Feb 07 2010
The Boise missionaries in Haiti
I’ve been watching this saga unfold. 10 missionaries from Boise tried to take 33 Haitian children over the border to the Dominican Republic, where they were supposed to be cared for.
The Haitian border guards stopped and arrested them because they had no papers at all. As far as the Haitian government was concerned, the missionaries could have kidnapped the kids for child slavery.
My first thought was ‘Only in Idaho.’ Only in Idaho would a congregation, who, I’m sure, has only the best intentions and has strong faith, would send 10 of their members off on a rescue mission without knowing a damn thing about the necessary paperwork that would be needed beforehand.
Only in Idaho would one of that group, who is diabetic, would enter a situation
where it was known that all meds were in critically short supply. She went into insulin shock after the arrest.
That person, a woman, concerned her family enough that her husband and one child went with her. So who’s paying the bills at home? Are their younger children? Who is watching them?
The congregation trusted Laura Silsby, the leader, because “she was a mother, a good Christian, and owned a business”. None ever thought to check on how Laura’s business, a net shopping outfit, was actually doing. As it turns out, not well. Laura has a reputation for not following up on details, and her biz is in the dumps as a result. Her employees went without pay until they finally quit and are now suing her. Her home is about to be repo’d. She is a single mother. Who is caring for her kids?
Laura, or anyone else in the effort, didn’t attempt to find a French speaker to go with them. Their lawyer speaks only French, as does the judge and most of the legal system. All the kids speak only French, and the border guards, too. So now, they are in jail, and don’t have any reliable translator for them.
In a brief interview, Laura said that she trusts in God, and God would work it out. That one knocked me back- my first thought was how arrogant the comment was- Laura was certain God was on her side alone. She was sure God would rule in her favor. She never considered the possibility that God may have worked it out when they were stopped at the border, for the kids, not the missionaries.
And, shortly after the arrests, it was discovered that none of the kids were orphans. They all had families who sent the kids with them in hopes for better lives for their children. Now that it’s all messed up, the parents want their kids back.
All this reeks of naiveté, but worse, terminal ignorance, arrogance, and lack of planning so severe it could be criminal in another situation. The missionaries could be in jail awaiting trial for a very long time, as Haiti is one big pile of rubble that will take a long time to restore. The Haitian government is not going to take them at their word that their motives were pure and Godly, and they shouldn’t… Americans wouldn’t put up with a similar event,at all.
They may go to prison for 5 years or more, once they finally go before the bar. Who is going to pay for their defense and upkeep while all this transpires?
This is a very hard, but good lesson for all the congregations who have the desire to just fly in and try to help, but only under their terms and plans. All this could have been avoided if only one person had the wits to say “Hold On! We need to do some homework first!”
I just met Idaho’s next governor today. Keith Allred visited the Bonneville County Democrats’ monthly 
At least once a month I go help at the Soup Kitchen. It’s a very fun experience but it also teaches me about how I should work at a job and it teaches me about not being selfish. There are other people in the world that have less than I do.
