BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A local nurse is packing her bags and heading off to Haiti Friday to aide with relief efforts.

The Nieland family shared pictures of their past trips to Haiti with ABC23’s Erin Briscoe.

Amara Nieland, a nurse at Mercy Southwest Hospital, will embark on her eighth trip to Haiti on Friday to help provide medical aide in Hinche, which is a city about 68 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.

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Amara told ABC23, “I have no idea exactly what to expect. I'm going there with just myself and God’s covering and I haven't thought about much except that I want to meet the needs of the Haitians. I want to give them hope. I want to encourage them and provide for them not only physically but spiritually and emotionally too."

Amara, her father-in-law Brad and Brad's father Marvin, are all part of the Haiti Endowment Fund.

The Fund is an organization that has built churches, schools and provided medical aide and meals to the people of Haiti for the past 25 years. But the group expects this trip to Hinche to be different than in years past.

Brad Nieland said, “Probably some of our main concerns is Hinche, which usually has about 50,000 people. But with the earthquake, it has grown to nearly 150,000 now. A lot of people have poured in from outlying areas and people fleeing the destruction on the coast."

Marvin Nieland said, “What you are seeing on television is what a camera sees, which is a very limited amount. When you are going in person you are seeing the whole picture and it's heart breaking. It truly is. When you first get home it’s even hard to talk about it without breaking down."

Amara said that this trip she expects to be even more heart breaking.

Amara will be in Haiti for about a week and Brad and Marvin are said to be going to the country in February.