The Kelley Family : Harvest Field Ministries
As Mike and I have grown in our faith and in photography, we have been given the opportunity to interact with so many different photographers that are using their photography to document, help and change the world around them. We have been inspired again and again as we see God take normal every day people who are simply willing to say "Yes" to what He is calling them to do, and uses them in ways they never could have imagined. We continue to be amazed by the faith and obedience these photographers display. It is humbling and exciting and we are truly blessed to belong to such an amazing community.
I am excited to be able to feature one such photographer this morning; Shannon Kelley from Harvest Field Ministries. Shannon and her family are in Haiti working with children and families. They have an incredible story and are excited to share what God is doing in and through them as they work on mission where God has called them.
(All the incredible photos in this post are from Shannon ... isn't she amazing?!)
From Shannon:
A couple months ago, at an orphanage we were visiting in another village, an older Haitian man saw my camera and asked me to take his picture. He proudly stood with his family, his wife and 4 kids, for the picture. After that I watched as the family hugged the oldest daughter and said goodbye as she walked back into the orphanage. They were there to visit their daughter at the orphanage. Here was an intact family with their child in an orphanage purely because it was the only option they had as they struggled to provide. They gave her a better life because someone offered to give her what they couldn't- at the cost of dividing their family.
That moment was the culmination of God throwing us in the deep end and showing us His heart for us here in Haiti. That was the moment that I knew, deeply knew, that we were here to fight for families.
As we move out to Les Anglais with Harvest Field we are so excited about how what they are doing out there molds into our heart for families. They are actively working on reunification of the kids in the orphanage that have families by lifting those families up to where they can provide for their children. They are focusing on lifting up families through vocational projects so that parents can provide for their kids. They are focusing on education and meeting medical needs so that families have brighter futures. This union of our family coming alongside Harvest Field is something that God has perfectly aligned.
We sit and dream about a day in this community where families know that that when they are struggling that they have options and that there is a community around them who will fight with them to better their situation in a healthy, sustainable way. We want to be love to people and families in Les Anglais and meet them where they are.
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Follow Shannon and her family on their blog at www.shannon-kelley.com/blog where they chronicle their day to day life of living in Haiti, loving lots, and taking pictures along the way.
