Rueben has faced cancer more than once, and he talks about it with a steady, grounded confidence that comes from years of choosing faith while walking through the unknown.
“I never believed I was done. Even when I heard the word cancer, I never thought that was the end of my story,” he said. “God is good, all the time. If He brought me to it, He’s going to bring me through it.”
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Rueben was facing surgery at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis, more than 100 miles from his home in Robinson, Illinois. He and his wife Chelsey and their three children planned to travel together as a family. But the obstacles were overwhelming.
“We didn’t even know how we were going to get there,” Rueben said. “Rides were falling through, insurance wasn’t confirmed until the morning we were supposed to leave. It felt like everything was breaking down.”
After a scheduled transportation service didn’t show up, a neighbor came to the rescue and drove the family to Indianapolis, just in time for Rueben’s pre-surgical appointment at the hospital.
After his appointment, the family checked in to stay at Fair Haven. They were impacted from the moment they walked in the door.
“I came back from my appointments and found out we were there,” Rueben said. “And from that moment on, it changed everything.”
For a husband and father preparing to undergo surgery, that sense of peace is what mattered.
“It meant the world to me,” Rueben said. “Any time I’m away from my family, that’s hard. But knowing they were somewhere like that took the worry off me. I could focus on getting through what I had to go through.”
After Rueben was admitted to the hospital for surgery, Fair Haven staff helped to support Rueben’s wife Chelsey and their children, Sharif (14), Sade (11), and Hakeem (7).
“We feel comfort here,” Chelsey said. “All of our anxieties and worries about the surgery, transportation back and forth to the hospital, and so much more were completely eliminated because of the staff here.”
After a long day at the hospital, Chelsey and the kids were relieved to return “home” to Fair Haven, where they enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by volunteers, and where they could relax and unwind. Chelsey was able to do the family’s laundry. Sharif, a talented artist, created an incredible original sketch as a gift to the staff. And Sade, who has a beautiful voice, stood in front of the fireplace and performed a song one evening!
“It was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had,” Rueben said. “We felt at home right away. My kids didn’t want to leave. They felt safe, cared for. That’s all they talked about.”
Chelsey felt it too.
“Fair Haven is truly a gift from God,” she said. “We have never been to a place so welcoming and anointed. You can truly feel the presence of God here. Fair Haven is not just a place to stay. Fair Haven is home.”
After Rueben was discharged from the hospital, he returned to Fair Haven to continue his recovery. Even then, that sense of care never wavered.
“I came back and was able to rest,” he said. “People were still kind, still checking on us. And we had time as a family. Time to just be together without all the stress pressing in. That mattered more than anything.”
For Rueben and Chelsey, the experience connected deeply to their faith in God.
“We’re believers,” Rueben said. “So being in a place like that, where you feel that environment around you, that meant a lot. It wasn’t just comfortable. It felt right.”
That sense of peace stood in contrast to all the struggles they had faced to get there. And for Rueben, it all pointed to something bigger.
“I look back at everything that happened just to get us there,” he said. “All the things that could have stopped us. And yet we made it. We had a place to stay. We had what we needed. That’s not by accident.”
That perspective shapes how Rueben leads his family. He and Chelsey have chosen to be honest with their children about their father’s diagnosis.
“My kids understand what’s going on,” he said. “They feel it. They worry. But we walk through it together. And we stand on what we believe. There’s nothing God can’t fix.”
That shared faith gave their children a sense of stability, even in the middle of uncertainty.
“They had peace,” Rueben said. “In the middle of everything, they had peace.”
For a family navigating serious illness, that kind of peace is not small. It is everything.
“The love and kindness of everyone here is family,” Chelsey shared. “If it were not for Fair Haven, we don’t know what we would have done or where we would be.”
“If I could give it ten stars, I would,” Rueben added. “It was everything we needed.”
“We will truly miss everyone we met here,” Chelsey said.
And as their family continues this journey, Rueben’s perspective remains steady.
“God brought us there right when we needed it,” he said. “And He’s still carrying us through.”
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