Sister Linda Tyndall has been a beautiful champion for health and faith outreach in Lumberton. Without her, I would not have known how to reach so many people in such a short time. A leader with the Come to the Table program said the same thing to me over the phone once. He mentioned that he would have had fewer connections to work with, as she and Rev. Mac Legerton helped to make that conference thrive.
When I asked Sister Tyndall how her church got involved with Partners in Health and Wholeness, she said, “It started with my pastor asking me to attend a meeting back in 2013 where I met you, Joy.”
Sister Tyndall said she hated field work growing up.
“I hated it with all that was within me, however, being introduced to gardening in a smarter way has made all the difference.”
Since that initial PHW meeting, she has started and maintained a community garden at her church. I am proud to say that her congregation, Faith Community Christian Center, is a PHW gold-certified church.
In addition, she has been asked to share her skills at different conferences, including, the Come to the Table Eastern Conference and a convening of Resourceful Communities.
“PHW has taken me to the ‘total person’ and helped me to connect the missing pieces. The Holy Spirit told me about ministering to others and their total person, but I didn’t have the tools until I met PHW. PHW has helped me to go a little bit farther in my ministry, and to help me think that nothing is wrong with me for wanting to juice and do things more natural, or even consider the total person’s health.”
I am grateful for Sister Tyndall. It is her passion and zest for the Lord, health, and life that bring me hope as I enter the New Year. Her words encourage me to have a total person focus, by saying, “That is how you change lives, one person at a time, and that one person can draw in the multitudes that you are looking for. To get the numbers, you need the person. And it comes through experience in the trenches, and to get to do the awesome things that you get to do.”
Thank you to Sister Tyndall and all the champions that helped make PHW thrive for 2015!
Pictured in the photo is Sister Linda (front left), Dr. Ruth Woods (center front), Joy Williams (front right), Alex Oxendine (back right), and Aaron Woods (back left).
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