volunteer spotlights

  • Sarah Teegarden

    My name is Sarah Teegarden. I am 28 years old and live in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. I graduated from Johnson Bible College and am currently working at the Regional Prevention Center of Comprehend, Inc where I work in substance abuse prevention. I am a member at New Hope Christian Church in Maysville, Kentucky and am blessed by my church family there.


    I became a volunteer with the mission out of what some people would say was a fluke, but I know it was God. I had planned to go to Haiti in February of 2011 with a group to Port-Au-Prince to help with earthquake recovery. When the time was drawing nearer, Teen Mission made the decision that it still wasn’t safe enough to take a team there and suggested we visit a mission they had recently taken on in a village called Dufailly. I had never really wanted to visit Haiti. I had told God I loved missions but just didn’t want to go some place that was jungle-like and humid. Dufailly ended up being pretty much just that. I know God had to be almost laughing as He saw me fall in love with this village that I did not want to come to. It only took a few days for me to realize I would be back to this village, Lord willing.


    I have now been back four times and plan on returning in October. I could go on and on about why I keep coming back but the answer is simply God. I feel God calling me to work with the village. I feel God calling me to love the children like they are my own. I do not have a husband or children at the moment, so I take my vacation time at work and am blessed to go twice a year. It really has become a vacation of sorts for me. I look forward to each trip with such anticipation. Only God could take something that I thought I would hate and make it into something that I dream about and long for.


    This mission has changed who I am for the better. The people of Dufailly not only touch my heart, but they teach me about love and strength in Christ. I have seen what true hunger looks like in a child, and yet, see that child laugh and play and smile through the pain. I have seen people who have nothing according to the world’s standards act like they are kings and queens because of the love of God. I have been taught humility and have had my eyes opened to the world that includes so much more than just my little box I had made it.


    God has taught me leadership in helping lead Vacation Bible Schools and has shown me a spirit of courage in speaking in front of a crowd of women and singing in front of over 400 people at revival. I have been able to pass out food, clothing and medical supplies to people who, otherwise might have never received those things. These are experiences that only come from serving God. You cannot begin to tell people how it feels. It is something one must feel for themselves.


    I greatly encourage anyone to go and see first-hand the amazing work God is doing in this village. If you cannot go, I encourage you to really consider giving of your time or money to sustain this mission. God calls us all to be missionaries. Whether it’s working here in your own backyard or working overseas, we have to be doing something to win others to Christ.


    Please be in prayer for this mission and please let us know if you are interested in serving with us in anyway. We always love to see new people join our Dufailly family!



  • donnie campbell

    My name is Donnie Campbell. I’m 58 years old and live in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and serve at Fox Creek Christian Church. I’ve been self employed for 37 years in the construction business. Building, remodeling and fixing most anything around the home or shop is my gift. I actually enjoy a hard day’s work or a challenge that takes a plan. This can come in handy around our church here in Kentucky, so as I grew stronger in faith and willingness to reach out, I decided that building a church in another country would allow me the opportunity to really be of help to others. I thought I would be able to really help others to learn about God and His plan for them.


    Was I ever wrong! Oh we got the church built and a school with wiring, plumbing and all, but it wasn’t me who helped them, it was them who helped me! It was my faith and trust in God that was strengthened. Being involved with people who had much less made me come away with much more than I ever had before. It was I who learned to trust in God and not in myself. God set the time schedule to accomplish His goals that were much more important than mine. It was God who introduced me to the ones He wanted me to meet to inspire His will being done more than me choosing who to try and teach His will to. Through the poverty and needs of others, it was God that taught me about my many blessings and about the true priorities of life. I only pray that those without weren’t made to suffer so I might be shown His grace and mercies.


    There was one small child, in particular, without even a stitch of clothes on taught me how to love our neighbor, not just as we love ourselves as in the Mosaic Law but to love our neighbor, even more, as Christ loved us, which is the New Covenant. Through a smile of love shown us because we wanted to help, this small child inspired us to bring school to hundreds of kids in his village. Building, teaching, Vacation Bible School, revivals, baptisms in the creek, making friends with people who I can’t understand, learning the culture of a whole new people, and witnessing the miracles of God’s creation; all while being surrounded by those who love to serve God. It isn’t heaven but it’s got be close!


    A piece of advice before leaving on any mission trip is to always pray for God to change things for the better. I’ve been seven times to Dufailly Haiti and God has always answered my prayer. I have a long way to go, but with each trip it is I who has been changed for the better.


    Go with us and see what changes God has in store for you!


  • lisa floyd

    My name is Lisa Floyd. I am a 43 year old mother of two wonderful children, a committed wife to my husband of 22 years and a full-time employee outside the home. I first went to Dufailly in 2012, but had kept up with the great work God was doing there through others at my church who had gone many times before. Each time I heard stories from the recent trips made, my heart would ache and my stomach would have butterflies. I kept thinking to myself, “If only God had made me for that purpose.” It seemed like someone else’s job to do and I didn’t have the gifts that would be needed to perform the sort of work God would require.


    God had other plans and therefore, as a result of that first trip in 2012, I came to the realization, through the Holy Spirit, that I had defined Jesus’ command of going out, making disciples and baptizing them as action items only for certain people, but not for everyone…certainly, not for me. My eyes and my heart were opened. I realized God’s commands for us do not have stipulations or exceptions, but instead, we are all part of His body and therefore, need to obey His word and carry out His commands. Don’t think you’re equipped? God really enjoys showing you otherwise. Through our weaknesses, He demonstrates His strength!


    I have a passion for Dufailly Christian Mission and the many blessings that I see God working there every day. I see God weaving a beautiful story of His creation in Dufailly gathering people from separate worlds and different languages but with the same purpose – to serve a faithful and mighty God. We work and play hard together and not a moment goes by during this time that we are not sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. As those of us in the mission pray for direction and wisdom from God on how best to share His Word, we witness opportunities to not only bring new believers in Christ, but we witness dramatic spiritual changes in ourselves.


    There are many missions out there to support, but Dufailly Christian Mission was established in the heart of a small village in Haiti with its focus solely on Christ. We are “home-grown” and include a group of dedicated volunteers who, out of the passion they have to serve Christ, give of their time, talents and resources to heed the call that God has placed in their hearts. With God’s direction, we desire to build a strong body of believers that can go out and make believers of others in their world. We want to raise up children who learn the importance of a relationship with Christ and become a new generation of believers seeking ways to do God’s will and make the world around them better.


    We need you! God assembles people of various types, ages, colors, nationalities, etc. for His glory. He receives joy in making the most unusual pairings, circumstances and situations work together to accomplish His will. This mission has its roots in Haiti and our roots run deep. It has not been an accident or by coincidence that so much has been accomplished. God has a plan and I pray that you will prayerfully consider becoming a part of this plan, whether it is joining us on a trip or reaching out to let us know you can support the mission financially or in helping to gather/organize items needed for each trip. Together we can do so much to offer encouragement and strength to each other in our faith until the day the Lord comes and take us all home! Oh, what a Glorious Day that will be!!


    “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” ~ Hebrews 3:13

  • tim wells

    My name is Tim Wells. I am a 34 year-old elementary school teacher. I live in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky with my wife, Lori, and two wonderful daughters.

    For several years, I had heard of the work going on in Dufailly, Haiti from members of my church who would return home following frequent short-term mission trips. Year after year, I listened to their stories, looked at their photographs, and even contributed financially to the ongoing work of the mission.


    A year ago, I listened to yet another presentation about what God was doing in Dufailly. However, this time, my response was different. This time I felt compelled to do more than write a check or send some supplies for the next trip. God was working on my heart, prompting me to play a different role – a much more active role – in the mission. After wrestling with the idea of leaving my wife at home for two weeks alone with our young children and taking 2 weeks off work without pay, I finally surrendered to God’s call and committed to go as the only new member of Team Haiti 2013.


    When I departed for Dufailly in January, I was at a very spiritually dry point in my life. However, when I returned, I was renewed, refreshed, and changed for the better. During my time in that small Haitian village, God used many things to bring about that change. He let me hear the joyful laughter of children filling a schoolyard – not because they could afford the quality Christian education they were receiving, but rather because someone in the United States committed to sacrifice a few dollars each month to send one of these underprivileged children to school. He let me see the smile on a child’s face as she ate from a plate mounded with rice and beans – not because she was accustomed to having 3 square meals a day to fill her stomach, but rather because someone gave of their time and money to pack a few bags of rice and beans at Harvest for Haiti event in Kentucky just months earlier. He let me hear the beautiful praise and worship music made by a few teenagers on guitars and keyboards – not because their parents had bought them top-of- the-line instruments to practice on, but rather because some musicians in Ohio had donated several instruments so these young people could learn to use their musical gifts to praise the One who had given them their talent.


    God used these experiences and many more to teach me this lesson: there is so much more that God is capable of than just what happens in our small corner of the world. In revealing Himself to me in such a mighty way, He renewed and revived me, transforming my spiritual desert into rivers of joy.


    Though I have always known that God – the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe – is almighty and all-powerful, I never cease to be amazed at how He can take the simple gifts we offer in faith and transform them into something that can impact so many lives and bring Him glory. God is definitely not finished with His work in the small village of Dufailly, Haiti! And I hope that you will partner with Him in His work to proclaim the Good News which has the power to set the captives free.