Gwinnett pastor says arrest of missionaries a misunderstanding

By Associated Press

For the AJC

A Gwinnett County pastor who says he gave 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries permission to move a busload of Haitian children to the Dominican Republic says the group acted "with a good heart."

However, he says they didn't complete the required paperwork. The missionaries were later arrested after Haitian authorities said they tried crossing the border without documents.

Pastor Jean Sainvil told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the missionaries had approval from the parents of children who were not orphaned. He called the arrests a misunderstanding.

Sainvil says he was an adviser to the Idaho-based New Life Children's Refuge because he spoke fluent French Creole and Spanish and had knowledge of Haiti.

The pastor says he was not with the missionaries when they were arrested because he was ill.