The Rev. Naw-Karl Mua heard gunshots in the dark and ran into the Laotian jungle to hide, hunkering down alone for 30 hours with no food, no water and a rising sense of desperation.

He said that was the closest he came to losing hope during his 35-day ordeal. "I did not know what would happen to me," he said. "I prayed a lot, and God seemed to say, 'Be patient, there will be a way.' "

On Saturday, safely back in the Twin Cities, Mua gave thanks to God, U.S. officials and the family and friends who worked and prayed for his deliverance from a Laotian prison. He also said he hopes his ordeal might help bring to light the plight of Hmong people who remain oppressed in Laos.

Mua, pastor of the Light of Life Lutheran Church in Maplewood, was seized June 4 by Laotian authorities along with two European journalists he was interpreting for. They were charged with complicity in the death of a Laotian village guard, and after a brief trial were sentenced to 15-year prison terms. The three were released Wednesday after intense diplomatic pressure from the United States and elsewhere.

Although Laotian officials had said a confession of guilt was a requirement for their release, Mua said he knew nothing about the guard's death and did not confess.

"I did not admit," he said, but added that a U.S. diplomatic official might have signed an admission of guilt on his behalf during the negotiations. "I saw him sign some sort of paper -- and I am grateful."

To meet another condition for release, Mua's wife, Sue Mua, wired nearly $2,500 to the Laotian government to compensate the family of the dead guard and for other expenses.

Speaking at a news conference at Beaver Lake Lutheran Church, Mua, 44, described the circumstances of his arrest and trial and made an impassioned appeal for investigation of human rights abuses in Laos. He was introduced by the Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and accompanied by his wife and their four children. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum and representatives of Sens. Norm Coleman and Mark Dayton, who were active in seeking Mua's release, attended the news conference.

Mua, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Laos, left his home in St. Paul on May 12 for Thailand, where he planned to work with a Hmong congregation. He met the two journalists there, and the three entered Laos on May 23.

Before going on the trip, Mua said, he was prepared mentally and spiritually.

"So when I faced this situation, it was not [a] surprise to me," he said. "I knew that I would be released, but I also knew that I would be facing a lot of challenge and a lot of hardship, and that would be a lesson for me to really understand the situation of my people."

He said he agreed to act as an interpreter for French cameraman Vincent Reynaud and Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise, who were reporting on the Hmong insurgency in northern Laos.

"I wanted to go in order to see my people in the jungle -- that was all I wanted to do," Mua said.

He said that his father and brother were among the Hmong fighters who aided the U.S. in the so-called "secret war" in Laos during the Vietnam War, and that his family was targeted for arrest by the Communist government after the U.S. pull-out. He said he escaped to the jungle and later to a refugee camp in Thailand before moving to France in 1978 and then to the United States in 1985.

He said he and the journalists visited many Hmong families who were living in terrible poverty in the jungle.

On the night the village guard was killed, he said, he and the journalists were waiting with some Hmong soldiers for a truck and driver to take them out of the area. Two Laotian guards approached with flashlights, asking who they were, and shooting broke out, he said. Some of the Hmong in their party had guns, Mua said, but he didn't know which side fired the shots and he didn't see anyone injured.

The group scattered, and he became separated from the others, he said.

After hiding alone for more than a day, he decided to surrender.

Mua said he was "fortunate not to be beaten by the soldiers -- I was protected by God, and because I was a citizen of this great country."

Conditions in the village jail where they were held were dismal, he said -- "10 people in a room of 30 square meters, no restroom, no light," and only a small amount of rice to eat twice a day.

Mua said he "was like an angel for my fellow prisoners," who hoped he could get word of their suffering to the outside world.

The 2 1/2-hour trial of Mua and the two journalists took place 22 days after their arrest, and he said the results were a foregone conclusion. "The [judge's] decision was predetermined -- it took about 20 minutes," he said. "They had the 10 pages [of the decision] typed already."

After the trial he was returned to the jail where he was first held. He said many of his fellow prisoners were Hmong, including some who were arrested in the death of the guard, even though they were not present when the shooting happened. "Nobody can do anything for them," he said. "They will be there -- at best -- for 15 years."

Mua said he doesn't know if he'll return to Laos. He said he is happy to be back with his family, friends and congregation, and he expects to preach at his church today. But he also intends to continue to push for help for the Hmong people suffering in Laos, he said.

"If the Hmong are not wanted in Laos, they need not be killed," he said, but should be allowed to receive humanitarian aid and possibly be resettled outside Laos "through Christian sponsorships."

The attention caused by his arrest might help spur action by Amnesty International, other groups and the U.S. government, he said. "For the last 28 years this problem has been there, but nobody wanted to talk about it, including the State Department."

After speaking, Mua was greeted by hugs and a few tears from friends in the audience, including some members of his congregation. "Our prayers are answered," said Elaine Brant, giving Mua a bear hug. "It's so good to see you, and you have such a story to tell." Brant is a member of Beaver Lake Lutheran, which shares its building and a close relationship with Mua's Light of Life congregation.

Mua's 17-year-old daughter, Magnolia, said she was always sure he would return safely. "I was real confident," she said. "He is intelligent, he's smart and he has a strong faith in God, so I figured he would be OK."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Susan E. Peterson is at sepeterson@startribune.com.