There are many reasons I love my church, but one of them is the desire to reach the city of Dallas, starting in our own community. There is a middle school right across the street from our church, and it has been the prayers of many original church members to get involved and to pour into that school. The time has finally come. One of the greatest things is the partnership with many of the school authorities (including the former principal, the new principal as well as the assistant superintendent of Dallas schools). I cannot even begin to explain the overwhelming response from our church body to reach out to the community.
- There were 638 volunteers that made this day possible
- 1500 members from the community
- 900 backpacks filled with school supplies donated for many children that would have otherwise not been able to purchase these items.
- I’m almost certain that 95% of those that came were hispanic!
Wow…if ever there were a time I wish I knew spanish, it would have been that day. Some mothers came up to me and began speaking and my brain had to go into translate mode…And it wasn’t all that great.
- Lunch
- Dental check-ups
- Blood pressure check
- Diabetes check
- Hearing test
- Haircuts
- Backpacks
- School registration
- Nutritional information
- Family photos
- and of course some activities for the kids!
We had some bounce houses, face painting and other “carnival type” activities. My favorite activity available were of course the bounce houses. However, since it’s so stinking hot here in Texas, we have broken records for the high temps AND we’ve had one of the worst droughts Texas has had on record, we pulled out the water hoses and had the ultimate “slip-and-slides.” The kids loved it. It really was like being at a mini water park.
