Missionaries worry about Haitians, describe jail

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - American missionaries who faced allegations of child trafficking in Haiti but were freed from jail described their trip to the earthquake-ravaged country as a simple humanitarian effort that left them even more concerned about the Haitian people.

"It seemed like everyone in the group (was) legitimately really concerned about the children and helping them, to the point that it was almost amazing to me that they were so concerned about helping them," missionary Jim Allen of Amarillo, Texas, told Oprah Winfrey on Friday's episode of her talk show.

Allen was among eight American missionaries freed Wednesday after three weeks in custody in Haiti. Two were left behind in jail. Four of the eight are now in Kansas. Three are home in Idaho, while Allen is back in Texas.

The group denies the child trafficking accusations, arguing the trip was a do-it-yourself "rescue mission" for young victims of the massive Jan. 12 earthquake.

"We're four guys - well, we're a group of 10 people - that are convinced that it's better to get up off the couch and go and help people than just sit on a couch and do nothing," missionary Paul Thompson, of Twin Falls, Idaho, said during a segment taped from Topeka and aired Friday on NBC's "Today" show.

Allen, who appeared with his wife, Lisa, on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," said the missionaries slept on a concrete floor in jail and received one hot meal a day. Still, he said, the group was treated well.

"What I was thinking of at the time is that there are millions, it seemed like, people on the street that were getting poured on," Allen told Winfrey. "They were sleeping on the ground."