THEY came to Hong Kong as missionaries, to take bible classes, help in the church and comfort the sick and the elderly. In their own words, ''To serve the Lord''.
But it was not spiritual guidance this Baptist church wanted them for, it was hard labour.
The man at the centre of their anger, hurt and allegations of ''abuse '' is the Reverend John-Paul Chan, Pastor of the Beautiful Gate Baptist Church in Kowloon and international director of Operation DAWN.
It was in his capacity as the head of Operation DAWN that he travelled to the Philippines to recruit nine members of the Christian Living Church in Manila. The job description was ''missionary to service our church in Hong Kong'', according to a reference he wrote for the British Embassy in Manila.
''The applicant is not on employment status, but being offered free room and board in a good and healthy environment,'' the Reverend Chan's letter continued.
But the environment, according to all the ''employees'' the South China Morning Post interviewed, was not what they had been led to expect.
In fact the three men and six women were unwittingly being recruited purely for manual work, claim the missionaries, and they were not the only ones. Missionaries were also recruited from Sri Lanka and India.
