CALIFORNIA, Mo. -- The smile on a child's face when he's given his first 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.
However, it's not the commercial 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 Bible tells us to go into all the world and share good news," Staton said. "Wherever God calls us to go, we go."
The short mission trip has been a life-changing experience for Staton and his family, and very fulfilling, he said.
"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."
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 the message "nothing's impossible with God; we believe there is always hope," he said.
Robin agreed she feels 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.
The Statons have stayed in touch with some individuals for the long haul.
After the Joplin tornado, Staton and several other men loaded 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.
Staton has also traveled to Ethiopia and inner-city Brooklyn on missions through his Jefferson City church, Solid Rock Family Church.
Missions-minded, Staton looks close to home in addition to traveling to care for those in need.
"I love the community of California," he said. "This is my home, and I serve here first."
He supports the Moniteau County Christian Ministries and often helps neighbors on an individual basis.
He has been ministering to offenders at the Tipton Correctional Center for seven years, teaching classes in self-improvement and building faith.
"The classes open opportunities," Staton said, "but they bless me."
Although Staton feels called to be the hands and feet of missions, he stressed missions have a role for everyone. Those who go need to be supported by those who give materially or financially and by prayer, he said.
Staton's faith began to grow exponentially about a decade ago when he and his family got involved in a church, he said.
"I've grown a lot spiritually," Staton said. "You've got to be right with yourself before you can be a blessing to others."
In the future, Staton said he would like to go to Ethiopia again or South America or the Philippines.
For now, he's in a sense of waiting: "If God calls me to go, I'll go.
"I don't have one place; I'm open to wherever I'm needed."