The Krebs are dear friends of the American Reformed Church in Woodstock and missionaries to Bahrain
Update from Keith Krebs
November 2022
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7 NRSV)
Dear Friends:
Connections are important. We are rooted in Christ. We can draw Living Water and life-giving spiritual nutrients through our rooted connection to Jesus. The Apostle Paul urges us to continue.
I live in the Mojave Desert. I just planted this Palo Verde tree. Its connection to water as it establishes its roots will be critical. I have to keep it watered so it can sink it roots deep.
As the Spiritual Care Coordinator for RCA Mission in Europe and the Middle East. I provide spiritual care to all missionaries and mission partners in Europe and the Middle East. I schedule regular check-in meetings with the missionaries and partners to provide a safe space and chaplain services. I connect using Zoom and WhatsApp video (you can do this too as a way to connect with your missionaries). I will be leading a retreat gathering for the missionaries in the Middle East in January and for Europe in 2024.
In my recent connecting-conversations I asked two questions:
1. What encourages you?
2. What discourages you?
Here are some of the missionaries’ answers:
“I am greatly encouraged when, after months of hard work and planning, a program is finally launched that brings people together. Needs are met and people are blessed.”
“I am blessed and encouraged when someone confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord, and continues to grow.”
“I am encouraged when a refugee establishes a connection with a sponsoring church or family and settles into a new home and job and community after long months in a refugee camp.”
“Dissentions and conflicts discourage and drain me.”
“Juggling all the demands of ministry and wanting to keep connected to my family can be discouraging.”
“I was deeply discouraged when a young man gave his life to Christ and then recently gave up and left the church.”
I asked one more question: “What are you experiencing more of right now? Encouragement or discouragement.”
I encourage all who read this letter to keep connected with your missionaries. Add some encouragement-balance to bless them and energize them.
Thank you for your support and prayers that keep me connected and encouraged.
Grace and Peace,
Keith Krebs
Prayer of blessing for a new baby.
Blessings of 2021
I have been using a way to pray called “palms down, palms up” with patients. I first read Philippians 4:4-7. And then we rest our hands, palms down, in front of us and release our anxieties and petitions to God one at a time. After each “release,” we turn our palms up to receive from God. For example, we release anxieties over a quickly approaching surgery and then receive the presence and peace of God. We release concerns for family members back home and then receive God’s care for them. We confess and release our sins and receive God’s forgiveness.
One day I visited a resident who was admitted for alcohol detoxification. He shared his anxieties and how he wanted to quit drinking. I share with him about Alcoholics Anonymous and how he could contact them. And then we talked about turning his struggle over to God on a moment-by-moment, day-by-day basis. And then we used “palms down, palms up” to begin turning his struggle over to God. He was grateful for the new way to pray.
This prayer has been a wonderful spiritual resource for patients, staff, and in our daily chapel service.
Touring the new King Hamad American Mission Hospital construction site.
Challenges of 2021
The COVID 19 pandemic has added a lot of stress to the hospital staff. Many tested positive as well as their family members. Schools were closed and stay-at-home learning created challenges for households where husband and wife are both working. Many spouses of AMH staff have lost jobs and financial pressures added even more stress. I have spent a lot of time with staff, listening and praying.
Hopes for 2022
Denise and I look forward to connecting with our supporting churches in this time of transition and sharing our stories and gratitude.
I look forward to conversations and gatherings and prayer for all our RCA missionaries in the Middle East and Europe. God’s grace is being revealed and at work in amazing ways and I am grateful that I will be involved in the lives of those serving in these ministries.
Ward 1 Nurses Farewell
How We Can Pray
After eight years serving the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain, Denise and I have returned to the United States. I will conclude my time as Chaplain at the end of March 2022. And then I will begin a new calling, serving RCA Global Mission as the Spiritual Care Coordinator for RCA Mission in Europe and the Middle East.
Keith with the new chaplain, Paul Deutsch
Additional Needs
As Denise and I move into our next chapter in ministry, I want you to be aware of two opportunities to continue supporting RCA Global Mission.
One, I invite you to continue my support as I begin my new position as the Spiritual Care Coordinator for RCA Mission in Europe and the Middle East. I will be providing spiritual care to all missionaries and mission partners in Europe and the Middle East. I will schedule regular check-in meetings with the missionaries and partners to provide a safe space and provide chaplain services. I will also be leading retreat gatherings for the missionaries in Europe one year, and the Middle East the next year.
Two, I invite you to support Chaplain Paul Deutsch, the new Chaplain at the American Mission Hospital.
Thank You
Prayers, cards, letters, and emails have been greatly appreciated. I know by the way God has sustained and protected Denise and I over these past eight years, we have had the strong spiritual support of all of you in our supporting churches and we are very grateful.
We are going to be grandparents this coming June!
Update December 2021
“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
(John 1:5 New Living Translation)
Dear Friends:
After eight years serving the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain, Denise and I will be returning to the United States. I will conclude my time as Chaplain at the end of March 2022. And then I will begin a new calling serving RCA Global Mission as the Spiritual Care Coordinator for RCA Mission in Europe and the Middle East.
As A.A. Milne told us through Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
My first day as the chaplain at the American Mission Hospital was January 1, 2013. My time here has been full of joy, surprises, and wonder.
A surprise came after I had been here for two weeks, I realized I had talked with people from 20 different nations! I decided to make a list of every country in the world and keep track of how many different nationalities I have met. As of November 16, I have met people from 134 nations! Bahrain is a very unique and special place!
I have had many pleasant surprises. One day early on, I walked into a hospital room to visit a patient and was greeted with coffee and baklava. This never happened in the USA! The hospitality and welcome one experiences in Bahrain is a special treasure to cherish.
There is an awe-inspiring wonder in experiencing the compassion, grace, and love given by the staff of AMH to patients and each other. Patients know we are different from other hospitals and clinics, and they tell me so when I have visited them in their hospital rooms.
When one of our doctors, Dr. Solomon, died from complications from COVID-19, I experienced an AMH family that, as in all loving families, shared compassion, grace, and love for one another. It has made all the difference as we walked through this time of grieving and managed this COVID season together.
Dr. Solomon
I am full of wonder and gratitude as I witness the hand of God blessing AMH over these past 8 years. The expansion of compassionate, grace-filled, loving health care through the additions of the Amwaj and Riffa clinics, the relocation of the expanded Saar clinic, and the soon-to-open King Hamad American Mission Hospital, are evidence of God’s mercy and love for this place.
Dr. Ravi and Shilpa
I pray God’s blessings in the days ahead. Please receive my deep gratitude for all your love and support.
As Denise and I move into our next chapter in ministry, I want you to be aware of two opportunities to continue supporting RCA Global Mission.
One would be to continue my support as I begin my new position as the Spiritual Care Coordinator for RCA Mission in Europe and the Middle East. I will be providing spiritual care to all missionaries and mission partners in Europe and the Middle East. I will schedule regular check-in meetings with the missionaries and partners to provide a safe space and provide chaplain services. I will also be leading retreat gatherings for the missionaries in Europe one year, and the Middle East the next year.
Another opportunity is to continue supporting the Chaplain of the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain. The Reverend Paul Deutsch has accepted the call to serve beginning January 1, 2022.
If I can answer any questions, please contact me or Scott Engelsman at RCA Global Mission (sengelsman@rca.org, (616) 541-0892).
Denise and I will be available to speak in churches in February and March 2022. Please schedule a time for our visit by contacting Kathy DeKock, kdekock@rca.org, (712) 737-4952.
Thank you for all your love and support!
With deep gratitude,
Chaplain Keith and Denise Krebs
Update July 2021
Dear Woodstock Church Friends,
Greetings from Bahrain. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Bahrain is slowly opening once again after several weeks of lockdown due to a COVID-19 resurgence. Shops and restaurants are open to those who are fully vaccinated. We have an app on our cell phones that has the “green shield” with our photo that proves our status. We still have a mask requirement everywhere we go.
The awareness of the strength of this virus has been heightened while living on an island that is only 10 miles wide and 30 miles long and has a population of 1.7 million people. Things can quickly get out of control if we do not look out for one another.
A vigilant spirit prevails here at the American Mission Hospital. The support, love, and care of the doctors, nurses, and staff provide a solid foundation to stand on in times of crisis and challenge. It has been a true joy to be a part of such an amazing place during this time.
Our patients sense this, too. They know they are safe here. We all have a “green shield” badge we wear showing we are vaccinated. We wear our PPE. We smile with our eyes since no one can see our complete smile.
Wearing my green shield
Patients are greeted, temperatures are checked, and then they are provided guidance as they enter. I often hang out and provide greetings with an offer to guide patients where they need to go.
Getting my temperature checked
I make my rounds and visit waiting areas and keep aware of anyone who seems to be struggling to find the doctor they are scheduled to see. I meet so many interesting people from so many nations (I keep track, I have now met people from 131 nations. The most recent, Mauritius).
Construction is progressing towards an on-schedule, November 2022 opening of the new King Hamad American Mission Hospital. The hospital will be built in two phases with the opening of a maternity and children's hospital followed by a 100-bed multi-specialty hospital. Covering nearly 30,000 square meters, the hospital will include a single-roomed ICU, Imaging Center, Infertility Center, 300-seat auditorium for chapel services, meetings, and conferences. The new hospital will be the fifth location of the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain with other locations in Manama, Saar, Amwaj, and Riffa.
The photos below are when Dr. George Cheriyan and his wife, Darly, took us on a tour to show us the progress. We prayed together. And we invite you to join us in our prayers that this new hospital will continue to carry out the mission of providing healthcare to the people who live in Bahrain with the biblical values of Christ’s compassion, grace, and love. Also pray for the recruiting of 300 plus staff, including the doctors and nurses, technicians, and all the other personnel that will be needed. (If you are a doctor or nurse who has felt the nudging of God’s Spirit to serve in missions, this might be the right time to explore that inkling!)
Progress on the new hospital, April 2021
Denise and I are grateful for your prayers and support! You can contact us at kkrebs@rca.org; What’s App at +973 3419 0454, or Instagram at amhbhchap.
With deep gratitude,
Keith and Denise Krebs
Update: December 2020
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:5 New Living Translation
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Merry Christmas from the American Mission Hospital in Manama, Bahrain.
Denise and I are completing our seventh year here in Bahrain. We just received the renewal of our resident visas and have the green light to continue our ministry.
As we celebrate the Light of Jesus that shines in the darkness of this world, I am reminded that it is the nature of light to shine into and change dark places.
This year has had more than its share of darkness. COVID-19 has changed local and global interactions.
One change is Denise and I are not planning any travel in the near future. We keep in touch using WhatsApp and Zoom video calls and meetings. If your church would like to have me share by internet streaming, or a pre-recorded message, please contact me at kkrebs@rca.org.
Another change is I now stream the morning chapel service on Zoom each morning at 7:10 AM. Only a few can be in the chapel to maintain social-distancing protocols.
During this crisis, the mission at the American Mission Hospital continues to provide excellent and affordable health care with the biblical values of compassion, love, and grace. This has made all the difference during this time when patients come to the hospital with a higher-than-normal level of stress and worry. Our doctors and nurses make all the difference. Our high-level of safety protocols provide assurance that they are safe and will receive a high-level of care.
Many of our normal Christmas season activities will continue, others will not.
We will still have our department's Christmas decorating contest. Last year the Chaplaincy/Call Center area took second place!
American Mission Hospital Annual Department Christmas Decorating Contest
There will be no end-of-year AMH Staff Dinner and Celebration.
The construction of the new King Hamad American Mission Hospital is full-speed-ahead. I visit the site every few weeks to pray for the expanding ministry that God is blessing the hospital in this country. American Mission Hospital was the first hospital in the Arabian Gulf countries back in 1902 and continues to be one of the leading and innovative health care providers.
Signing ceremony for the construction of the new King Hamad American Mission Hospital.
Construction of the King Hamad American Mission Hospital.
Denise is volunteering this year in the elementary department at Al Raja School, providing extra reading support for children. Her additional ministries include the Outreach Ministry Team, Simply the Story Bible study groups, and church school leadership at the English Language Congregation.
Thank you to all for your continuing prayers and support of this growing and vital ministry. May our God shine the light of his presence and we are guided through these challenging times.
With Deep Gratitude,
Keith and Denise Krebs
Dear Friends and Supporters:
American Mission Hospital (AMH) has been providing healthcare for the people of Bahrain for over a hundred years in a non-profit setting. The ideals by which AMH was first established have remained unchanged in over a century of service.
The ideals that drive us today and into the future are based on the following tenants:
The provision of affordable high-quality care in a non-profit setting
To deliver care guided by the Biblical principles of love, compassion, and grace.
Care that is delivered as a team that allows us to harness the expertise of all the team members and help nurture the development of every employee to fulfill their role in the organization
To pursue excellence in everything we do with absolute integrity
A willingness to adapt to the changing needs of the people we serve
