The rain held off for this, our second attempt at a picnic with our Nepali friends. Close to 120 people, two thirds of them Nepali, hung out together for a beautiful afternoon at Crossroads Park. We ate, we threw frisbees and kicked soccer balls, we pelted each other with water balloons and discovered what a wonderful mess water and sidewalk chalk make when combined. But mostly we broke down some of the barriers you encounter when getting to know people from unfamiliar cultures. Turns out it’s not nearly as scary as you might think.

A great big shout out to the many Westwind folks that went the extra mile in making this happen (you know who you are!), as well as the family and friends of Ben and Meredith Cadwell who came along for the ride and ended up doing a lot of the work. We so appreciate you all!

And the best part…the party is never really over because our Nepali friends live here in Des Moines. So we’ll always look for ways to be involved in their lives, to show them the love of Christ. And you’re always invited to join us in that.

In response to the January earthquake in Haiti, Westwind Church immediately gave $2500 towards relief efforts. This was possible because of the generous giving of our people to the Missions Fund in 2009. The need in Haiti, however, will continue for a very long time. Here is a way that you can individually make a difference. With a little effort and about $40, you can heroically feed a Haitian family for a week through the “Buckets of Hope” program.

A “Bucket of Hope” consists of a plastic five-gallon bucket packed with selected non-perishable food items. For approximately $30 you can purchase the materials and assemble a bucket. Donors are then requested to attach a $10 cash contribution to offset the cost of transporting the relief buckets to Haiti.

If you’re interested in participating, the detailed explanation on packing the bucket can be found here (CLICK HERE). Assembled buckets need to be dropped off at the church office on March 12.

For the second week of our Missions Festival we had a guest speaker who gave a overall synopsis of God’s desire to share his love to the nations. This message will inspire the listeners to live a missional lifestyle.

Click the player to listen to the message.

All messages are the property of Westwind Church.

Guest speaker, DA Horton, shares his insights into Acts 17:16-34. This is the first message of our Missions Festival.

Click the player to listen to the message.

All messages are the property of Westwind Church.

This November and December Westwind has the opportunity to serve Christ through serving others. Using the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays we will be focusing our attention to the Dallas County area as we share our blessings with others.

In November (8-15) we will be joining up with the Waukee Food Pantry and collecting food for their shelves. You can give food gifts or gift cards which will be used to buy food items for the pantry. The list of food items they are looking can be found here.

In December we will be partnering with the Angel Tree Ministry and collecting clothing and gifts for children with a parent(s) who are in prison. Families at Westwind will be able to choose an item from our Angel Tree display in the lobby and provide a present for a child in need. You can bring a present from November 15-December 9 to Westwind or our office.

We hope you will take part in both of these initiatives and shine God’s light on the community around us.

Westwind is excited to announce that it will be partnering with the Waukee Food Pantry to help supply food for families in need. The Waukee Food Pantry not only provides meals, but also has a free clinic. There are many ways that Westwind can get involved, including collecting food, volunteering at the pantry, and providing medical services. November and December will be crucial months for the pantry due to holiday needs. Westwind has the chance to be a real help in time of need. Watch the video to find out how the WFP is impacting the community.