Big Kenny Making a Difference

If you have been visiting my blog in the last month you know that Port-au-Prince and the earthquake have been constantly on my mind. This tragedy has touched my heart in ways I cannot fully explain. Prior to the quake I knew about Haiti. I had a friend who was a missionary in the Dominican Republic whose heart was set on seeing the island of Hispaniola reunited into one country. I understood some of the politics and history of the area. Still, when the quake hit that was as far as my connection went until I heard of David Hames.

I have never met David or his family, but I have friends who are his friends. My life has been tied up in the search of the Hotel Montana for him and the rest of the people who are still missing there. I am learning about community through this experience and that will be the subject of another blog post. As I have watched this unfold there have been people who have moved onto the stage as heroes in this story. One of those people is Big Kenny Alphin. 

I didn’t know much about Big Kenny prior to this. He is half of the country duo Big and Rich and is now working on his career as a solo artist. When the earthquake occurred a good friend of BK’s was in the Hotel Montana. Walt Ratterman  was there working on a project involving renewable sources of energy for rural hospitals. BK put his life hold and flew down to Haiti.

Over the course of the last few weeks Kenny has been at the site of the Montana and has been involved in many aspects of the rescue including digging alongside the Search and Recovery teams. He did whatever needed to be done. He offered his celebrity if you will to bring attention to the plight of those waiting. When supplies were needed or word needed to get out he was there to trumpet the request. He gave everything he had while there.

Big Kenny has returned home to his family, but he hasn’t given up the fight. From stateside he is still working his magic to keep the attention on the areas that need it. He won’t give up until Walt and the other missing at the Montana are found and brought home to their families. But, as I visited his web site I see that he is also committed to Haiti and helping them rebuild. He will continue to help long into the future.

May God bless Big Kenny in the love he has for his fellow man.

I wrote this post on Saturday, but this morning a Facebook friend posted a link to an article. I wanted to share the article about Walt and Kenny's friendship with you.