced to life in a labour camp.Trudeau confirmed Lim’s freedom in a statement sent out by email at 1:13 a.m. Thursday. It read, in part: “The Government of Canada was actively engaged on Mr. Lim’s case at all levels. In particular, I want to thank S ...
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