It will take many years for Haiti to fully return to normalcy as it was known before the 2010 earthquake, but after two years, some ties are being rekindled.
Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM) has held a summer camp for Haitian children for the last several years. The ministry owns an ocean front camp property, and has a missionary family living there to run the facility.
Since 2010, however, the camp has been underused.
“Over the past several years as there’ve been other higher priorities–certainly with hurricanes, and earthquakes, and a lot of things we’ve been dealing with just providing for peoples’ basic needs–our camp program and the ministry that we’ve done there has kind of taken a back burner to other more urgent needs,” admits BHM’s Ron Sparks.
As crisis conditions have begun to calm down in Haiti however, BHM has been able to refocus some attention on the camp. They recently formed a relationship with Crossings Ministries, a Kentucky-based camp organization, which agreed to help develop BHM’s camp more.
Sparks says one group of Americans has already gone to Haiti to help with the camp and more will follow.
The effects on Haitian students in having such a retreat are significant, especially in lieu of the trauma many have suffered in recent years. Sparks says the effect is actually similar to what it would be on kids in a first world nation.
“When you get away from the routine of daily life–just trying to get by so many times–and the peer pressure that is around all children everywhere, [and] just get in a pure, Christian ministry setting, it really is a great opportunity to see lives change for the Lord,” notes Sparks.
BHM is looking forward to all that God will do through this rejuvenated ministry in coming summer days. Pray with them for life change for every student who attends.
