MERIDIAN, Idaho (ABP) — As news of dissension among 10 Baptists from the
United States jailed in Haiti leaked into media reports, the pastor of
five of the volunteer missionaries said his church continues to support
and pray for the entire group.
National Public Radio reported that Pastor Clint Henry made little direct reference to Haiti in his Feb. 7 sermon at Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, until near the end of the service. "I want the world to know our church loves and prays for all 10," Henry said, referring to the jailed Americans, according to an NPR reporter present for the service.
That appeared to be a reference to reports Feb. 6 that one of the missions workers slipped a note to an NBC news producer with names of eight of the 10 saying they do not trust the group's leader, businesswoman and Central Valley member Laura Silsby.
"We fear for our lives in Haiti. There is corruption and extortion," the note read. "Laura wants to control. We believe lying. We're afraid."
NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders said he spoke to a family member of one the detainees in Idaho who said they have known in Idaho about division among the group for some time.
In a statement read to media after church services Feb. 7, Henry said the ordeal that began with the group's arrest Jan. 29 has helped bring the church together, as worshipers who had never met have had to lean on one another.
"Being able to come together for prayer and fellowship has been a means for helping our church cope with the current situation," the pastor said. "Though we do not know exactly what transpired down in Haiti, we know we care for those who find themselves in an hour of need."
The Associated Press quoted Southern Baptist Convention spokesman Roger Oldham as saying that officials of the denomination are concerned that publicity about the volunteer group drawn largely from two Idaho Southern Baptist congregations might tarnish the image of the convention's disaster-relief ministry.
Three SBC leaders sent a letter Feb.5 asking President Obama to "do everything within the authority of your office to secure a safe return home for these brothers and sisters in Christ as soon as possible."
Richard Land, head of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, also wrote Obama, criticizing the Haitian government's handling of the situation.
"The Haitian government is receiving massive assistance from the United States, from both public and private sources," Land said in a letter quoted by Baptist Press. "Our nation's churches are giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to relief efforts for the people of Haiti. These fine Christian men and women sought to do even more to help alleviate the suffering of some Haitian children. For the Haitian government to respond in this way to the obvious good intentions of these honorable Christians is outrageous."
Land urged Obama to "do everything in your considerable power to secure the release of these United States citizens."
The scribbled note handed to the NBC producer in Haiti carried the names of all but two of the detainees. Beside Silsby, the only other team member's name not listed was Charissa Coulter, 24, Silsby's live-in nanny. Coulter's name appears along with Silsby's on articles of incorporation filed last November for New Life Children's Refuge, a non-profit founded originally with dreams of building an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
After an earthquake Jan. 12 left thousands of Haitian children homeless, the group shifted to immediate efforts, organizing a "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission" team consisting mostly of members of Central Valley Baptist Church and another Southern Baptist congregation, Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The group rounded up 33 Haitian children near Port-au-Prince and was transporting them to a temporary orphanage in the Dominican Republic when they were stopped near the border for lacking proper documentation to take the children out of the country.
"We only came as volunteers," said the note signed by eight of the detainees. "We had nothing to do with any documents and have been lied to."
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.