The Woodman Family

In my search for Extreme Makeover Home Edition candidates this week, a family was ran across me that I actually knew. It was the Woodman Family. I wanted to share about this family because it was a family that has helped shape me to who I am today and why I do NeighborLink.

There are so many great things/memories/thoughts that come up with them.

I met them about 4 years ago as a result of a project that I took from NeighborLink as a coach when I was leading teams at Fellowship. Actually, this was the first big project I took on.

Their need at the time was to have the front yard re-done after it was torn up after having sewer problems. Dirt needed hauled way, the yard smoothed out, grass seeded, and we went as far as buying a bunch of flowers and planting them for them.

Their family background and issues are that the husband had a severe heart attack that has left him unable to do much physically and has prevented him from working. Mother has muscular dystrophy and one of their teenage sons has autism and the other is perfectly fine. This is a great family as well. Mother even still works part time at Turnstone Center for the Disabled part time doing what she can in spite of her own condition.

This is also the project that I first met my wife. Her and her friends signed up for my project at church and from there it’s another great story.

I kept in touch for 6 months or so after that and did a few other projects here and there but have not contacted them in awhile.

So when I received word that someone would like to nominate them, it brought me back to all kinds of memories.

You see, these projects mark you deeply. I’m convinced the things you and I do now, regardless of what they are, mark us deeply and DO determine who we become.

Do things that are compassionate, noble, gracious, generous, etc. If you do those you will become those. I find those characteristics are much better than the opposite.