CCU's Shelton Reaches Out to Haiti for Summer Mission Trip
This past summer, Cincinnati Christian's Drew Shelton traveled to Haiti as part of a mission trip and he made a huge impact for Christ.
Shelton is a member of the men's basketball team, and he is going to be a junior this year. His experiences and love for Haiti have really shaped who he is and are proof of what it means to be a true athlete of CCU. He would like to thank the NCCAA for their donation in order for him to be able to go on the mission trip. The following is his experience this summer in his own words.
"I've been to Haiti the four past summers. I go to Lakeside Christian Church and us, along with our sister church First Church of Christ in Burlington, have adopted a village called La Coma through the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. Over the past four years we have helped support the village and also build a church and a house for the pastor and his family that serves the community. The mission that we go through, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, is one of the largest and most established missions in the country starting back in the 70's. I fell in love with the people and their culture. They are some of the happiest people I know even when they have nothing; or at least nothing from our standards. To them, family is everything and they will do anything for each other. They would even have no problem splitting half of their meal with an American. They treat their guests as family. They rely on their faith to keep them going. Although the region that we go to is known as the voodoo capital of the world, there is much progress happening and great things are taking place.
The best experience I have had in Haiti happened just this past summer when we met a family who had a member on her death bed. They were waiting for her to be taken to a hospital about 3 hours away, and we were all able to go inside their hut and circle around her and pray for her. It was a very moving experience. We ended up going back there a couple days later and found out that the doctors said that there was nothing that they could do for her. They were sending her back basically for her just to wait and die. We prayed again with the family and it was just very moving seeing the way that the family handled it. We later found out that the main thing wrong with her was high blood pressure, so to think that if she was in the United States she most likely would have been perfectly fine.
Another great experience that we had was a community meal where over 200 people came. We were able to feed them for a night and we washed all of their feet. It was the most humbling experience that I have ever been a part of. To see the smiles on all of their faces and the thanks they had for what we did was incredible.
But these little things that we were able to do for them are nothing in comparison for what they did for all of us and especially me. Being there four years in a row, I have built great relationships through Christ with the people there. They have taught me many life lessons and I can never pay them back with anything tangible. It truly gives a whole new meaning to having brothers and sisters through Christ."
CCU Athletics is proud of Shelton and his accomplishments on the court but more importantly off the court.