Altrustic Patton discovers tranquility on mission trips
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Eight years ago, Anna Patton went on a voyage to Peru that she described as a vacation. Her father, John, decided to take his two daughters on a mission trip that would shape an altruistic future.
Each Sunday during the 2016-17 school year, the Carson-Newman athletic communications department will shine a spotlight on a current or former Carson-Newman student-athlete looking to tell a tale of life outside of his or her respective sport.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Eight years ago, Anna Patton went on a voyage to Peru that she described as a vacation. Her father, John, decided to take his two daughters on a mission trip that would shape an altruistic future.
The all-conference setter's job on the court is to dish out assists to her teammates to get the spotlight. Being a servant is something that Patton has embraced over six trips to foreign countries over the last eight years.
The Franklin, Tenn. native has been to Peru, the Bahamas, Nicaragua and Haiti, on three separate occasions, spending between a week and 10 days at each location trying to provide the less fortunate with compassion.
Patton cited a verse from scripture that embodies her attitude. It comes from Matthew 25:40 and says, "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
"I believe that God is using me as a vessel for His Love," Patton described. "Once you get into helping people in worse situations than you, it makes you feel a lot better about yourself. Knowing that you are on the earth to help people too. If you go around life and don't help other people and just do things for yourself, it is a self-centered and lonely life. If you branch out, I feel like it builds up your purpose in life."
With several short-term mission trips under her belt, Patton was given an opportunity to travel to Haiti in the summer of 2014 with her father. It was the first of three treks to the Caribbean region over the following 18 months.
In 2010, Haiti was the location of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 to 160,000 people. In the 2010 United Nations Human Development Index, it ranked 145 out of the 182 countries. It is one of the world's poorest countries and the poorest in the Americas region. An estimated three of every four people live on two dollars or less per day.
"When I went my first time, it was the biggest poverty stricken place I have ever seen," Patton recounted. "After the earthquake, they had so many more people living on the street. We got to hang out with an organization called ZanFan. It is a boy's home that gets boys off of the street or in bad living situations. It is run by a woman named Carrie. She funds it while living in California. We got to hang out with them and they are so much fun. I still keep in contact with all of them. The reason I go back is because I keep in contact with them."
Services that would be considered common in the United States are more difficult if not impossible to find in Haiti. During her time in the capital of Port-au-Prince, the junior recalls a woman that has saved the lives and futures of infants.
"One experience that really stood out to me was in Haiti we go around and deliver different food packages," Patton narrated. "We went to a place called Laura's home. It is an older woman who takes in kids with disabilities because in Haiti if you have a disability, if felt like groups would view those people as if they were cursed. A lot of people do not care for the disabled. She had six to 10 kids in her house she was caring after. They were all in cribs and she would go around and care for them. There was a girl that had hydrocephalus, [abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain that causes a rapid increase in head size]. In America it's an easy fix where a doctor can drain the fluid but in Haiti they don't have the technology. It's a moment that has stayed with me."
Each time she makes a journey, the junior brings a big suitcase filled with clothes for the children. On the most recent expedition, she brought footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls donated by the C-N soccer program. For the girls, gifts of bracelets and dresses are met with smiles and appreciation. Money, clothes and other physical gifts are useful, but Patton sees the most important gift she can give any of the people she interacts with to be her kind-heartedness.
"Short-term missions are hard because you can't get a good foundation when you are there. There are more kids than nannies living in ZanFan. The younger kids need to compassion and kindness so when we are there we give them our full attention because they are with each other all the time. It's like they have 80 different siblings, but they don't have relationships with older people."
The Volunteer State native acknowledges that she has learned the language and the culture and wants to return for a longer period of time in the future. Three trips to Haiti has given Patton an outlook on her own life and what struggle truly means.
"It makes me monitor what I say because if I ever think I am hungry, I have seen so many people that are literally starving," Patton said. "It makes me monitor how I act and I try not to complain as much. The younger kids, especially in Haiti, they go through so much more physical pain that I could ever go through."
Carson-Newman's mission statement concludes with three words, "worldwide servant-leaders". Anna Patton said she intends on going back to Haiti but wants to go everywhere in the world that may need someone like her. As a vessel for God, Patton's purpose will continue to be others-centered.
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