The smile on a child's face when he's given his first-ever bicycle is small in comparison to the joy on his father's face in the parking lot as he teaches him to ride it.
That's what keeps Mike Staton and his family returning each December to one of the poorest regions in the United States with the mission Impact Appalachia.
The mission distributes coats and blankets to families, as well as age- and gender- appropriate, wrapped gifts to children in four communities. For many children, that's the only present they receive at Christmas, Staton said.
But it's not for the commercialism experience of receiving gifts that keeps the California family returning for the four-day mission. They want to share the real meaning of Christmas.
"We tell them these gifts are from God; we're the hands and feet of God," he said.
Impact Appalachia reaches towns of high poverty, like Pineville, West Virginia, where the coal mining industry has dried up.
The short mission trip has been a life-changing experience for Staton and his family, and very fulfilling, he said.
"There's a wide-range of emotions," Staton said. "You can go from laughing to tears."
"Our goal is to be a blessing to others, but we are equally blessed," he said. "Missions is near and dear to my heart; I love it."
"The Bible tells us to go into all the world and share good news," Staton said. "Wherever God calls us to go, we go."
Impact Appalachia also is inexpensive, allowing the family to participate together, Robin Staton said.
"We realize our families are blessed and we want to share our blessing with them; to let God's light shine through us," Staton said.
For some in these depressed communities, individuals are embarrassed or have lost hope.
The Statons want to share "nothing's impossible with God; we believe there is always hope," he said.
Robin agreed she felt like their lives intersect with individuals during these mission trips for a reason.
"You know you were supposed to have a conversation with them," she said.
And some individuals, the Statons have stayed in touch with for the long haul.
After the Joplin tornado, Staton and several other men loaded up water and chainsaws for a day of service. While there, he met an affected family with whom he still stays in touch.
"I'll always love them; they'll always be part of me," Staton said.
