BY ANA ACLE

 Evangelist K.A. Paul had never been to Cuba. His missionary work is more
 associated with Africa and Asia than with Latin America.

 But he said he went because he wanted to help Elian Gonzalez return to his
 father -- until Cuban officials would not let him meet with the father alone.

 Kilari Anan Paul, 36, founder of Gospel to the Unreached Millions, said Tuesday
 in Miami that Elian's father is being pressured by Cuban officials and secretly
 wants the boy to remain free in the United States. Furthermore, the father would
 like to come to the United States with his entire family, Paul said.

 He said three sources -- he won't divulge names -- told him so. One is a friend of
 the father, another a relative and a third is a church leader, Paul said.

 ``They have no reason to lie,'' Paul said.

 Juan Miguel Gonzalez has consistently, however, said he wants his son back and
 has told the media that he is speaking freely.

 Paul -- virtually an unknown in Miami -- is the latest person to emerge in the
 international spotlight surrounding Elian Gonzalez and the custody battle between
 the United States and Cuba.

 At a news conference Tuesday, he sat beside local pastors of various
 denominations who have said they do not want Elian to return to Cuba.

 `STOOD FOR THE TRUTH'

 ``I'm not a politician,'' Paul said. ``I do not have an agenda. I'm a person who has
 stood for the truth for the past 17, 18 years.''

 Armando Gutierrez, spokesman for the Gonzalez family in Miami, said he did not
 know of Paul or his organization prior to his visit.

 ``God works in mysterious ways, and Elian and the family need all the spiritual
 help they can get,'' Gutierrez said.

 Paul has no qualms about getting media attention. ``Promote the rally,'' he said to
 a Miami radio reporter. He is calling for a prayer rally at 4 p.m. Saturday at Jose
 Marti Park.

 Such prayer rallies -- he calls them Good News Crusades -- are his specialty. In
 Oklahoma, Paul held a spiritual rally in May for the victims of tornadoes. In
 August in Kenya, he held one on the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy bombings.

 ``We liked when he came to Oklahoma, and we liked what he did to help,'' said
 Bill Shapard, spokesman for U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla. ``We have no reason
 to believe he's not who he says he is.'' Watts has not publicly given his opinion on
 the Elian case.

 Born in Chittivalsa, India, Paul said he became a Christian in the predominantly
 Hindu nation because his father converted to Christianity. In 1983, at the age of
 20, he said he began trying to get couples to adopt orphaned children.

 $15 MILLION BUDGET

 Paul came to the United States in 1989. Four years later, he created the nonprofit
 Gospel to the Unreached Millions in Duluth. In 1996, he opened its headquarters
 in Houston, where it is listed in Texas records as a foreign nonprofit corporation.

 G.U.M. conducts crusades several times a year in countries between Japan and
 the west coast of Africa, an area ``of great spiritual darkness known as the
 Resistance Belt,'' the organization states. Paul said the group has 2.5 million lay
 missionaries and six homes for widows and orphans.

 He said he has a $15 million budget thanks to private donations and does not
 receive any public money.

 In December 1999, Paul formed the domestic nonprofit Global Peace Initiative in
 Humble, Texas and opened its headquarters in Alexandria, Va. He lives with his
 wife, two daughters and son in Houston.

 Paul said his Jan. 31 trip to Cuba was an eye-opener for him and insists ``the
 truth must be told.'' He returned Feb. 2 and publicly stated then that he had
 changed his stance, joining Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin. The two had not met.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald