Barrett Jones organized a group of 13 students to go to Haiti during spring break. The three Tide football players included Barrett Jones, Harrison Jones and Hardie Buck.
Rex and Leslie Jones along with their sons (Barrett 20, Harrison 18 and Walker 16) led the group.
Leslie Jones shared the information:
"Barrett Jones, Harrison Jones and Walker Jones invited some of their high school friends also, so it was 24 students and 11 adults.
"Leigh and Sarah Gilmore, who run Cross Country and Track, were in the group along with Lissa Handley Tyson, Bear Bryant's great-granddaughter. Barrett knows these people through Campus Crusade and FCA.
"The trip was through Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. Bellevue has partnered with SMI Haiti to send groups to Haiti on a regular basis. SMI is a ministry that has been active in Haiti for 14 years. Go to SMIHaiti.org for more info on the organization. Frank Williams, the President of SMI Haiti, met the group in Haiti and stayed with them the whole time.
"The group stayed at a SMI mission house in Guitton which is about 1.5 hrs from Port au Prince. They worked with a school and orphanage in St. Ard about 15 minutes from Guitton.
SMI and Bellevue Baptist are building a new school in St Ard to replace one that was damaged in the earthquake. Right now the students are meeting in a tent.
The team painted classrooms and bars on windows.
"One of Barrett's favorite accomplishments was that they built a basketball court. They put together the goals, installed them and painted lines on a concrete slab. There was a huge basketball game, USA vs Haiti, the last day. The whole school was dismissed to watch. USA won by a lot even though the Haitians were very athletic.
"Earlier in the week, there was a huge USA vs Haiti soccer game with their high school players and members of the mission team. Most of the guys on the trip were great high school athletes and thought they would be pretty competitive. Barrett gave a great pre-game speech and told his team, "We didn't come to Haiti to lose!" USA lost 5-2. Barrett and Harrison scored the only goals. The team felt pretty good about it until they learned that it was the sophomore soccer team not the varsity that they had played. Haitians are very good soccer players.
"The team also went to a small village north of Guitton in the mountains to visit a school. A lot of these kids had never seen Americans. The team passed out candy, toys and a bag with enough rice and beans to feed 14 people. The kids were so grateful and happy!
"Another day, the team fed the kids a big plate of rice and beans at the school in St Ard. The Haitian children were so careful not to drop one bite and if they didn't finish, they carefully took it home with them.
"It was a great trip, and no one on the mission team was ready to leave!"
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