The Gift of Giving Many of us are taught at an early age that it is better to give than receive. There are many in today's society that choose to live their lives in a "Me First" fashion as evidenced by the many reality shows available for our viewing pleasure. How we choose to live our lives is a decision each one of us has to make. Parks Bureau Sergeant Robert Amstutz (Bob) of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (L.A.S.D.) is making the choice of giving, something he has done most of his life. When you work as a deputy sheriff for the L.A.S.D., fifty-five and above is an age where most Department members retire. Bob is retiring at age fifty-three, two years earlier than he thought because he has too much work to do. This two years of early retirement will cost him and his family monetarily. Does that make sense? Maybe not to you, but it does to Bob and his family. On January 12, 2010, the country of Haiti suffered a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake. By the 24th of January 2010, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater were recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates ranged from 100,000 to 160,000 people. Many countries responded with humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. Often, after events such as this, when the initial shock wears off and the fundraising is over people turn their attention to something else. There are still many problems and issues, but someone else will take care of it. Well, Bob and his family are the "someone else" taking care of it. Bob's daughter Paige, now 16 years of age felt the need to go to Haiti to help out when she was just 12. She learned from her Bible School teacher about missionaries their church was sending and spoke to Bob about going on one of those trips. Bob and his eighteen year-old son Parker, met with Pastor Greg Barshaw from "Connect 2 Ministries" to discuss the possibility of going to Haiti to help. Pastor Greg spoke of the many projects they were doing and one of the things that seemed to get Bob's attention was the "House of Hope Orphanage" located in Fermathe Haiti. The orphanage is home to seventy-seven children effected by the catastrophe. The orphanage receives no support from the Haitian government and is run solely by monies and supplies donated by Connect 2 Ministries. Pastor Greg told Bob about a condition called "Quashakor," a protein deficiency that many of the children there suffer from. This is due to the lack of a stable source of meat in their diet. The Pastor said that there was a plan to bring rabbits and build a habitat where they would raise them to provide a stable source of protein. Parker spoke to Bob's Father, Robert Sr., a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, to seek his assistance because he was the only one in the family with knowledge about raising rabbits. In April of 2014, the three generations of Amstutz men made their first trip to the orphanage. Parker and Robert Sr. arrived first and stayed two weeks and began to assemble cages and build a structure to keep the rabbits dry in the wet Haitian environment. Robert Sr. headed home and Bob arrived and joined Parker for two weeks completing the project. When Bob returned home after this trip, he knew that he wanted to do something more significant with his life. He spoke with his wife Kari and told her that his heart had been stolen by the children of the House of Hope Orphanage. Kari suggested that he retire early to pursue his new found calling. Bob and Parker returned to the orphanage in July of 2014, but this time Kari and Paige joined them. They were there mainly to monitor the care of the rabbits, check the production of the first litter and modify the existing cages. Kari and Paige like Bob and Parker, fell in love with the children as they has the same heart for giving, it's in the blood. The Amstutz family returned to the orphanage in October 2014 to construct another set of cages. The rabbits they initially brought were now ten weeks old and ready to be a food source for the children. The meat was a hit with the children and the adults as well. The Amstutz family is returning to the orphanage this December to bring Christmas to the 77 children. While enjoying the holiday, they will also build a chicken coop to start an egg production program. Bob plans on retiring in March of 2015 and will continue to work with Connect 2 Ministries making monthly trips taking care of the needs of the orphanage and local church. If you are asking yourself why he would do this; why doesn't he wait a couple more years and then retire? Bob said, "His heart has been stolen by the children of Haiti." To understand how that happened, you merely have to look at the pictures of the many beautiful children at the orphanage. What would the world be like with more people like the Amstutz family? I think I would like that place. If you are interested in following the progress of Bob and his family in Haiti, you are encouraged to go to their blog at, "5n2 Project.com," or contact him at b1amstutz@aol.com. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Parks Bureau is dedicated to providing a safe and drug free environment at all Los Angeles County Parks. Providing Public Safety for Parks
Sergeant Robert Amstutz (Bob)
Sergeant Robert Amstutz (Bob)
Sergeant Robert Amstutz (Bob) Family
Sergeant Robert Amstutz (Bob) Family