Though God and family are most important to Mike Staton, California, he has learned through experience the value and importance of mission work and the difference it makes.
Mike, 42, his wife Robin and three of their children got involved with mission work about four years ago, through their church, Solid Rock Family Church, Jefferson City.
"Myself, Robin, 50, and Stephanie, 20, Scott, 13, and Ryan, 11, went on a two-day mission trip to Craigsville, Virginia with our church," Mike said.
(The Staton family also includes daughters Ashli Eaves, 27, Camdenton; and Kati Larson, 25, South Dakota; and grandchildren Bennett, 2, and Natalie, 9 months.)
"The trip was called Impact Appalachia. You think of mission work being in third world countries, but in Craigsville, there were families with no electricity and nothing to eat. Some of the houses didn't even have a front door. Very poverty-stricken."
Mike said the mission was Project Christmas and included about 25 from his church. "We took presents and coats, blankets, gloves, hats. We had one present for each child. A lot of those kids, that was there whole Christmas. To see that right here in our country, it was very eye-opening. It was a good lesson for our kids who have everything, to see kids who have nothing. The poverty there was extremely sad."
In November 2013, Mike went on a mission trip with his church to Dore Weyina, Ethiopia.
"There were 13 of us on this trip," he said. "Four of us were from California, including myself, Madison Henry, who will be a senior at California High School, and Mark Reuter and his daughter Sydni. We met with Karl Hargestam, a missionary to Ethiopa, and a group of 10 from Bakersfield, California. We were representing Mission One Eleven, which Karl founded."
Mike said the group's mission was to reach the broken and unreached. "We went into the villages to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus, to those who have never heard it. In some areas, we would go out and pray with people, street preach, and we ended every day with a big crusade at night. Thousands of people came; it was like Woodstock. Some of the levels of faith were so high because that's all they have. We prayed for miracles, for healing."
The missionaries stayed six nights in a remote village with no running water or plumbing, very spotty electricity, and they slept on a concrete pad with four walls.
"It was tough seeing the malnourished little kids," Mike said. "No clothes, not enough to eat. It was the most extreme poverty you could imagine. They live in grass huts and it's just filth. It was also hot. There in November is like it is here in July."
Mike said this mission trip was life-changing. "We went into a third-world country that had nothing. After the first couple of days, I thought I wasn't going to make it. But once I sucked it up and quit being a baby, I was okay. I accepted it wasn't about my comfort. Then I ended up having an amazing experience."
While he admits it was tough being so far from his family and sometimes unable to communicate with them, Mike said the mission work was very fulfilling, and he also ended up forming special bonds with other missionaries.
"We had five adults and eight teenagers, who had to stay with an adult at all times," he said. "Madison stayed with me and we ended up together a lot and developed a bond that can never be broken. I dearly love her. Mark Reuter and I also really bonded. He will always be a dear friend. I was honored to serve with him and his daughter Sydni. It's hard to comprehend, but like the people in armed forces who form brotherhoods, I would think the bond all of us formed doing mission work is kind of similar. It's a special bond that can't be broken."
Mike said his mission work has made him a better father, and a better person. "I had my darkest moment over there in Ethiopia. I had always prayed my relationship with God would continue to grow, and it had reached a plateau. It was when the trip was almost over, that it just hit me. I thought back to one night after the crusade when it had rained a lot, and where we slept was all wet. I sat down and I was just done. I felt at my darkest, lowest point. almost to the giving up stage. Later it dawned on me. I realized what little effort I had been putting into my relationship with God. I had just been doing what was convenient. I thought back to that point that I felt so low, and realized it took God stripping me down to nothing that night, so he could build me back up His way. This trip was monumental and life-changing for my own personal growth with the Lord as well as my mission work. Sometimes God's got to shake you up to get your attention."
When asked if he has plans for another mission trip in the near future, Mike said, "I'm not sure yet. I was asked to go back to Ethiopia in November, as a leader. If God wants me to go, he will provide the funds for me to do so. Many don't realize the cost of mission work, even though the rewards are far greater."
Mike also does mission work locally, by leading a prison ministry at the Tipton Correctional Center. "I go to the chapel there twice a week to minister to offenders."
"It's about serving God," he added.
Support for future mission work can be sent to Solid Rock Family Church, 508 Hunter Run Road, Jefferson City, 65109. For more information, call the church at 573-893-4609.