<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Georgia;
panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Sorry – I’m no longer inclined to assume “good
intentions” since Silsby has a very, very long history of disregarding the
law. Thank God she was stopped, otherwise who knows what would have
become of those poor children </span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;color:#1F497D'>L</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>To me, it looks like the tragedy in Haiti simply provided Silsby
an excuse to get out of Dodge just in time!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><a
href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1067267.html">http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/1067267.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#999999'>February 04, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.75pt'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#204060'>Laura Silsby, a local missionary
to Haiti, left trail of financial woes in Idaho<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:3.75pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:3.75pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt'><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666'>The
Boise woman has a pattern of flouting laws. She's due in Ada court again this
month.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#999999'>BY KATY
MOELLER - kmoeller@idahostatesman.com<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#999999'>Copyright: © 2010 Idaho
Statesman<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:3.75pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:3.75pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:13.5pt'><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666'>The
Boise woman has a pattern of flouting laws. She's due in Ada court again this
month.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>The Idaho woman who led a group
of 10 Baptists on a mission to help children in Haiti admits to failing to
obtain paperwork needed to move 33 children to the Dominican Republic. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>But even before Laura L. Silsby and seven other Idahoans ended
up in a Haitian jail accused of trafficking in children, Silsby had a history
of failing to pay debts, failing to pay her employees and failing even to
follow Idaho laws. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Silsby has been the subject of eight civil lawsuits and 14
unpaid wage claims. The $358,000 Meridian house at which she founded her
nonprofit New Life Children's Refuge in November was foreclosed upon in
December. A check of Silsby's driving record revealed at least nine traffic
citations since 1997, including four for failing to provide insurance or
register annually. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Silsby is a longtime Treasure Valley businesswoman. In 1999, she
founded an Internet business. As CEO of PersonalShopper.comnear Overland and
Maple Grove roads, the mother of three was named eWomenNetwork's international
businesswoman of the year in 2006. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Three years later, building an orphanage for Haitian and
Dominican children became Silsby's vision, and the 40-year-old brought others
on board, including her 24-year-old nanny, Charisa Coulter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>"The folks in the church embraced their vision, and it
became a shared vision," said Coulter's father, Mel. "The church made
it part of their missions program." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>But Silsby's failure to work with Haitian authorities before
trying to take children from the country last week has many questioning the
woman and the cause. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Members of her church, Central Valley Baptist in Meridian, did
not return calls Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>An e-mail circulated Wednesday at PersonalShopper.com urged
employees not to speak to the press or post any information on Web sites.
"Given the aggressive nature of the press and the fabrications already
being invented, we need to make sure nothing in writing is published that can
be misconstrued in any way," the e-mail says. Employees also were given
the option to work from home to avoid reporters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>UNPAID WAGES</span></b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Fourteen claims, including two by the same employee, were filed
against Personal Shopper Inc. for nonpayment of wages between Feb. 21, 2008, and
July 21, 2009, according to the Idaho Department of Labor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>The total dollar amount of the 14 claims was $38,100.09.
Department of Labor compliance officers determined that $30,620.26 was owed to
the employees; the department also assessed a $4,000 penalty against the
business. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Five claims were denied, dropped, or the department did not have
jurisdiction. PersonalShopper Inc. paid the employees their due wages and
penalties. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>The business' former marketing director, Robin Oliver of Eagle,
filed a civil suit against Silsby and Personal Shopper Inc. in October for
alleged unpaid wages, wrongful termination and fraud. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>The suit says that Oliver was promised an annual salary of
$110,000, with twice-monthly payments of $4,583.33. The suit alleges that
Personal Shopper was delinquent on five payments, for a total unpaid wage claim
of $22,016.65. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>"In multiple e-mails during 2009, Ms. Silsby repeatedly
told plaintiff that she had investors 'committed,' that the money was being
'wired,' and that investors were going to be providing funds," the suit
says. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:red'>Silsby is due in 4th District Court at 2:45 p.m. next Wednesday; a
jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:red'>Court records show that Silsby also is due in court in March to
answer for another civil suit against her. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Beer & Cain, a Boise law firm, filed a civil suit against
Silsby in January this year. The suit says Silsby owes the firm $4,526.59 and
interest for services rendered. "The demand for payment was made on May
20, 2008, February 4, 2009, and April 3, 2009," the suit says. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Attorney Dennis Cain declined Wednesday to comment on the suit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>SUITS, TRAFFIC INFRACTIONS</span></b><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Court records also show that Silsby has been sued by several
seeking payment for services or return of goods: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- On July 28, 2009, Disaster Kleenup in the Treasure Valley sued
Eric Evans, Evans Construction and Silsby, asking for a lien in the amount of
$3,225.79. A notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice was recorded Nov. 8. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- On April 20, 2009, Les Schwab Tire on South Main Street in
Meridian filed a suit for nonpayment. The business received a default judgment
on July 2 in the amount of $1,058.91. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- On Feb. 12, 2009, Farm Bureau Finance Co. sued for return of a
2008 Yamaha YFM 25 RXL ATV, valued at $2,740, from the home where the New Life
Children's Refuge was based. A default judgment was entered May 7. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- On Aug. 28, 2007, Collection Bureau Inc. sued for $731.33, not
including attorney's fees and costs. The suit says the money was owed to the
Kuna Rural Fire District for services. Silsby defaulted, her wages were
garnisheed and the $1,077.33 judgment later was set aside. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- Two other small-claims cases in 2000 and 2002 were dismissed
before trial or hearing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>- Silsby logged numerous traffic infractions. She was cited four
times for failure to provide insurance/failure to register annually (1997,
1998, 1999 and 2001; the latter was dismissed). She was cited four times for
speeding or driving too fast for conditions (2000, 2005, 2006 and 2007). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>DEFAULT ON HOUSE </span></b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>It's unclear where Silsby resides, though Mel Coulter said he
believes she lives in South Boise. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Her 16-year marriage to Terry L. Silsby, a real estate agent,
ended in divorce in January 2007, according to marriage records. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Reached by phone Wednesday, Terry Silsby declined to comment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Laura Silsby bought a house at 2828 S. Alfani Way in Meridian on
Nov. 10, 2008. On Dec. 7, 2009, MetLife Home Loans foreclosed on the $358,500
house, according to the Ada County Recorder's Office. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#333333'>Katy Moeller: 377-6413 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Ted Moffett<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, February 04, 2010 4:03 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Moscow Vision 2020<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Vision2020] Meridian, Idaho Baptist U.S. Missionaries Charged
with Kidnapping in Haiti<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>I would not be surprised if some or all of those charged in
this case had good intentions, but were led by their religious beliefs to
make some very questionable decisions:<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><a
href="http://www.ktvb.com/home/10-American-detained-in-Haiti-being-moved-8-from-Idaho-83558322.html"
target="_blank">http://www.ktvb.com/home/10-American-detained-in-Haiti-being-moved-8-from-Idaho-83558322.html</a>#<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>10 U.S. Baptists held in
Haiti charged with kidnapping</span> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p>by Frank Bajak<br>
Associated Press writer<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Posted on February 4, 2010 at 10:29 AM<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Updated today at 4:17 PM <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Ten members of a U.S. missionary group who
said they were trying to rescue 33 child victims of Haiti's devastating
earthquake were charged with child kidnapping and criminal association on
Thursday, their lawyer said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Edwin Coq said after a court hearing that a judge found sufficient evidence
to charge the Americans, who were arrested Friday at Haiti's border with the
Dominican Republic. Coq attended Thursday's hearing and represents the entire
group in Haiti.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Group leader Laura Silsby has said they were trying to take orphans and
abandoned children to an orphanage in the neighboring Dominican Republic. She
acknowledged they had not sought permission from Haitian officials, but said
they just meant to help victims of the quake.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The children taken from the group, ranging in age from 2 to 12, were being
cared for at the Austrian-run SOS Children's Village in Port-au-Prince on
Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The U.S. citizens, most of them members of an Idaho-based church group, were
whisked away from the closed court hearing to jail in Port-au-Prince, the
capital. Silsby waved and smiled faintly to reporters but declined to answer
questions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Coq said that under Haiti's legal system, there won't be an open trial, but
a judge will consider the evidence and could render a verdict in about three
months.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Coq said a Haitian prosecutor told him the Americans were charged because
they had the children in their possession. No one from the Haitian government
could be reached immediately for comment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Each kidnapping count carries a possible sentence of five to 15 years in
prison. Each criminal association count has a potential sentence of three to
nine years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Coq said that nine of the 10 knew nothing about the alleged scheme, or that
paperwork for the children was not in order.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>"I'm going to do everything I can to get the nine out," Coq said.
That would still leave mission leader Laura Silsby facing charges.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington the U.S. was open
to discuss "other legal avenues" for the defendants — an
apparent reference to the Haitian prime minister's earlier suggestion that Haiti
could consider sending the Americans back to the United States for prosecution.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Several parents of the children in Callebas, a quake-wracked Haitian village
near the capital, told The Associated Press Wednesday they had handed over
their children willingly because they were unable to feed or clothe their
children and the American missionaries promised to give them a better life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Their accounts contradicted statements by Silsby, of Meridian, Idaho.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In a jailhouse interview Saturday, Silsby told the AP that most of the
children had been delivered to the Americans by distant relatives, while some
came from orphanages that had collapsed in the quake.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>"They are very precious kids that have lost their homes and families
and are so deeply in need of, most of all, God's love and his compassion,"
she said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In Callebas, parents said a local orphanage worker, fluent in English and
acting on behalf of the Baptists, had convened nearly the entire village of 500
people on a dirt soccer field to present the Americans' offer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Isaac Adrien, 20, told his neighbors the missionaries would educate their
children in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the villagers said, adding that
they were also assured they would be free to visit their children there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Many parents jumped at the offer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Adrien said he met Silsby in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 26. She told him she was
looking for homeless children, he said, and he knew exactly where to find them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>He rushed home to Callebas, where people scrape by growing carrots, peppers
and onions. That very day, he had a list of 20 children.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>As they loaded children onto a bus in Callebas on Jan. 28, the Americans
took down contact information for all the families and assured them a relative
would be able to visit them in the Dominican Republic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The Americans' journey began last summer after Silsby and her former nanny,
24-year-old Charisa Coulter, resolved to establish an orphanage for Haitian
children in the Dominican Republic. Coulter is among the jailed Americans.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>They began buying up used clothing and collecting donations from their
Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian and in November, Silsby registered
the New Life Children's Refuge Inc., the nonprofit organization coordinating
the rescue mission. It listed the address of her now-foreclosed home in
Meridian as its headquarters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Then the quake hit. Silsby and Coulter moved into high gear, gathering
donations and assembling a team to go into Haiti and urgently take out
children, the younger woman's father, Mel Coulter, told the AP from his home in
Kuna, Idaho.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The group packed 40 plastic bins of donated goods into a U-Haul trailer and
drove to Salt Lake City on Jan. 22, where they took a flight to the Dominican
Republic. They made their way to Haiti, where four days later, they were
introduced to Adrien.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Adrien, who had served as the go-between and translator for the
missionaries, said he had no knowledge of the group's larger plans; villagers
said they were told none of their children would be offered for adoption.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>A Haitian-born pastor who said he worked as an unpaid consultant for the
group insisted the Baptists had done nothing wrong.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The Rev. Jean Sainvil said some of the children were orphans and might have
been put up for adoption. Children with parents were to be kept in the
Dominican Republic, and would not lose contact with their families, Sainvil
said in Atlanta.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>"Everybody agreed that they knew where the children were going. The
parents were told, and we confirmed they would be allowed to see the children
and even take them back if need be," he said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Sainvil stressed that in Haiti it is not uncommon for parents who can't
support their children to send them to orphanages.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Even Prime Minister Max Bellerive has said he recognized the Americans may
simply have been well-meaning who believed their charitable Christian intent
justified trying to remove the children from quake-crippled Haiti.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Only minutes before the charges, the Americans' Dominican lawyer, Jorge
Puello, had said he expected at least nine of the 10 to be released and said he
was arranging a charter flight for them from Santo Domingo, the Dominican
capital.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>After the Haitian lawyer's announcement, Puello could not be reached by
telephone for comment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>"I'm at the airport (in Santo Domingo) and we're getting the plane
ready. We're just waiting for the green light," Puello said. "I spoke
to a source inside the jail — a government official — who said nine
would be released but one would be held for further investigation."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>___<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Associated Press writer Greg Bluestein in Atlanta and Matthew Lee in
Washington contributed to this report.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>