As he looks around all he sees is the dilapidated buildings and what little remains after the 2010 earthquake that almost wiped Haiti out. Waiting for the buses to arrive with a Bible in his hands, he hopes to see Jardlin, the same little girl he grew attached to last year.

When the children pull up, their faces light up as they run off the buses. Then one little girl jumps right into his arms, with a grin from ear toear.

“Her remembering me and not wanting to leave my side just left me speechless every single day,” junior Christian Asberry said. “She opened up water pouches and helped feed the kids. I know it wasn’t anything I did or showed her. It was her owning the misfortune of her community and wanting to make a change.”

This past summer, he spent a week in Haiti on a mission trip with Fielder Church for the second year in a row. While there he painted houses, planted trees and served as a camp counselor.

“They are still trying to recover from the natural disasters the country faced,” Asberry said. “We are wanting to empower the Haitians so they make the change instead of relying on others.”

Each day started off with Vacation Bible School for the kids in the surrounding villages.

“I could tell the children were excited to see us,” Asberry said. “Seeing them happy was a really good feeling since I know the kids’ situation.”

Afterward, the mission group would feed the students. He said there were certain things from this trip that made him look at life differently, especially the generosity the Haitians showed.

“Seeing the (kids) eat what was most likely their only meal of the day and still offer me their food and water while they’re living in poverty was really heartwarming,” he said. “The kids don’t have access to the resources we have here in the United States.”

Afternoons consisted of community maintenance.

“The work was difficult because it was very hot outside,” Asberry said. “I had to get dirty and help plant trees and work on houses but in the end, it was all worth it.”

Asberry said that most of the places the church visited were low income areas.

“It was really disheartening to see so many areas in Haiti that are heavily occupied in poverty and despair,” he said.

After the earthquake, more than two-million people were left homeless.

“That hurricane caused an impact that is still there today,” Asberry said. “People are still rebuilding and recovering from that devastation.”

One thing that bothered Asberry the most was the amount of malnourishment he saw.

“It was very disheartening to see so many men, women and children dehydrated and hungry,” he said. “Seeing families looking for food in the trash was something I will never forget.”

While driving through villages, Asberry saw people attempt to clean themselves by bathing in small streams, full of heavily polluted water.

“It made me sad because not only are they bathing in used water, but that it is the only water they have available to them,” he said.

His mom, Reyna Asberry said she was hesitant to let him go on the trip.

“I was really nervous at first because he (was going) on a plane to (another) country,” she said. “I let him do it because I saw how excited he was and how passionate he was to help other people.”

The trip cost $1,000.

“It was expensive but the experience was worth it,” he said.

Pastor Tony Aviles said that it is important for the youth to gain new experiences.

“We are a world of cultures,” he said. “In a world full of uncertainty, there is nothing more certain than our need for each other.”

Aviles said that he always notices a change in people when they return from mission trips.

“When you go looking to serve, that will always reap a blessing,” he said. “(It) is not in our nature, but in the nature of God. When you immerse yourself in his nature, you can do nothing but change.”

Reyna said she is glad her son thinks of others.

“He has done a lot for people (in) the past couple of years,” she said. “Going to another country to help others really made me proud of him.”

Aviles recommends everyone go on a mission trip.

“You will not be the same when you come back,” he said. “And that change is worth it.”

Asberry said this is an experience he will never forget.

“I thought I would go to Haiti and just bless these kids by helping them,” he said. “It was the opposite, it was them blessing me every day.”