Ten Southern Baptists, mostly from two churches in Idaho, have been arrested in Haiti for attempting to illegally take 33 children out of the country that has been severely damaged by the recent earthquake. Yesterday's Canadian Press reported that a hearing is scheduled for the Americans today. Haiti's government has stopped all adoptions that were not in process before the earthquake, concerned about trafficking in lost or orphaned children. Some of the 33 children involved still have parents. They thought the children were being taken on an extended vacation away from the earthquake devastation.
The Idaho churches involved had plans before the earthquake to create a shelter for Haitian and Dominican orphans at a beach resort in the Dominican Republic that would attract adoptive parents from the U.S. When the earthquake struck, the churches decided to move more quickly than they had previously planned. The group's spokesperson said they did not think they needed government permission to take the children out of the country, and only had the children's best interests at heart. Rev. Clint Henry of the Central Valley Baptist Church said: "we believe that Christ has asked us to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world, and that includes children."
