I must apologize!
I know this update is long overdue, but I still barely have the words to explain my heart or the extreme suffering in Haiti…
Haiti is very broken, and it breaks my heart when I’m not able to be there — serving.
Significant ministry time was also Long Overdue!
Summer Camp was a blessing this year. It’s nice to be a part of Camp during my time away from Haiti!
Camp is always a place of peace, healing, and God’s beauty, a break from the brokenness of this world!
Unlike the last several years, when I would just get a couple weeks of camp while in Michigan on a break, I was able to do a very full summer of kid’s camps! I was able to serve at 4 different camp facilities this year for a total of 10 weeks or 1,215 hours of ministry. It’s been a lot of years since I was able to log that much time in the sanctuary that is found at summer camp.
My 29th year in a row as medical staff for youth camps. This was also the 19th year of service for the Rescue Ranger!
So many Band-Aids were used this year! But over the years it has been sad to see the increase in the struggles that the kids deal with. They face so many issues these days that summer camp is truly a mission field! Camps have really been struggling since Covid. Make plains now to volunteer at a summer camp near you for 2024. I guarantee you will be blessed!
A world away!
Despite the beauty and peace of camp, Haiti was never far from my mind. I would talk with people from Haiti frequently. The stories and reports were rarely good. On July 27th I came across a post about the American nurse that was kidnapped from her clinic with her young daughter. It was carried by all of the major U.S. networks and you may have seen it. My heart sank.
This wasn’t just another discouraging story out of Haiti, this was a personal friend of mine. The missionary community in Haiti is rather small and close-knit. The next 13 days were spent frequently looking for any bit of information on what was happening with them. I Praise God, they were released unharmed and are currently back in the States for a period of healing and reflecting!
The news from Haiti has not been good for years, but continues to escalate. In 2023 more people have been killed in Haiti than in Ukraine. Despite this, the US continues to give billions to Ukraine and nothing to speak of to Haiti. The UN can’t even help because China and Russia block all efforts to help. Sadly, help is Long Overdue but Haiti has to suffer because of the larger issues on the world stage. I could fill this post with the stories and pictures I get frequently. But just know that Haiti is struggling on a daily bases just to be able to eat, live, and survive.
Things were reported to be improving in my area of the capital and I actually got a ticket back to Haiti! for the first week of September. I was excited to be able to report to you, from back in Haiti. Unfortunately, the gangs warned of an escalation in their activity in the wake of the pending UN vote to occupy Haiti and I had to cancel it the next day. The UN also canceled their vote, knowing it would just be vetoed again.
One thing that has been encouraging during this waiting, is looking back through the almost ten thousand pictures I have from Haiti. It is encouraging to be reminded of the many many lives that have been changed through the ministry of Kelby’s Kids!
The very first picture of a child that I took after moving to Haiti. Taken on November 10th 2016.
The sad thing is thinking of all those who are suffering. Medical care, like everything else, has become more and more difficult to find for people given the current situation. I continue to be thankful for technology that allows me to provide some care through telemedicine from Michigan.
My greatest desire is to be back in Haiti and be working in the clinic before my 7-year anniversary of moving to Haiti, on November 9th.
I know this probably doesn’t make sense to a lot of you. It doesn’t seem like a reasonable goal, given the risks but my return is Long Overdue. A friend of mine, from Haiti, posted this the other day and I thought it said it well:
I wish I could share the 10,000 pictures with you to scroll through. But I encourage you to scroll back through the blog posts (at least the pictures) and be reminded of the number of lives touched through Kelby’s Kids. I had a friend the other day that took the time to re-read this entire blog from the beginning in 2016. They said, “I am sorry that I was being selfish and wanting you to stay here in the U.S.. I understand a little better now why you need to go back!”
I also hope it would be a reminder to you of what you have been a part of. Kelby’s Kids only exists because your faithful prayer support and sacrificial financial support. I and the people of Haiti are eternally grateful for you!
Please be praying for Haiti. Most in Haiti deal with struggles on a daily bases that we can’t even fathom here in America. Videos of people running from their homes just ahead of the advancing gangs with only what they could carry, are disturbing. Also, pray for protection for the clinic and my house so that there are not a lot of things that need to be repaired or replaced to be able to get thing back up and running upon my return.
But more so, pray for the people staying there, as stuff can be replaced — and people can’t be. Then pray for wisdom to know when the time is right to return to serve those in Haiti.
Until No Child Dies,
Kelby