By Morgan Mizell

NATCHEZ — Thirteen members of Parkway Baptist Church will travel to Haiti to join forces with But God Ministries on a mission to provide various forms of medical treatment, food distribution, home building and to spread the teachings of Jesus with residents in the area.

The group conducted fundraisers and other donations in order to be well prepared for the trip which will put them in the heart of a country where even basic necessities are scarce.

But God Ministries is a mission project founded by Stan Buckley of First Baptist Church Jackson. Buckley’s father was once the pastor at Parkway Baptist in Natchez. A major focus of the ministry is to build a sustainable community for residents especially those who continue to live without adequate housing since the 2010 earthquake.

The mission began its work in May 2011 in a community known as Galette Chambon which is located 18 miles east of Haiti’s capitol Port-au-Prince. The community currently has a medical-dental complex, 44 houses, a church, water wells, a soccer field, agriculture plots, an orphanage, a playground, a house for a nurse missionary and family, a house for an agriculture missionary and family and air conditioned dorms for visiting American teams.

They are now working on another community in the village of Thoman, a mountainous area where Parkway volunteers will work.

Cheryl Givens who is a physical therapist and a member of Parkway said she has always been interested in missions and has gone on several mission trips in the past, including trips to Ecuador and Belize.

“I do mission trips because I realize many people in the world don’t have access to the things we do, especially the ability to hear the Gospel,” Givens said. “Also, we think my grandmother’s family may have roots in Haiti and that piqued my interest in this area.”

Givens said putting her professional skills to work in other places is always rewarding.

“I think everyone should go on foreign mission trips, because it helps you put things in perspective and you appreciate more what you have and have access to,” Givens said. “I remember going to Belize and treating a child with cerebral palsy who had never had physical therapy on a dirt floor. I also taught her parents what to do with her without us understanding each other’s language.”

Other team members, including Henry Whitehead, will go to help with construction and other physical jobs.

“This is my first mission trip, and I will be helping to build a house,” Whitehead said. “They tell me this structure will be about 20 (feet) by 20 (feet) and it will house a family. That is just a little larger than the size of my bedroom to put it into perspective.”

Whitehead and senior pastor Jeff Brewer both talked about the structures they will build as they will be minimal in size and very basic.

“They will be cinder-block houses and will basically have a hole for a window and a door,” Whitehead said. “It is basically just a one-room house for an entire family.”

For team members Elizabeth Tanner and Natalie Russell, the trip holds the promise of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ. They will be teaching vacation bible school to the children in the area.

“It is not my first mission trip, but it is my first time to Haiti, but I am excited because I have checked the But God Ministries website and seen the work God has already been doing there,” Tanner said. “Interestingly, I am a homebody, but when God calls you, you go. He takes care of you when you are doing his work.”

Russell, who recently graduated from Adams County Christian School, believes everyone should get involved in missions even if they cannot physically go on the trips.

“There are many ways you can serve,” Russell said. “You can pray and you can donate things for those going on the trip need.”

Sonya Upton, who has also done other mission work, said she felt a little nervous because she has never been to the area and she knows the culture is different.

“You never really know what you will be facing,” Upton said. “Hopefully we will meet some physical needs and therefore meet some spiritual needs.”

Upton and a few others will take part in food distribution and teaching the classes about women’s health.

Senior Pastor Jeff Brewer said he hopes this trip leads to return trips in the future.

“Our team is diverse, and we will go to aid with construction, education and medical needs,” the Rev. Brewer said. “We know that we are going to a place where there are so many needs and when you do trips like this it makes you thankful for the place you live and the God who allowed you to be born in a country like America.”

The work of But God Ministries is focused on seven S.P.H.E.R.E.S. in the development of these communities — spiritual needs, physical needs, H2O, as they now have five water wells, education, roofs, as they have now built 90 homes and economic development.

“Some of the money we have raised for our trip will go to pay locals to help us build the homes we will be working on,” Brewer said. “That is what is so refreshing to see, we are not only helping a people, but we are helping them learn skills and earn a living.”

The But God Ministries website says there are several things people can do to get involved and help with the mission. They encourage people to pray for the mission, travel to the mission to work, or donate. The ministry is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3). All information is available on their website at www.butgodministries.com.