Gardiner, Spann, Stuehm Visit Haiti

Last year, the Oklahoma volleyball team missed out on a mission to Haiti with fellow student-athletes from across the athletic department due to its eight-match tour of Europe. This year, juniors Kimmy Gardiner, Michaels Spann and Christina Stuehm took the opportunity to join their friends and classmates on a service mission to Haiti beginning on May 9.

Throughout the coming week, the three Sooner volleyball players will blog their experience here for SoonerSports.com. You can follow the Sooners 4 Haiti on Twitter for daily updates here: @Sooners4Haiti

Simplicity, Love, Joy

May 13
How do I even begin to describe Haiti? Simplicity, love, joy. We come here to show the kids love and help them out in anyway possible, but in reality we grow the most in all of those characteristics. The ease of our lives makes its so hard to be content with what we have, but in Haiti, they have all they need, Christ. It is humbling to walk six miles to paint a family's house that thanks you in Creole or to let little children braid your hair and draw on your arms and ask you to just hold them for hours on end or to go to church with a group of people who are worshiping in a language you cannot understand, but know they are praising the same God as you. Haiti has been a one of a kind trip that has given me so much more than I could ever give them.

-Micaela Spann