July 2026

Dear Friends,
This is Philip writing this month. I asked my dad, Bernie, if I could write this letter because I want to share an update about my parents and what their journey has taught me about ministry in Haiti today.
Many of you know about my mom’s condition. She was diagnosed with dementia about six years ago. In the early days, it all seemed unlikely. She was still sharp and vibrant and engaged. She remained active in the ministry, at church, and with her grandchildren. She was so capable that at times I doubted the validity of the diagnosis.
In time, the signs appeared and steadily intensified. Her vibrancy slowly eroded. Over the past two years, she has struggled to recognize even those closest to her, and all but the simplest communication is gone.
Dad has been her primary caregiver throughout her illness. The daily demands of that care are heavy, and the weight only increases as she fades. I see the weariness it brings him. But there is no cure to work toward here, no lasting relief to be found in this life. There is only the daily choice to love her. And every day, I watch him faithfully make that choice, doing all he can to ease her suffering.
Yet beneath the weariness, their lives remain anchored in God, sustained by a steadfast conviction about His purpose in trials and a certain hope of eternal life in Christ. They believe that God is in control of all things. They believe that He is good. They believe that He uses all things—including affliction—to refine us and conform us to the image of His Son.
But clinging to those convictions doesn’t mean we always understand how God is working through these trials. The reality remains that this is an affliction without an earthly solution. We cannot fix it—there is only the call to trust God and love faithfully in the face of what feels impossible. And as I’ve watched my parents live this out, it has affirmed a truth they have preached for decades and often applied to ministry in Haiti.
I know this is not unique to my parents. Many of you have suffered these trials and borne these burdens. And the same reality is true on an astronomical scale in Haiti. Everything about Mom’s condition—the daily struggle, the relentless decline, the earthly hopelessness—is true about Haiti millions of times over. The challenges there have seemed overwhelming since Dad and Mom first became involved and for two hundred years before that—crushing poverty, crippling illiteracy, chronic spiritual oppression. But over the past five years their struggle has multiplied exponentially. Violence, kidnappings, and murder have become a brutal reality across the country.
More and more, Haiti seems to be a problem without an earthly solution. The weight grows heavier. The people grow wearier. What do we do?
Exactly what Dad does with Mom. We remain faithful to the calling placed before us, even when there doesn’t seem to be a cure we can reach. We show our love for suffering Haitian people by actively working to ease their pain today, even when we know there will be more and greater pain tomorrow. And we trust God—His power, His wisdom, His goodness, and His love—even when we don’t understand what He is doing.
But even as we don’t understand the violence, kidnappings, and murder, there is one thing we do understand. The eternal work has not stopped. The gospel is preached in Haiti. It is piercing the darkness and breaking chains of oppression. Haitians are responding. Many are calling on the name of the Lord, and He is saving those who do. They are gaining that certain hope of eternal life—a hope that no gang can steal, kill, or destroy. And as much as we grieve for their suffering in this life, we rejoice for the far greater blessing that they have received by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for remaining faithful in your support of ministry in Haiti, even as the country continues to slide into greater chaos. Thank you for showing the love of Christ and easing the suffering of many Haitians, both physically and spiritually. And thank you for joining us as we trust God in the work He is doing, here at home and in Haiti.
And please pray for my parents. God is good. He strengthens and sustains them through these trials. Ask that He would continue His gracious work in their lives.
Serving the Lord together,
Philip, Bernie, and Sheryl Bovenkamp