I want to update you on some of the kids and happenings with Kelby’s Kids!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I passed my 1-year anniversary in Haiti on November 9th!! It’s exciting to be able to say that I have lived in Haiti for over a year now!
Please continue to pray for me and the ministry of Kelby’s kids. An unsettling number of missionaries that move to Haiti full time, go home within 18 months or less and never return. Haiti can be a very difficult, frustrating, heartbreaking, and overwhelming place. I really want to beat that statistic of 18 months with, maybe, 18 years!
There is a lot of good, heartwarming, life changing work that does happen and the focus needs to remain on that.
I didn’t tell you in my last post that when I went to Bohoc I was able to see 325 patients in 5 days!
An outdoor clinic in Bohoc
It was also one of the most restful and relaxing weeks I have had in Haiti in a long time. It made me realize how stressful and constant things really are at the school. Self-care is an important part of serving in a third world country. Many studies have revealed that the stress level for missionaries in these countries is often equivalent to people that live in war zones. So it’s important to take care of yourself as well as your patients. You can’t pour anything out of an empty cup!
So, I have moved from the school.
I am only about 300 yards — away but it’s a whole different world. Although I'm busy getting settled in, it’s been a nice first week in my new room. Troy and Gwyn Price, the missionaries on the next street that I do a lot of work with, have allowed me to move into one of their intern rooms. When I told Sherrie that I was leaving the school she said “I’m actually surprised you made it this long, this is a very difficult place to live and most don't make it a year.” Imagine if 450 people visited your house every day!
Some of the students were upset I was leaving until I explained to them that I am just sleeping in a different place. I will still be at the school working in the clinic nearly every day.
Ischia, originally posted as Auze (Haitians go by several names often times), has been accepted by the Haiti Cardiac Alliance as a patient! Please continue to pray for her. She has been placed on several medications (Lasix, Vasotec, & Digoxin) to try to help her heart and condition. She has such a bad Ventricular Septal Defect (the wall between the 2 bottom parts of your heart) that there is barely a Septum visible. Because of this she has significant Pulmonary Hypertension and if it doesn’t improve she will not be a surgical candidate. This will cost her her life within the next couple years or sooner if she gets sick.
Ischia has so much to consider at such a young age.
Davernile is doing great! They were unable to convince her family to continue to care for her even with assistance. She has graduated from the inpatient malnutrition program and has been placed in a special needs children’s home where she will be loved and cared for as she deserves!
Davernile looks like she almost doubled her weight since that day we thought she might die.
Guerna, I am very sad to report, did not get her surgery.
She had a fever on the day of surgery so they had to postpone it. She has been rescheduled for their next trip in march. We will work closer with her to do everything we can to be sure she is healthy for her surgery in March. As she grows and the scars on her chest from her burns get tighter and she is getting more uncomfortable and having more trouble breathing.
A couple days after she was sent home as I was walking down the road she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and just held onto me. I think she desperately wants the surgery. I hope she understood when I told her "I won’t give up" and will see that she gets surgery. It broke my heart.
Please remember to pray for Guerna that her March surgery will be a success.
Guerna has such a sweet spirit despite all the suffering she has been though in her life.
Faeka, the baby I delivered on February 15th, is happy and healthy!! It’s nice to see her every couple days as I walk from my new home to the school and back.
Faeka is a curious little girl. She always looks like she has much to say when I talk to her.
On Friday we were able to go to The Apparent Project for lunch.
It’s a place a lot of Missionaries hang out. It also provides a lot of Haitians with jobs working there and making items for their large gift shop. While we were there Aaron Boyd came in to set up for a concert that they were doing with World Orphans that night. Aaron Boyd is from Belfast Ireland and the leader of the band Blue Tree, he is also the Author of the powerful song “God Of This City.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw They also had a team from the American Ninja TV show that was doing work with Kids that week.
It was a great experience to be able to talk with Aaron and the team that was with them.
Many of them, including Aaron, are good friends with my good friend Mike who has been working with World Orphans for over 8 years. It was an encouraging time of community with God’s people.
Aaron Boyd and myself in a selfie!
My friends gave me a hard time for taking a selfie with him but he took this one first and it was posted on the Blue Tree Facebook page!
My last post about Bohoc was a little long to include all this so I broke it up into a second post. Thanks for your continued interest in the work of Kelby's Kids in Haiti!
Until No Child Dies
Kelby