WEEKEND WARRIORS STRIVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.Byline: Holly Andres Staff Writer PORTER RANCH - Armed with smiles and handshakes, the Weekend Warriors from Shepherd of the Hills Church attack urban realities of hunger, homelessness, pollution and lack of faith three Saturday mornings a month. ``Smile - that's the biggest thing you can do,'' said David Wood David Wood may refer to:
binger drug addict, junkie, junky - a narcotics addict . Lots of kids and toddlers, too. I've seen people at the end of their rope. Actually, their rope ran out weeks ago. It's bad, really bad for so many people.'' Wood, an insurance claims adjuster and a member of Shepherd of the Hills Church, said his initial motivation for becoming a Weekend Warrior was curiosity. Making a difference in the community and lives of others became ``a need and a responsibility'' after participating in a variety of projects over the year and a half that the program has been in place at the nondenominational non·de·nom·i·na·tion·al adj. Not restricted to or associated with a religious denomination. Adj. 1. nondenominational - not restricted to a particular religious denomination; "a nondenominational church" church. ``Lots of people have never seen how these people live,'' Wood said. ``It's not nice, and it wakes you up. We're reaching down to them and helping them up for one day out of a horrible nightmare during the week. The Weekend Warriors have done great, great things. Everyone who volunteers loves God, and they want to help people.'' Volunteers at today's project at the church will assemble school supplies kits that will go into backpacks donated by Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. . They will be given to needy need·y adj. need·i·er, need·i·est 1. Being in need; impoverished. See Synonyms at poor. 2. Wanting or needing affection, attention, or reassurance, especially to an excessive degree. kids in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Mexico. Weekend Warriors, consisting of all ages, have cleaned emergency equipment for the Red Cross, prepared mailers for the Crisis Pregnancy Center Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), also known as pregnancy resource centers,[1][2] are non-profit organizations established by pro-life supporters that work to discourage pregnant women from choosing abortion. , visited veterans and picked up mounds of trash and bottles from Stoney Point Stoney Point may refer to:
``I've gone places I never knew existed, cities of tents under bridges,'' said SHC SHC Sears Holdings Corporation (Hoffman Estates, ILt) SHC Self-Help Clearinghouse (Valley Cottage, NY) SHC Spring Hill College (Mobile, AL, USA) SHC Solar Heating and Cooling Missions Coordinator April Tabura, recalling the Under the Bridge project last Saturday. ``One person can make a difference. Some of the volunteers go home crying when they see how they've touched others in these circumstances.'' Vicki Ross loves the projects where she can meet people and share the gospel of Jesus. Ross appreciates that the scheduled Weekend Warrior projects eliminate the need for her to search for groups who need volunteers. ``I'm a Christian; I can't love Jesus and not do the actions that he would want me to do,'' Ross said. ``If they don't want to hear it, move on until there is a future opportunity when they see how Jesus is in your life. You never know when you say one thing how it will affect one person. We're planting seeds. God does the rest.'' Getting people, teens and children included, out of their ``comfort zone'' is a blessing for both the volunteers and the needy, Ross said. Being a Weekend Warrior also allows Ross the opportunity to tell others about her ``really neat church.'' Striving to follow the church's 2003 theme, ``The Year of Kindness,'' Tabura keeps an ``acts of kindness'' list where suggestions about reading the Bible to the sick or the elderly, preparing ``welcome kits'' for foster children or just mowing mow 1 n. 1. The place in a barn where hay, grain, or other feed is stored. 2. A stack of hay or other feed stored in a barn. a neighbor's lawn can be found. ``Watching so many lives being changed or touched is the best part of the job,'' said Tabura. ``It has so many sacred parts. We're doing God's work, what he calls us to do and it doesn't get any better than that.'' The backpack project for schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school will be held from 8 a.m. to noon today at Shepherd of the Hills Church, 19700 Rinaldi St., Porter Ranch. Weekend Warriors projects call (818) 831-9333 or www.theshepherd.org. Holly Andres, (818) 713-3708 holly.andres(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: April Tabura, 31, and David Wood, 26, are two of the volunteers from Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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