A local family is giving up the comfort of their Temecula home and jobs and moving to Haiti to build an orphanage.
Carl and Krystal Fielstras are taking their three children, 7-year-old CJ, 4-year-old Trenton and 2-year-old Amelia, to Croix des Bouquets in June to work with the Children's Heritage Foundation, they said via email.
"Our entire lives, we have felt called to serve impoverished children of the world," Krystal Fielstras said.
The couple of 10 years has housed numerous foster children on an emergency basis through an agency called New Alternatives, but the Haiti trip will take their volunteerism to a new level.
"We have been provided with an amazing opportunity," she wrote of the trip. "We hope that by giving up a year of our lives for this worthy cause, we will be able to make a lasting difference."
The couple are taking an unpaid leave of absence from their jobs -- Carl is a sheriff's deputy at the Southwest Detention Center and Krystal is a teacher at -- and plan to rent out their home for their year-long trip.
The couple is seeking donations to help them pay for their flights and cost of living for the year. They are also looking for donations to fund the orphanage.
A donation can be made by clicking here. The family plans to keep a blog during the trip, which is available here.
v