While their peers were catching up on sleep and heading home after finals, a group of OU women basketball players left May 15 for a weeklong mission trip to lend a hand to the Haitian people.

The group partnered with Mission of Hope, an orphanage located 20 miles north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The mission trip was lead by Adam Barnett, a former male practice player on the team. Barnett, College Missions director at Journey Church in Norman, approached the team about going to Haiti in September 2009.

Barnett asked assistant coach Jan Ross if the team would be interested in going. He told her about the ministry and how he had been on a mission trip there before.

Ross told Barnett she was interested, and began asking around to see who else would take the opportunity.

Junior guard Danielle Robinson said she had been on a mission trip before and had wanted to go on another ever since. When Barnett approached the team, she said was interested in the opportunity.

“The biggest thing that we’re taught is that we should not only develop as players but as people as well, nothing is better than going on a mission trip, especially with your whole team,” Robinson said.

Approximately 25 players, coaches and staff expressed interest in going, so plans were made to begin preparations.

However, when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, the Sooners were unsure if they could still make the trip. The disaster devastated much of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. The quake killed hundreds of thousands and left millions homeless.

The Mission of Hope was spared from much of the quake’s destruction, Barnett said. It became a place of refuge for people who needed food, supplies and medical attention.

Mission of Hope urged the Sooners to still make the trip — the volunteers were needed more than ever.

Carlee Roethlisberger said the trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of the team.

“It was just great to walk in and put a smile back on the kids’ faces,” said Roethlisberger, junior forward. “Even in such devastation, the kids could be so happy. The first thing out of their mouths was ‘Are you a Christian? I’m a Christian.’”

The group spent the week building a guest house for Mission of Hope, organizing medical supplies and playing basketball with children.

The team gave OU sportswear and new shoes to a local basketball team of teenage boys and girls.

“These are kids who play basketball barefoot,” Barnett said. “To see them decked out for the first time was pretty special. And being able to watch the basketball girls play, not for a performance, but using their talent to serve and to put a smile back on the kids’ faces.”

The first thing the group did when they arrived was to help Mission of Hope with a church service
outside with more than 1,000 people in attendance, Ross said.

“It was just awesome, they worshiped with such enthusiasm for people who have nothing but each other,” she said. “They were so thankful for everything they have. It was really moving to see how much they love the Lord.”

Ross and two team members spoke in classrooms to students May 17 and brought items to give away. Before leaving on May 21, Robinson and sophomore guard Whitney Hand spoke to 1,300 students and afterward the students sang a song for them.

“One of the hardest things to do was to have to leave,” Ross said. “It was an awesome trip.”