Connection Studio - Abram & Sarah

During our story presentation we asked the question to whether God would stay with them or not, some of the kids spontaneously responded yes or no. This was encouraging.

For response time, several kids worked with the new story of Abram & Sarah. They used the wood figures and move them through the "desert" re-telling the story. It was interesting to observe them.

Connection Studio

. . . one of our teachers shared. My 3-year-old daughter has been in the Connection Studio each week. She has never been great with taking care of things. However just the other night in the bathub I caught her folding her wash cloth and saying "this edge can go to this edge and this edge to this edge. . ." (This is how material is put away in the Connection Studio) I've also noticed that my daughter's artwork is changing. Before her art was not recognizable, but lately I've seen her drawing images that represent the stories she has heard in the Connection Studio.

What we are doing is sticking with our kids. I see it everyday with my daughter. Thank you, all of you for working so hard to bring God and Jesus into our kids' lives. You are awesome!

. . . another teacher said, "my 3-year-old daughter did a painting (at home) and then said, 'now we need to think about God and look at it.' She wants to bring the painting to church and 'think about it'!

Ganton Center

When I asked my elderly parents to watch the kids one day, I was hesistant to tell my 9-year-old the news. How many little kids like to hang out with old people, not a cool 40 or 50-year-old grandma but an old 80+ grandpa? Much to my surprise and joy, when I told Jeff he was going to spend the night at my mom and dad's, he immediately asked, "Can I tell Allie (his little sister) the good news?"

Going to the Ganton Care Center has made a difference in my kids' lives. Old people are individuals with whom they can have relationships. Grandma Ruth, Grandpa Vern and Mike, all of these people enjoy and look forward to seeing the kids. This is one small but impactful way kids can make a difference.

Allie posing with Grandma Doris, the winner of the Pretty Pretty Princess game.

The second Tuesday of each month wwKids visit the grandmas and grandpas at the Ganton Care Center. We play games, sometimes they play with us and sometimes they just enjoy watching the kids. Unfortunately our visit was canceled today due to illness at the center. We'll try again next month!

Kids Listening to God

Our new Connection Studio for preschool age kids began on September. We have lots of 3-year-old kids who are just beginning to grasp the idea of preschool.

. . . "just wanted to let you all of you know about one of the things that happened this weekend. While we were learning the "listening to God" segment, the part where you talk the kids through "seeing Jesus" with phrases like "Jesus is coming. . . he picks you up and puts you on his lap, He hugs and kisses you," one of the little ones said, "I see Jesus."

How cool is that? Love it, Heather

It's all about the relationship

It's relationships, not programs, that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.

Kids Prayer Wall

Help the people that are losing their job and if they have to move I hope they have a good house. Emma - age 8

I pray
. . . for my auntie to make the right decisions.
. . . for my sister that she will be nice to me
. . . for my dog that died
. . . for my dog that ran away
. . . for uncle Doug, his wife passed away
. . . for my new bed

What Kids are Saying

. . .other night we were eating dinner and talking about Westwinds. My husband and I were both saying how happy we are that Seth has gotten started in such a great kids' program at the church. We told him that he was a Westwinds Kids, which repeated over and over again much in the fashion of a two year old!

Then he looked at me and said, "When Mommy grows up, will you be a Westwinds' kid?" We got a good laugh out of that!

Meal Montage

Thoughts on Volunteering

The following data was from a broad research study, not specifically at WW. But research reveals some things that we need to look at.

Over a course of a year one third of the volunteers recruited do not return for a second year. Here are five reasons people quit volunteering:

1. Ministry area is not well organized – do you have a process or plan that helps you be organized so that when things are busy you can simply follow the process you have already laid out?

2. Serving in the ministry area is not a good use of their time – do you help your team members know how important their role is in the lives of the kids? Do they understand how they are being changed as they serve? Do they see the value of what they are doing?

3. Serving in the ministry area is not a good use of talents, skills and expertise - do you know your volunteers? Do you know what talents, skills, desires or expertise they have? Sometimes people are not serving in the right area. By building a relationship with your team, you can find out their level of satisification. We want to help people serve where they are best suited to be and sometimes that means we lose a person in our area but the Kingdom work is carried on.

4. Role and responsibilities are not clearly defined - do your volunteers know what is expected of them? Has that been clearly and consistently communicated with them? Do you know and understand your personal “job description” that you have agreed to fulfill on the wwKids ministry team?

5. Volunteers receive no thanks for their contributions - do you recognize and acknowledge your team members contributions? A thank you, a quick call to say “I appreciate you,” or share a story with me about how one of your volunteers, something I can share with overall church leadership.

As I look at these 5 reasons, I realize that they are all connected to communications. Good communications would eliminate most of these problem areas. Maybe you haven’t done well in the past on number 1 but do a great job with number 5. Wherever you are, I am sure that you can improve – as can I! This information is to encourage and to help us all be intentional about what we focus on! All of us are growing in our leadership abilities.

What Kids are Learning

In the K6 Experience Studios in June we taught about the Holy Spirit. While playing with a parachute we talked about how Jesus said that the Spirit is kind of like the wind. Then I asked the kids, "In what ways are the wind and the Holy Spirit alike?"

A second grader said, "You know how the middle of a hurricane is really calm, but at the same time, the outside is really blowing hard and knocking down trees? Well, the Holy Spirit can do calm things and really big powerful things at the same time!"

And ALL of the groups came up with up "you can't see the wind, but it is still very powerful, and you can see what it does." The kids seem like they are starting to understand that our culture doesn't recognize the real-ness of the God they cannot see, but He is just as real as their friends and their favorite famous people.

AND...He is way more powerful than any of them! I think that they feel excited and secure when we talk about this. God bless them! They are so precious! What an honor to be one of the people who get to watch the kids begin to realize the best news they will ever hear!

Leader Quest Part 2:

During Leader Quest, the coach talked about Nehemiah who was first a servant and then a leader. Coach challenged the kids’ understanding of leadership. Leadership is not so much a position or title but rather an attitude that reflects respect, responsibility and discipline within themselves. Coach challenged the kids to think about ways that each of them could “serve” their family members.

Coach left the kids with five ideas that would change their lives:
1. Don’t think too highly of yourself or your importance
2. Don’t disrespect your parents
3. To be on time, is to be late
4. Give away your money freely
5. Dream and set goals. Each day pray, “Lord, want do you want from me today?”

I believe that each person who attended Leader Quest learned and experienced what they needed as the Holy Spirit tailors His work individually to our specific needs. Now as our kids move further into their leadership/faith journey, let us prayer together. . .“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1.6

Leader Quest - 5/6th grade Leadership Adventure

Bethany Timmons and I brought 9 kids – 2 girls and 7 boys to the Idea Factory in Troy, Ohio for 3 days of leadership development last week. Leader Quest is a 3-day of adventure, hands on learning experience where kids study hard, work hard, play hard and sleep hard. My friend Mike Nygren has done over 450 of these types of trainings and is brilliant. Everything he does looks nonchalant yet is very intentional.

For example, he took us all out to the local diner, divided the kids up into small groups of 3 with a team leader and observed how well they behaved in a public setting. There were some mixed results! He observed to see who would step up to clean up after a meal and who goes off to play. Mike knows that kids can do awesome things and make a difference in their homes and community.


It’s impossible to describe the process of “de-jerking.” I don’t say that disrespectfully. We all have the potential to be jerks at various times and we are. It is amazing to watch the kids step up and into the expectations that Mike laid out.


If you go to a basketball camp don’t you expect the coach to invest in you and help you become a better ball player? He’s going to build a team to win and he’s going to work you hard to get the best from you. That’s how Mike approaches leadership. You can trust him to tell you the truth – both positive and negative. He’ll tell you when you are missing the mark but he is quick to praise and encourage, so you can grow as a leader.

Leadership

Leadership is an attitude.

It's the way you handle yourself and treat others

showing respect,

responsibility

and discipline.

Immunization:

To everyone’s surprise the Master seemed unenthusiastic about religious education for the young. When asked why, he said, “Inoculate them when they are young and you prevent them from catching the real thing when they grow up.” – Anthony deMello

deMello’s quote might seem strange coming from a Kids' pastor. It’s a sad statement and one that brings me to prayer. I don’t want to create stumbling blocks for our kids to have faith. (Jesus has some very strong words to those who cause his little ones to stumble). I want to walk with our kids, guide our kids, learn with our kids and experience Jesus with the kids.

Grant us that serve our kids at Westwinds, wisdom and discernment. Keep our hearts open to hear and see how Your Spirit moves in our kids and therefore learn and grow along side them.

Children's Spirituality Conference

I'm at Children's Spirituality Conference,(www.childspirituality.org) not to be misinterpreted as a Children's Ministry Conference.

What's the difference you might ask?

One is about spiritual formation; one is about programs.

One is looking at how spiritual formation occurs in kids; one is looking at how to create programs to aid that process.

Both aspects are important but surprisingly the two areas don't seem to cross on the radar of many children's ministers/pastors. Could be that many kids pastors come from an educational background and have less background in theology or spirituality.

For me I come to kids’ spirituality from the development background and not the educational aspect. I am not a trained teacher, meaning I don't have a teaching degree. So I am very blessed to have great people who serve with me who are trained teachers. Together we seem to have created unique experiences that invite our kids into both "heart knowledge" and "head knowledge" of our Creator God, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Westwinds is a great place to be.

K6 Music & Motion Studio

. . .is really a lot of fun. It's not like "school", if you know what I mean! The kids here really enjoy themselves and they are very respectful and curious.

Their ideas and questions floor me sometimes. During our May studio I asked the kids why the Bible said that God kept the disciples on the Emmaus road from recognizing Jesus, i.e. Why wouldn't God want them to know that it was Jesus right away?

One little first grader said, "Because maybe God wanted them to LISTEN to Jesus first. If they knew it was Him, they would be too excited, and He had a lot to teach them."

Wow! I am constantly learning and being challenged by these kids' profound insight into the heart of God. I used her answer to help inspire all the following classes.

Comments from K6 Studio Director: Janet Deaver

Little Kids with Big Hearts

The other day about 25-30 kids and parents got together to make t-shirts. These t-shirts are going to a Jamaican orphanage with our student journey team June 13. All this happened because a Westwinds’ 7 year old kid wanted to do something for the little kids in Jamaica.

This quick last minute Beyond 1000 outreach was a huge success. Not because we have beautiful shirts to send (some are kind of ugly, oh well) but because a little guy named Austin is learning that he can make a difference in his church and in the world. Little kids know that they don’t have to be grown up to serve God, they can do it right now!

Overheard in the parking lot...

Girl: Mom, the storytelling room was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool today!!!!
Mom: Wow, sounds like you had a great time.
Girl (literally jumping up and down): I got to be a narrator, it was awesome.

Proving once again that WWKids is FUN :)

K6 Discovery Studio - May 31

I taught in the Discovery Studio this weekend @ 10a. Had a great time exploring why the couple on the Emmaus road did not recognize Jesus. The kids had a worksheet and went to 6 interactive stations that involved sight and seeing from different perspectives. The kids asked questions, made observations and documented their findings.

We watched movie clips from Prince Caspian, the part where Lucy saw Alsan but the other kids didn't. Why was she able to see Alsan but not her sister and brothers? Even though (our) kids didn't see Alsan in the movie, they believed Lucy did. We talked about the different ways of seeing or knowing. The couple on the road to Emmaus said their "hearts were burning" they knew there was something special about this man who was walking along the road with them.

The kids concluded that you can know Jesus with your heart even though you might not see or recognize Him with your eyes.

In June we move further into the story and introduce the Holy Spirit who teaches us and helps us to know Jesus. Great stuff in wwKiDs Journey.

Leader Quest - 5/6th grade Leadership Adventure

The Leader Quest applications and letters are coming in and they are awesome! Here's what 5th and 6th graders are saying about becoming a leader.

Why I want to be a leader?
. . . "Change doesn't come by you believing in them. You have to take them on their own journey but not take it for them." age 12
. . ."I don't want to just navigate and stumble through my junior & senior high years; I want to be a leader." age 11
. . ."leaders need to think before they act, try to always choose what is right instead of wrong, while all the wh ile relying on God for His help and strength." age 11

I am so excited to be able to share the leadership experience with your kids. I have no doubt that awesome things are going to happen while we together in Ohio on June 18-20 and afterwards when they return to Michigan.

Montessori Training for new fall preschool studio

Thanks so much for organizing such a great weekend for learning and connecting to other Westwindies! I know I am ampt and ready to move full speed ahead. What an awesome opportunity for us, as God leads us to impact children HIS way! I am so eager...It's an exciting time in the kids ministry and inside each of us who will be leading God's wonderful children. I am especially looking forward to really connecting to those that I spent so much time with this weekend.

Baptisms are scheduled for May 17.

Can a child be baptised?
We believe that baptism is a personal decision. So, it’s not something that anyone else can decide for another person, even a child. We believe that a person should be old enough to decide for himself if they want to announce their intention to follow Jesus by being baptized. For that reason we do not baptize babies, although we offer parents the option of dedicating their young children to God.

If your elementary age child has expressed an interest in baptism, we want to support parents by providing several tools that may help you discern if your child is ready for baptism. Please contact Lori Tate, Kids Journey pastor at lori.tate@westwinds.org for this material and to set up a time she can meet with your son or daughter. Baptism is a wonderful and powerful celebration of a kid’s spiritual journey. We want to make it a memorable experience for your child and family.

You're Invited to Love Shack

Over the last several months you have heard the guys – Dave, Ben & JVo – talk a lot about taking a next step in your spiritual journey, getting involved and growing in your faith.

Congratulations! Whether you know it or not, serving in WWKids’ Journey is one type of involvement the guys have been talking about. Each of you play an important role in WWKids’ Journey and I want to thank you for that commitment.

Since you are already serving in Kids, your next step may be different than someone else’s step. Perhaps your next step is to begin to attend Love Shack, WW’s monthly leadership meeting. Love Shack meets the first Monday of each month. Our next meeting is May 4 from 6:30-8:00p.

Love Shack is where you hear what’s up and coming around WW. You’ll meet a core group of people who love WW and call it their home. You’ll be able to ask questions and meet the elders and new deacons.

Step up your commitment at WW and join me and others at Love Shack this Monday, May 4 from 6:30-8:00p at the church. Childcare is provided.

Love Shack is also available via ustreamTV (connect through our website Westwinds.org) and as a podcast, but you miss all the fun of being together if you don’t come.

Deep Thoughts of a 5 year old

an inoculation against death
By david mcdonald
so, you've seen the artwork we're not using for our easter/resurrection series (here shadowinggod.blogspot.com), but i had the coolest conversation with my 5yr old this morning when he happened to see it
(it's currently occupying pride-of-place as my desktop background).

jake: daddy, is that man being inoculated? (no lie...my son really did use that word :)
me: uh...yes, yes he is.
jake: for what?
me: what does that word on the needle say?
jake: life.
me: what would life inoculate you from?
jake: not dying. life makes you not die.
me: right. now, what's on the needle?
jake: jesus on the cross. he died, but then he came back from the dead.
me: right. jesus is the inoculation against death.
jake: like medicine? jesus is life medicine?
me: yes, absolutely.
jake: what does that mean? he died...but then he rose up and wasn't dead anymore? is that it?
me: yes - he defeated death. he died, but that was all that death could do - kill him...then jesus kept on working and he came to new life but death couldn't do anything else to him. jake: that's why?
me: that's why he's the life medicine. that' s why we love jesus - because he takes away our fear of dying and promises to bring us back to new life again too.
jake: like with uncle randy?
me: yes - like with uncle randy. one day, we're all going to be together again.

* * * * *so, yeah - obviously the work i did on this piece wasn't wasted, even though it wasn't ultimately of use to the winds. i feel lucky to be part of God's work in my son, and in me, and in His church.

I believe; Help my Unbelief

In the wwKiD’s art studio this month the kids painted pictures of how they imagined Jesus. Using water color paint and learning how to create shadows with dark and light tones, the kids came up with Jesus with a goatee; pierced ears; tattoos; bald; long hair; short hair; curly hair, etc.

When their images were done, the kids read Luke 23.26-24.12 and looked for clues that might help them understand that Jesus was who he said he was – the son of God. After looking at the Luke account, the kids were asked to answer the question from John 11.26 “Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die? Do you believe this?” Based on the kid’s answer they wrote their response under their Jesus drawing.

Last weekend after reading the Luke scripture several of the 3rd/4th graders said they didn’t know if they were ready to say “I believe.” Fortunately the studio teacher affirmed where the kids were spirituality. She did not try to convince them of the “right answer” nor make them uncomfortable. Rather she encouraged the kids to ask God to show them, trusting the Spirit to lead and guide our kids to the Truth.

I love that we – the leaders – are beginning to understand we are merely the “reeds of God” in which His Spirit flows through.

Be Encouraged

Since the beginning of March the Kids Journey area has enrolled 26 new families that bring 45 kids with them! A new person is someone who has been attending for several weeks and has decided to make Westwinds their home. That means over 71 new people have come to Westwinds Church! That means we get to reach out and touch these families lives with the story of Jesus.

How amazing and what a blessing and a huge responsibility and a lot of kids!

As a volunteer if you are currently serving one time a month, I am asking you to consider “stepping up” and serving 2x a month in your area. Or better yet consider inviting a friend, who is good with kids and is not serving, to serve with you.

Be encouraged! We are in labor, getting ready to birth something new at WW.

Adoption Themes

Seven themes of adoption:
Loss Rejection Grief Race Control Identify Intimacy

Research shows that regardless of how old your child was when you adopted, these 7 themes will emerge at some time.

My friend Cindy (Dr. Cindy Koenigsknecht) shared different approaches of parenting adopted kids. The information was so helpful and insightful into my own parenting journey of Allie. Conversations that I need to initiate with Allie so she knows she can talk about her “China Momma.”

I left the meeting with several concrete ways I can be more aware of Allie’s “triggers.” I feel like I can better respond in ways that will touch some of her core needs. That’s pretty impressive, coming from an introverted processer that needs at least 2 hours to 5 days to sort through information!

For more info about parenting an adopted child, check out "Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections"

Serving in wwKids Ministry

Easter @ the WW

We had a ton of kids and a ton of help.

Thanks to every person who served and helped out in Kids on Easter Sunday. Each of you in your own way make it possible for these incredible experiences and moments for our kids to encounter God.

"I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me will have everlasting life. Do you believe this?"

Serving in wwKids Ministry

Easter: Jesus is who He said he is

April's K6 Experience Studios

This month our kids in K6 Studios will be asked to personally wrestle with and respond to some huge questions that Jesus asked his disciples. Jesus states "I am the resurrection and the life" in John 11.26 and he identifies himself as the "Son of Man" in Luke 19.31. Both statements are very bold and revolutionary claims.

Through Luke’s account of the Easter story (found in Luke 23.26-24.12) the kids will explore and identify evidence that supports Jesus’ bold claims. They will look at Jesus’ prayer to the Father for forgiveness (23.34);
the robber’s request (23.39-43);
the captain’s response (23.47);
the empty tomb and missing body (24.1-3);
the two men at the tomb (24.6); and
their statement, "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you" (24.6).

After gathering the evidence the kids will examine and evaluate it and then be given the opportunity to express if they personally believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

Pray for our kids as they encounter Jesus, a revoluntionary who changes lives. Pray for our teachers and shepherds who are also encountering the same Jesus and helping guide our kids towards Him. Pray that they will trust God’s Spirit to work in and through them and the kids.
May your hearts be fillfed with hope and joy this Resurrection season.

Introducing a New Studio - Fall ‘09

This Fall wwKiD’s will introduce a new experience studio designed for young kids, ages 3-6 years old. This new studio, saturated in the Montessori philosophy, will reflect Westwinds’ core beliefs, iPAC.
imagination – we believe that kids use their personal experiences and imagination to connect with God.
Permission – we believe that kids encounter God in unique ways and we "give" permission to God to work uniquely in our kids’ hearts.
Authenticity – we believe that kids have real, authentic encounters with God and develop personal relationships with Him.
Community – we believe that kids communities are built as they learn to respect each other and learn to hear God’s voice.

I believe that not only will our kids grow and flourish within this Montessori, self-discovery environment,but all who lead and work along side the kids will also be transformed.

If you are interested in learning more about this new studio, please contact Sarah Ansel, Sarah Richmond or Lori Tate. NOW may be the time for you to get involved in KiD’s.

Zacchaues - The Sin Monkey strikes again

In Luke 19 when Zacchaues the tax collector stole money from the people, he broke those relationships. It have simply said "I'm sorry I took your money" was not even, Zacchaues had to make things right. He had to "fix the furniture" and he did so by paying back 4x the amount of money he took from someone.

Other week in the Discovery Studio I asked the kids to write different sins on a t-shirt. Like freqeuently happens, a kid asks a question and our "plans" take a different path. The question was great - "what is sin?"

So prompted a discussion on what they knew about sin and thought sin was. The typical responses were - lying, stealing, murdering, etc. But then a couple of the kids went further in their explanations and said "gossiping," "hurting my friend with unkind words," and "intentionally destroying nature."

I was so pleased to hear some of the kids express a deeper understanding of sin. That one understanding of sin involves "breaking relationship."

We have great kids at WW!

Fifth Sunday

March has 5 Sundays. Some fifth Sundays the kids go into Fusion to experience worship with their parents. Sometimes we do special projects like making blankets for shut-ins or this time we
are making prayer beads and cards to be given to the grandma's and grandpa's in Jackson's nursing homes.

It is a great project for the kids! We talk about serving and giving to others.

We use parent participation on these weeks, so we need you!

Prayer of a 4th grader

Dear God,
I love you.
I thank you for dying for me.
The least I can do is praise.

IBU!
Love, OR

Loving our Neighbor

Dear WWKids --
Thank you so much for your generous donation of blankets for the ladies at the Jackson Friendly Home.
We are so grateful for these acts of kindness from fine people like you. It makes our resident feel special and loved.
Sincerely,
Cindy Zimmerman

Our Stories

Our Story
For our kids engaging "God moments" look something like this:
it’s being kind to their friends at school;
it’s inviting a new kid to play on their team;
it’s helping a classmate who is struggling;
it’s encouraging a team mate on the soccer field;
it’s making blankets for grandmas;
it’s helping your school start a recycling program;
it’s complementing an opponent on a good shot;
it’s choosing to be kind to a brother or sister;
it’s giving their own money to lifestraws so other kids can have clean water;
it’s playing games with elderly folks;
it’s cleaning toys to give to other kids;
it's helping get food to kids who have nothing to eat;
it’s inviting a friend to church.

This is how our kids lives are being transformed as they participate in God’s Kingdom work!

Created to Reflect God

Our Beliefs
Over the last year or so Dave McDonald has talked a lot about how humans have all been created in the image of God. We are in fact God’s shadow and are called to daily live in a way that reflects the essence of God.

We believe that from the beginning of life (see Psalm 139.13-16) God’s grace is active; that the dance with God begins and spiritual formation is under way. In fact we believe spiritual formation is happening whether or not it is intentionally encouraged and nurtured.

Sofia Cavalletti relates a three-year old’s experience. This child was growing up in an atheistic home in which no one ever spoke of God.
One day she questioned her father about the origins of the world: "Where does the world come from?" Her father replied, in a manner consistent with his ideas, with a discourse that was materialistic in nature; then he added: "However, there are those who say that all this comes from a very powerful being, and they call him God." At this point the little girl began to run like a whirlwind around the room in a burst of joy, and exclaimed: "I knew what you told me wasn’t true; it is Him; it is Him!"

We believe that our children are wired to know God and be in relationship with Him.

Our Mission
WWKids Journey’s mission is to help our kids to daily recognize and respond to God’s invitation to be part of their life.

Each week WWKids Journey servants intentionally encourage our kids to look for the "God moments" in their lives. To recognize God’s goodness and join in to help others. In this very simple process of serving others, their own lives are changed.

Gleaners Food Bank - Detroit, Michigan

Did you know that one in eight Michigan families will need emergency food assistance this year? That means Westwinds probably has about 100 families that will need help. Maybe it is someone who sat next to you at Fusion, or maybe you are that person.

Gleaners Community Food Bank, located in Detroit distributes food for 392,000 meals every week to more than 430 partner agencies in six southeastern Michigan counties. On Saturday, January 31, over 30 WWKids and families traveled to participate in Gleaners’ Kids Helping Kids program. We put together 180 snack bags filled with “kid approved” food. These bags will find their way into local school systems, providing snacks to a whole lot of hungry kids.

At Westwinds our kids know that following Jesus is not just about an hour on Sunday mornings. They are learning that following Jesus is about loving and serving their neighbor, and that looks like playing games with the elderly at Ganton Care Center, cleaning toys for the Priceless Toy Store, making blankets for grandmas and helping pack snack bags for a classroom of kids!

We have AWESOME kids at Westwinds!
For more info about Gleaners check out www.gcfb.org

Gleaner's Food Bank

On Saturday, myself along with a bunch of Westwinds kids and parents went DOWNTOWN (Detroit) to Gleaner's Food Bank. It was a great day! We ate lunch at Wendy's (and I decided that I really love the crispy chicken sandwich there, but not so much the fries) and then headed to the Food Bank. It's really a huge warehouse that stores and supplies other food pantries and charities in the area. The kids had a great time! We helped pack snack bags that would be given to local schools this week-assembly line style! I mostly helped the youngest kids in our group open up boxes to replenish the crates of snacks on the "line" for the packers. They did a great job! For the older kids I think it was very eye-opening for them to learn that there are plenty of kids who only get to eat at school. Hopefully, we'll go back next year!

At WW on Cxmas Eve we took a special offering for lifestraws.com. Check out the video to find out more about it.

After a Fusion I was talking to one of our moms. She and her three kids have been attending WW for almost a year. It's been a very tough year for this mom and her kids, but they faithful show up and have gotten the kids involved.

When her little boy, age 6 or 7, heard about the special offering for the lifestraws, he wanted to give all his money- almost $100 - to help these other little kids who did not have clean drinking water!

What a BIG heart on a little guy. His mom was so proud of him and said that was the greatest gift she could have ever hoped for. In the midst of his own family challenges he is thinking about others.

. . . . our mission for WWKids to help our kids to daily respond to God's invitation to be part of their life.

WWKids Mission

. . . . our mission for WWKids is
to help our kids to
daily respond to God's invitation
to be part of their life.