2010: Haiti Earthquake Relief

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)--As enthusiastic friends and family in the United States welcomed home eight missions volunteers jailed in Haiti since Jan. 29, two other members of their team appeared Thursday before a judge in Haiti.

NORFOLK, Va. (BP)--Their situation, one that is lacking any sort of opportunity in a world full of wealth and prosperity, will stick with me. The kids, so full of joy even though they have nothing, will stick with me as well.       A drop of clean water, a balanced meal -- luxuries for these people -- will never be taken for granted again.       I didn't expect to be sent to Haiti to help those in need -- not like this, not on a U.S. Navy warship whose primarily mission is air defense. Yet God has the bigger plans, always, in my individual life and in humanity as a whole.       The 7.0-magnitude that shook Haiti on Jan. 12 crumbled just about everything in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince. International relief workers rushed to the scene and so did military contingencies from a number of countries. My ship, the USS Normandy, was sent with an aircraft carrier, a handful of Marine-carrying amphibious ships and a hospital ship.       I watched the news intently once we got orders to become part of Operation Unified Response in Haiti. Lifting the plight of the hurting to the Lord is something I try to do regardless of how connected I am to a particular tragedy or situation of struggle. With Haiti, I found myself woven more deeply into the process of intercession than ever before.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A Baptist volunteer who was jailed in Haiti for nearly three weeks says he hopes people will once again focus on the plight of the citizens of the earthquake-ravaged country.       Jim Allen, one of eight detainees flown back to the United States Wednesday, said in a statement on his church's website that he thanks "the many people around the world who prayed for me." Allen is a member of Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas.       "I hope [Wednesday's] actions will allow everyone to focus again on the dire conditions that remain in Haiti," Allen said. "People are still suffering and lack basic necessities. Please find it in your hearts, as I did in mine, to find ways to give to those in need. For those whose cases have not been resolved, we will continue to pray for their safe return."       Two volunteers from the 10-member team remain in a Haitian prison on further investigation: Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter, both members of Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho. Three other members of that church were released Wednesday, as were three members of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho. A member of Bethel Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., also was freed. Bethel is the only church not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)--Two Americans remain detained in a Haiti prison following the release of eight people from their volunteer group, which largely was from two Southern Baptist churches in Idaho.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)--A judge in Haiti says eight of the 10 American missions volunteers who have been detained in the country will be freed today.       Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said two volunteers will not be freed. Laura Silsby, the group's leader, and Charisa Coulter are being kept for further investigation on charges leveled against the group for allegedly attempting to transport 33 Haitian children without proper documentation into the Dominican Republic to an orphanage Silsby was founding.       CNN reported earlier in the day that Coulter, who is diabetic, was taken to a field hospital "in a lot of pain." Friends and family members of the detainees had expressed concern about the volunteers' access to health care since their arrest Jan. 29.       Saint-Vil said the eight released volunteers will be allowed to return to the United States without posting bail after their three-week detention. He added that the investigation is continuing and the Americans would have to return to Haiti if they are called back.       There were no reports about arrangements for the released detainees to travel back to the United States as of late afternoon Feb. 17.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Leaders of Southern Baptists’ response to the Haiti earthquake have formulated a coordinated plan for a long-term relief effort that focuses on working through an existing network of Haitian Baptist churches. Representatives from the North American Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention, International Mission Board, Baptist Global Response and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A legal adviser to some of the 10 American missions volunteers detained in Haiti may be a suspect in an El Salvador child prostitution ring, but the Haitian judge overseeing the volunteers' case said the development may have no bearing on their fate.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)--As Haitians mark the one-month anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed their capital, Port-au-Prince, 10 American missions volunteers sit in Haitian prisons, waiting to learn their fate for trying to take 33 children out of the country allegedly without proper documentation.       The 10 Baptists, most of them from two Idaho churches, received good news Thursday, but not as good of news as they had hoped. Haitian Judge Bernard Saint-Vil recommended that they be released while the investigation continues, but they apparently won't be freed until next week at the earliest because the judge's recommendation must first be reviewed by the prosecutor, Josephe Mannes Louis, who can agree or object to the recommendation and was quoted as saying his own recommendation won't come until next week. The judge, though, still will have the final word.       Prayer for the prosecutor is especially needed over the weekend, a source familiar with the deliberations in Haiti told Baptist Press. The source said it is essential to pray that the prosecutor's heart will be stirred to be merciful and to conclude the legal process.       It remains unclear whether the 10 will be able to return to the U.S. or must remain in Haiti while the investigation continues. Saint-Vil was quoted during a television interview as saying, "If the release of the Americans is granted, they will be able to leave the country, as long as their attorney provides guarantees for them." Other reports, though, have said Saint-Vil might require them to remain in Haiti.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (BP)--The Haitian judge overseeing the case of 10 U.S. Baptist volunteers accused of kidnapping 33 children says he will recommend that they be released, although his order apparently will be provisional and the group -- all still in jail -- won't be allowed to leave the country just yet.       The Associated Press and The New York Times both reported Thursday that Judge Bernard Saint-Vil will recommend to the prosecutor that the 10 volunteers be released but be required to remain in the country while the investigation continues and until a final decision is made in their case. The prosecutor can then agree or object to the recommendation, although in Haiti's judicial system the same judge still makes the final ruling.       "After listening to the families, I see the possibility that they can all be released," Saint-Vil told the Associated Press. "I am recommending that all 10 Americans be released."       It is not known when a ruling on the actual charges will be made.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (BP)--Reuters news service reported Wednesday evening that the judge overseeing the case of 10 Baptist volunteers who are currently in jail has decided to release them -- perhaps as soon as Thursday -- although other reports out of the country said no final decision has been made.