Huntington Beach resident builds charity trips into her busy life
Kirsty Henderson believes her purpose in life is to help others.
Henderson, a four-year Huntington Beach resident, has gone to New Orleans, Mexico and Chile on charity missions.
In October, Henderson was granted a two-week leave by her employer, Wells Fargo, to co-lead a team of eight people associated with Huntington Beach’s First Christian Church for about 12 days in Maipu, Chile, to help rebuild parts of a church in a drug-infested part of the city.
“The church [in Chile] is in a bad area of town,” she said. “Their main focus is to create a safe and inviting place where residents can come together, creating a more stable and nurturing environment for families who might not have that at home. The church campus is utilized as a community gathering often, and the facilities were in dire need of an upgrade.”
Henderson said Thursday that she and her team focused on rebuilding dilapidated parts of the church, including restoring a kitchen and constructing a new office.
She said the job required exhaustive manual labor.
“I was really sore the next day,” Henderson said.
Jericho Rhoten, First Christian’s global outreach pastor, applauded Henderson for what she was able to bring to the project.
“She was such an asset to the team in helping with leadership and direction for the projects being accomplished for the community,” Rhoten said in a news release.
Henderson said charity work not only allows her to give to those in need but also exposes her to new people and cultures.
Henderson and her team members stayed in the homes of local Chileans. She said the big family that housed her were very “welcoming and loving.”
She said it was a “slap in the face” when she realized how time-oriented people are in the U.S. compared to Chileans, who are more focused on fostering a sense of community.
The mother of two — a 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy — said she especially appreciated the value Chileans put on family.
“The families have dinner together every night,” she said. “It is relieving to see.”
Henderson said she fully recognized her charitable drive during her first trip to Mexico, to build homes for destitute families.
It was during her high school years in Indiana, where she grew up.
She vividly remembers those families.
“They couldn’t even express how thankful they were to us for taking a short amount of time to lift a hammer,” Henderson said. “That might have been the first time I realized I enjoyed this.”
A few years later, in 2007, while Henderson was attending Hope International University in Fullerton, she went on a trip to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
With a small group of students, she helped rebuild a home for a family devastated by the violent storm.
When Henderson met with the family, she was moved by how grateful they were.
“Their house had been completely destroyed and they were so appreciative,” she said.
Seeing the city in ruins had a chilling effect on Henderson. Even though a year removed from the hurricane, New Orleans still bore scars.
“Houses that had been completely under water were just sitting there,” she said. “It looked like the flood had just happened in a lot of areas. It’s sad to see when you go to some place like that, and they have had everything taken from them.”
Henderson said the trips have expanded her perception of the world and reminded her of how fortunate she is to be living in Huntington Beach.
Henderson carries her experiences with her.
“I feel like I have left a little piece of my heart in all these places,” she said.
Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
