PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove Christian Church sponsors mission trips in the United States to help people who've lost homes from natural disasters, volunteers in its own community and also sends out church members internationally.
A group of 15 church members, including a family, spent a week helping children and orphans in Haiti in December.
Curtis and Casey Spatz led the group that volunteered with an organization called Hope for Haiti. Carole and Carl Vorst, of Missouri, are directors for House of Hope and missionaries are Paul and Kate Clark of Tennessee.
Hope for Haiti runs an orphanage for 19 girls and also sponsors a school for boys and girls. Other ministries include vocational training, helping elderly women and offering church services.
The Prairie Grove group stayed at the orphanage, brought their own food to cook and spent a lot of one-on-one time with children.
They also installed a toilet and built a door for a family who lives next to the orphanage. The father helps with projects at the facility.
This was Matt Huber's first mission trip and he said he was encouraged by his wife, who has been on a mission trip to Cambodia.
"I was inspired by her and took a leap of faith to step out of my comfort zone," Huber said. "As a church body, we give our tithe to help others but we really don't know what the needs are until we go."
Huber said he was not really shocked when he arrived in Haiti and saw trash in the streets, people wearing smog masks, and viewed damage from violence and the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in 2010.
"I think that's because we are desensitized," Huber said.
He said it took him a day or two to realize that he could make a difference in Haiti.
"You can make a difference," Huber said, adding that he hopes to return and next time will know more what to expect.
"When you meet and see the people, you know it's having an effect on the kids," Huber said. "It makes you want to give more."
Jobin Kirik, his wife Becky, and two children Alaina and Alex participated as a family on the mission trip.
Kirik said he returned from the trip with a new appreciation for what he has in America and wanting to serve others more.
At the same time, Kirik said he "soaked in" what he learned from the people of Haiti.
"Just the Christian folks we were around there. You think they'll be sad but they have more peace and joy in the simple life than you find here in America," Kirik said.
His daughter, Alaina, 12, said she came home missing the children from Haiti. She said she found it hard to explain the experience to her friends in Prairie Grove.
Shelley Williams said the group brought Christmas gifts for the orphanage, such as sheets and towels. They also gave clothes, toys and necessities, such as shampoo and soap, to the children.
The Prairie Grove volunteers presented skits about the story of Jesus' birth, attended a church service hours away in the mountains and sang lots of songs with the children.
Huber said a big part of the week was playing soccer with the children through a program called Pitch Soccer. Hope for Haiti uses soccer to build relationships with the children, meet needs, teach skills and share about God.
They traveled by vans, not walking far from the orphanage compound. The complex was surrounded by a concrete wall with razor wire stretched across the top of the wall. An armed guard stood at the gate to the compound.
Most said they want to return on another mission trip.
Huber said the language barrier was a detriment to sharing with the children. He would like to study more of the language -- Haitian Creole -- before going on another trip. He also would like to help teach the children basic English.
Two other things the group learned was to be flexible. Though there was a schedule, the volunteers learned to operate on "Haiti time," which is very unstructured. Another saying was to "put on your Haiti pants," which again means to be flexible and to be ready for hard tasks.
Huber gave this as one of the takeaways for him from the mission trip: "God was telling me to be content with what I have and to appreciate it."
General News on 02/22/2017