It’s funny… the things that stand out in my memory.  It seems as though so much of it has blurred together in my mind but then there are certain things that still jump out at me.  I read Jody’s blog post  (http://castilloavektimoun.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/i-will-never-forget/)  earlier today and was instantly transported back to that moment… to that day… to those first weeks…  and I shocked myself by needing a good hard cry.  Not that I don’t cry about absolutely everything… but what shocked me was the grief… how fresh it felt… I think I needed to remember what that felt like.

I remember that the sun was shining… for the first time in over a week.  I remember how good it felt to be outside.  I remember the feeling of the ground, moving beneath my feet and the confusion I felt.  I remember the look on Susan’s face as she stared back at me in the middle of the road.  I remember the panicked screams and I remember the sight and sound of so many of my Haitian brothers and sisters who were face down in the church court yard, crying out to God.  I remember nervously laughing when it was over and posting something snarky on facebook.  I remember the shock as the news started trickling in that it was bad… really bad.  I remember the fear at realizing that Jose was there, in PAP… and then the shock at knowing that so many of our staff and loved ones were also on the ground there.  I remember calling my husband and begging him to not turn on the television… or let my mother watch either… even as we sat glued to the news ourselves.  I remember trying to hold it together for the small group that was here on campus but laying on my floor, sobbing, behind closed doors.  I remember the noisy sobs at our worship service, held with the Americans on campus and all of our sweet Haitian staff who still hadn’t heard from loved ones.  I remember hands clutching useless phones, praying for them to suddenly ring with news.  I remember our hearts breaking as we listened to Jocelyn tell his story of survival and how he and the other boys had made it back to the mission after three days.  I remember Larry and his quiet strength as he left for PAP.  I remember dragging children out into the courtyard in the pitch black because there was a ridiculous announcement on the radio that another earthquake was coming.  I remember the grief.   I remember the fear.  I remember Jody running to embrace Jose in the middle of the courtyard after so many days of uncertainty…  I remember the dog crying and jumping on them both as they held each other and sobbed.   I remember watching as our little town swelled with the survivors who had made their way to the Northwest zone.  I remember the aftershocks, and the aftershocks, and the aftershocks.  I remember the surgery team arriving and the utter relief that I felt as they got off the bus.  I remember finally, finally making it home, six weeks later, and seeing my husband for the first time in the airport.  I remember dropping my bags and being held and making the decision that I would never, ever,  stand on my own two feet again.  I remember not wanting to come back.  I remember, selfishly, never wanting to ever experience that kind of grief again.  I remember knowing that God had not finished with me yet and not being particularly happy with Him about that.  I remember difficult discussions with my family and loved ones and I remember being gently and lovingly urged back to Haiti.  I remember what Haiti looked like before the earthquake.  I remember that it was the earthquake that opened the doors to the PdP prison to me and the ministry that we have there today.  I remember the teams and the donations that came flooding in, wanting to help in anyway possible.  I remember the gratitude at knowing that we weren’t in this alone… that the whole world was watching and wanting to help.  I remember the praises rising and the beauty that has come from such a dark and painful place.

On this… the National Day of Remembrance….  I do remember.  Do you?

The most exciting part of the prison today was that the men and women had been ministering to the new prisoners that had come into their cells while I was away… The men had a small group of “new guys” that they had shared the Bible with and who were now ready to accept Christ.  I had the privilege of leading them in that prayer of salvation.  Paul led a couple of new boys in the “little boys cell” in that prayer as well.  The women had a new lady that has already accepted Christ and is waiting for us to baptize her…  How cool is that?!?  They are doing it… being the church… regardless of their circumstances, sharing the love of Christ with each other in such an unlikely place.  Love it.  Their one big request today (not on my list of collected supplies of course…) was new Bibles and song books.  Time to put it a new order…

We had a great visit at the brothel today too.  It was so fun to be able to give Papa Yo the school uniforms and the (first wave) of school supplies for the boys!  We had a great small group time with the brothel girls before inviting the boys to join our circle to do our worksheets on the names of God we had prepared.  We also ended up with five or six random men that had been hanging around join us too…  pretty funny (and sweet) to see these “tough guys” getting in line for pens and pencils and trying to be the first to finish their crossword puzzles.

Today reminded me just how much I love my sweet friends and why I do what I do here.  A much needed boost! 

Katie, Marisa and I went downtown yesterday and bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies at the market and even got to see some of the local brothel girls.  I cannot WAIT to get back to the brothels and to the prison!  We are waiting on our luggage (twelve bags!!!!) to arrive today so we can begin sorting and getting the donated supplies ready to distribute.  SO EXCITED!!!

Please keep us in your prayers as we get back into the swing of things.  We are enjoying the quiet before the storm but are also really looking forward to getting out and back to work and are especially excited about the groups coming!

December 2011 Update

This past year at NWHCM has brought many changes and tons of growth.  Our new chapel has been a wonderful addition to the main campus, the aquaponics program is nearing completion, we’ve had some unbelievable additions to our staff with more to come.  Please check out the mission website if you haven’t yet…  www.NWHCM.org to see what we’ve been up to!  It is an exciting time for us as we prepare for the upcoming year!

I have been incredibly blessed to have my girls, Susan and Katelyn, with me for much of the last year in Haiti. Katelyn (the baby of the family!) graduated high school in May and decided to put college off for a year as she works alongside me at NWHCM.  Susan is now back in the states and is considering different schools.  You can be sure that you will still see her regularly in Haiti this year though!  My sweet hubby, Jim, now (finally!) being finished with the crazy legal issues we have been dealing with over the last several years is looking forward to being able to spend more time in Haiti over the next year.  The week or two here and there he’d been getting in were just not cutting it! My son and daughter-in-law will be joining me next month for a visit as well!

The prison ministry is going strong and continues to be my passion.  There are well over 300 prisoners now in the Port-de-Paix prison that we have the privilege to minister to.  So many of you have helped make it possible for us to provide them with (among many other things!) clean water, bars of soap and other toiletries, Bibles, medicines and clinic care, sewing classes, English classes… and hope.  These men and women have responded so passionately to the words of Christ and have been a challenge to me to learn more as they have such a hunger for the Word of God.

The brothel ministry has probably brought the most surprises this year.  We are now ministering in four different brothels and have seen unbelievable change.  These girls are my heart… but this ministry has grown now to include many men and children.  We had over 20 men, children and women praying along with me to accept Christ at the LaPointe brothel just before I left to come home for the holidays!  The PdP brothel has gone from having as many at 12-15 girls working to maybe 2-3 this year and the owner (Papa Yo) and his wife have actually taken in 24 teenaged boys that were living on the streets.  They now have a place to live, are being fed regular meals and will be starting school in January.  PRAISE GOD!  Who would have ever seen a change like that coming?!?

As always, I am still asked regularly, both by strangers and those who know me well,  WHY prisoners and prostitutes?  And my response is always the same.  WHY NOT?!?  God has called us to love the lost, broken and sometimes seemingly unlovable people of this world.  I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world that He has called ME to love these two groups of people so passionately, to get to experience the blessings that come with obedience and the pure joy that comes from seeing lives being transformed for the Kingdom.  You can read some of my blogs for a better understanding of the “why’s” at  www.MelonnieinHaiti.com.  I cannot begin to thank you enough for the support that SO many of you have shown me in these ministries.  It absolutely blows me away to see the way you have stepped up and responded to the needs of my sweet friends.

As far as my personal support needs, I am still looking for several monthly supporters to step up and help my family continue in our work.  We took a big hit to our support earlier this year and had an overwhelming response from those willing to step up and help us get back on track.  We are close.  The biggest need we have as a family this year is to have enough travel money in our NWHCM account to cover the extra trips in that Jim is hoping to make this year and the trips home that I am hoping to be able to make in between my May and November/December breaks.  At this point I am planning on leaving for Haiti Dec 28^th and not returning until May 5^th.  That’s a long time to be away from home!

I ask that you prayerfully consider making a one time donation or becoming a monthly supporter in order to help us reach our goal of not having finances dictate our family time.  We are all committed to my work in Haiti but can honestly say that it’s been very hard for our family to be apart so often over the last three years especially.  This past year was the first time that trips in/out didn’t get to happen because of support issues and it was a real eye opener for me.  We are trusting that God will provide what we need this year and hope and pray that He gives us a peace about what the future holds.

If you would like to donate to my work in the prisons and brothels and help my family continue to serve together in Haiti, you can do so online (the easiest way!) by going to the GIVE page on my personal blog (MelonnieinHaiti.com) or on the mission website.  You can also choose to mail any donations directly to the mission offices at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, 7271 Mayflower Park, Zionsville, IN 46077.  Please make all checks out to NWHCM with Melonnie Kelly in the memo line.  Every penny helps so please don’t think your $5 or $10 a month wouldn’t be a help!  It all adds up!

2011 has been a year of ups and downs for the Kelly family… we have been so grateful to have so many of you standing with, and behind us, throughout it all.  We are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us over the next twelve months!

Thanks for taking the time to read about our year and our needs.  I pray that God blesses each and every one of you MIGHTILY this year and that you continue to stay involved with helping the lost, broken and hurting people of Haiti.

With much love and gratitude,

Melonnie Kelly and family

One huge update:  We had enough shirts donated for the “brothel boys” school uniforms!  I have also gotten a message about someone bringing school supplies Friday night so it looks like school will be in session when I get back!  WOOOHOOO!  (Thanks Jodi and Dawn!)

Here’s what we are still looking for.  You can bring them by and say hello on Friday night or drop it in the mail if you are too far away.

batteries (sizes D, AA and AAA)
individual portion drink mixes
packs of playing cards
toiletry items (bars of soap, shampoo, toothpaste)
notebooks  (for prison and school at brothel)
packages of Oreo’s
bathroom size paper cups
boxed milk
cake mix/frosting
cupcake liners
pouches of chocolate chip cookie mix

Monetary donations needed (cash or check):
* money to restock depleted supplies listed above and baggage fees
* sewing instructor at prison $80/month
* Bibles and song books $10/each
* money to build business opportunity for girls leaving the brothel (about $500 each)

The open house is this Friday, Dec 2nd, from 6pm-9pm.  The address to come, and to mail, is 18 Huntsman Look, Ormond Beach, FL  32174.

Thanks for being a part of keeping these ministries going!  Hope to see you there. 

I am beyond blessed and pray that you all are feeling God’s love as much as I am today.  I have been overwhelmed by your generosity this week as so many of you have donated supplies from my list for Haiti.  Today is a day of family for me…  A ridiculously big Thanksgiving dinner at home with the whole family (yay!) and then heading out to serve  another feast to people without a celebration of their own to attend this afternoon… with the whole family again… even the mom-in-law, Lol.

Try to find someone to bless today!  xoxox

Here is a quick recap of what’s been going on and what we are trying to do next…

I am hosting a “different kind of Christmas Party” at my home in Florida on December 2nd.  I am hoping that ALL of my Florida friends get to stop by and visit for a few minutes as Katie and I will be gone until May 5th when we head back to Haiti after Christmas!  For those that don’t live close enough to come, you can still participate (as so many have already done!) by sending in items on the list or donations to help us gather the much needed supplies and money for our Haiti ministries to my home address.  These are the items we are looking for:

batteries (sizes D, AA and AAA)
individual portion drink mixes
individual portion condiments (ketchup, mayo, salt/pepper, etc)
packs of playing cards
toiletry items (bars of soap, shampoo, toothpaste) *biggest need*
notebooks/pens/pencils (for prison and school at brothel)
packages of Oreo’s
bathroom size paper cups
boxed milk
cake mix/frosting
cupcake liners
pouches of chocolate chip cookie mix
beef jerky
sewing supplies (fabrics, thread, patterns, elastic, zippers)
all over the counter meds (especially anti-fungal cream)
individually wrapped candy (no chocolate)

Monetary donations needed (cash or check):
* money to restock depleted supplies listed above and baggage fees
* sewing instructor at prison $80/month
* Bibles and song books $10/each (biggest need)
* money to build business opportunity for girls leaving the brothel (about $500 each)
* money for school uniforms/supplies/food for Papa Yo’s boys. (24 boys, ages 8-18)

You’ll notice the school supplies… I haven’t had much of a chance to blog about this but this is a HUGE opportunity to help Papa Yo in his quest to change his business and lifestyle.  As some of you already know, Papa Yo has taken in 24 homeless boys, ages 8 to 18, and is housing and feeding them all on his own.  He has converted most of the brothel rooms into dorms for the boys and his next step is building them a school.  He has built two “VIP” rooms in his dance club and will use those for classrooms during the day.  He is hiring teachers on his own.  The only thing he has asked me for is help with school supplies and uniforms so the boys feel like they are actually going to a “real” school.  I am open to suggestions on how to go about getting 30 matching shirts for the boys along with backpacks, notebooks, pencils, etc for all of them.  I have their clothing sizes and shoe sizes.  These are some of the sweetest boys!  They have been participating in our Bible studies and Katelyn has agreed to work with them when we return to Haiti as their Bible teacher.  One little boy has already accepted Christ (thanks to Papa Yo’s help) and I just know that God has a huge plan for this time in their lives.

Anyone know of a good place to look for donated laptops?  I am in need of a few for the staff at the mission and at the prison.  I couldn’t care less how old they are as long as they still work.  Same thing with old iPhones… let me know if hear of anything like that.

Our family is really looking forward to Thanksgiving Day this year!  We have so, so, so much to be thankful for!  We have a busy day planned in having an early Thanksgiving feast and then heading out as a family to serve another feast to those less fortunate or just plain lonely.  There will be LOTS of cooking going on in the Kelly house this year! 

I am so grateful for each of you… for your prayers and your support.   Thanks for helping me step out in obedience with an army surrounding me!

Maeka is just a girl…  a girl who has made some bad decisions… who feels like there are no other options… a girl that my daughters both adore… a girl who has captured my heart and who wants to know Jesus.  Pray that she and her baby both get that chance.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place
I can feel His mighty power and His grace
I can hear the brush of angels wings
I see glory on each face
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place

This was my last visit until January so I definitely went into our time together with a sense of urgency.  We have had mostly men and only a couple of women at our weekly Bible studies at this particular brothel but this time there were around 15 men and 10 women along with several children crammed into that little house.  The men have been surprisingly open and involved in the studies and have been eager to ask for specific prayers each week, opening up about their personal and family troubles.  It was the men who were busy preparing the room for us… setting up table and chairs… sweeping the floor… it really touched  my heart to see that they were trying to make it nice for us!   This is definitely not the norm as far as Haitian men opening up to us in this way.

In addition to being surprised at the huge number of people rushing into the room I was really surprised to see Marloune there.  (she is the girl that was so badly beaten in the local brothel last spring)  God must have wanted to be sure she heard the message!  She moved from the local brothel to the LaPointe brothel just two days ago.

My plan was to wrap up our study on grace and then to speak to the men and women about what it really means to give your life to the Lord.  I had brought some creole Bibles and booklets that really explain who Jesus is and why we need Him so much in great detail.  I wasn’t sure where I would end up but trusted that God would take care of the details.

As we got started, I opened in prayer and as I invited God into that place, and asked Him to fill that house with the Holy Spirit… it was like time slowed down and I felt it… and heard it.  I don’t know how to explain this to you but from that first instant, Ashley, Katelyn and I knew that something big was happening.  The words that came out of my mouth for the next hour were not my own… no matter how I tried, in my typical stubborn way, to bring it back to my plan… God had another, bigger plan.  This little room was absolutely filled with men, women and children… and it was completely silent.  If any of you have spent even five minutes in Haiti, you know that it is NEVER silent here.  It was incredibly intense to see every set of eyes staring at my face, hanging on my every word… to see the hope on their faces… to be honest… it scared the heck out of me.  What on earth was God doing here?  What if I screwed this up?  There was clearly something big happening,  the air was thick, my mouth didn’t stop moving, my heart was pounding and I am telling you… I could hear the brush of angels wings.

I cannot even tell you most of what was said… like I said, not my words… but their came a point where I stopped and told them that this battle was going on all around us.  That God was protecting us with His angels because He loves each of them SO much that He wanted to be sure they got every.  single.  word.   I asked each person in that room to close their eyes and try to hear it and see it.  To try to picture the angels surrounding us fighting off the darkness all around us.  Every set of eyes closed.  The brush became a roar.

I continued speaking quietly about God’s urgent, but loving desire for each of them and then explained that I was going to close us in a prayer that would invite Jesus into our hearts, a prayer of sacrifice and change, a prayer of dedication.  I told them that it wasn’t about me… that I didn’t want them to raise their hands… or to even speak the words out loud… but to pray them silently if they chose to do so.  This was a private and personal decision between them and God.  As I let the words flow from there I could sense the power in the room… and hear the brush of angels wings.  I saw the look of determination and desire on each face as they prayed with me.

I knew the Lord was in that place.   I felt His mercy and His grace wrapping around us… and I could certainly see the glory on each of their beautiful faces.   It was breathtaking and beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.  It was a very special, very personal time… and I thank God for it and for each of my new brothers and sisters that will share in Heaven with me.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place
I can feel His mighty power and His grace
I can hear the brush of angels wings
I see glory on each face
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place