For years, Bob and Patty Tunnell have spent their free time racing cars. Google Bob and the first thing you find is his advice for the novice driver.

But after racing 20 to 30 weekends a year, the Tunnells decided to cut back on racing, do other things and see what happened.

At a Christmas party in December 2007, watching a video gave them direction. That video was about a place called Barek Aub in Afghanistan. Barek Aub means "fragile water" in Dari, the native language of Afghanistan. Bob called that "ironic, because there is no water."

In the video Bob saw a teenager trying on a coat just like the coat he'd donated at Flatrions church a few weeks earlier. Bob realized, "The jackets made a difference."

Seeing that video that made the Tunnells realize they had to go to Barek Aub. Bob said, "This is why we got passports, this is why we cut our schedules back without knowing why."

Barek Aub is a settlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's) about 25 miles from Kabul. While some might call Barek Aub a refugee camp, the people who live in the settlement are not refugees from another country; they are natives of Afghanistan. Many left during the Soviet occupation and the rule of the Taliban. Now they are coming home only to find, as Bob explains on his Web site, "Their homes, businesses, schools, and clinics have been bombed out... their water supply (what little there was in the first place) has been contaminated or destroyed... their farms and grazing lands have been scattered with thousands of land mines. They have no homes and no way to earn a living."

In April, the Tunnells' made their first trip to Barek Aub with other members of Flatiron Church. The trip is not easy. They flew from Denver to Detroit to Amsterdam to Dubai to Kabul, Afghanistan. They crossed 10 and a half time zones.

When the group arrived in Kabul, Bob said just the drive from the airport to their guest house was depressing. Seeing Barek Aub wasn't any better: there were few homes.

The families in Barek Aub eat when trucks come in with donations from private relief organizations and other non-governmental organizations (NGO's). Bob heard most residents only eat every few days.

The government brought in water once a week. There was a well for water, but it wasn't deep enough to be reliable. Sozo International and Flatirons Church helped get a deeper well dug. When the well started working, the government stopped bringing in water making the settlement totally dependent on that well.

Patty explained the people in Barek Aub are not illiterate or lacking skills. "These are people who had successful careers, successful lives," Patty said. She explained many fled during the Soviet regime and now have come back to nothing. They have skills, but no resources. The people living in Barek Aub are doctors, teachers, engineers, chefs, but they need help. Sozo International and Flatirons Church give the settlement resources.

Interestingly, the Tunnells and the other members of their church were not invited to Barek Aub to volunteer their time, build homes or make meals. The visitors were actually brought in to see what is needed, then go home and tell the story of Barek Aub. Patty said these "forgotten people" don't want aid for the rest of their lives, just help right now.

Patty brought toothbrushes donated by the dentist she works for. They were told you can't show favoritism, so if you want to bring something, you have to bring enough for everybody. That means you can't bring five toothbrushes or even a hundred, you have bring hundreds of toothbrushes. Patty did. The Tunnells also brought hundreds of pens donated by a neighbor. When one traveler brought M&Ms to the guest house where they stayed in Kabul, they later saw one worker splitting the bag evenly for the staff, one M&M at a time.

The children of Barek Aub were so proud to show off their school to the visitors. The school is inside an army surplus tent. Patty described the tent as hot, with no lights, no books and few chairs. But she also explained that the children were so excited to "show us their blackboard, they wanted to learn so bad."

Patty learned to say "Hello, my friend," in Dari and used the phrase as she met the children. She would take some colored string out of her pocket to show the girls how to make a "cat's cradle", a common American childhood game. One girl came running up to the group because she already knew how to play. Patty said even "on the other side of the world, we're still able to communicate."

The Tunnells spent a lot of time talking to people and spending time with them one on one. Bob explained the people of Afghanistan are "not use to accepting aid, so it's important to them to meet people and thank them personally, it's critically important to them."

As they left Barek Aub, a man stopped their convoy. He told the translator his daughter was getting married and he invited the church members to come. The translator kindly refused because he knew the father of the bride would feed everyone, then he would not have enough food to feed his family for several days.

In November 2007, only 10 percent of the people in Barek Aub had homes; by April 2008 that number rose to 70 to 80 percent. When Sozo International asked the elders of Barek Aub what they wanted, they didn't say houses, they said they wanted a school. So Flatirons Church committed to raise the funds for a school building and medical clinic.

One way Bob and Patty decided to help raise money and awareness was to change the sponsors on their race car. It now says in bold lettering "BarekAub.com Save someone's life today, Really." On the Web site visitors find a simple explanation to "What is a BarekAub and why is it on the Tunnel''s race car?" There's also a journal from their trip, lots of photos and how to help.

Bob returned to Barek Aub with a group two months later, in late June. When the men arrived, they found the foundation for the new school and medical clinic finished, the villagers were laying bricks for the walls. Through a translator, the group explained to the elders that it would be a great honor to help. It took some negotiations, but they managed to explain the Americans wanted to work side by side with them. The elders decided to let the men help.

The church members came with gifts again. Instead of toothbrushes for the kids, this time they brought T-shirts for the workers. The shirts said "Dostum," meaning friend. It was written on the shirts in English and Dari. The Americans also brought 100 pairs of work gloves to share. Bob said the work gloves "were a huge hit."

Bob noticed in April that most of the men at Barek Aub had beards. Bob grew a beard on the April trip by necessity because there wasn't enough water for shaving. When he found out he was going back, he grew a beard on purpose. Bob said with the beard, he "fit in a little better. I was shocked at how they identified me as an elder of the team. I felt accepted elder to elder."

Bob returned home to Colorado in July from that second trip. He said his trips to Afghanistan have made him appreciate what he and Patty have. "We didn't sell everything we own when we got back, but it made us more thankful," Patty explained.

Patty said they think about the people at Barek Aub every day and they want to go back and do more. She said, "They touched us in ways we'll never forget."

"I hope we never change them, I hope they change us more than we change them," Bob said. Patty said the trip enhanced her life and she said Afghanistan was the last place in the world she would've thought she'd want to go.

Now she wants to go back. Bob is hoping to lead a trip in the future.

Learn more about Barek Aub and see more photos on Bob's Web site for BarekAub. You can also learn more about Sozo International and Flatirons Church.