It was one of the great privileges of my life to work with the fine churches, outstanding parents, students, and staff members from Hirschi and Kirby on May 12, in Operation: Fresh Start’s Clean-Up-Fix-Up Campaign.
I know that the residents who needed a little help were cheered when they saw this noble army of enthusiastic volunteers coming with rakes, saws, and lawn mowers to cut overgrown grass, remove tree branches, and generally spruce up the neighborhood.
Some people give teenagers a bad rap. But there are no finer young people than the ones I saw on Saturday! They are a credit to the WFISD and to the city of Wichita Falls.
Texoma Community Credit Union took a chance on us and we will be forever grateful. They feed all of the volunteers. They treated everyone like they were someone special.
We made history on Saturday. But there’s much more to be done. With the Lord’s help, we will recruit more churches in districts 2 and 5, help more schools, and enlist more participation from our city and business community. In the spirit of Operation: Fresh Start, we want our children and seniors to live in clean and safe neighborhoods.
We cannot be satisfied with our people living in abject squalor. I hope that we can continue to build on the Christ-like example that our young people established on Saturday.
-- Angus Thompson, pastor, New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Wichita Falls