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College Station native dedicates life to underprivileged children in the Philippines [The Eagle, Bryan, Texas](Eagle (Bryan, TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 20--The majority of children in San Fernando, Philippines, have never seen a McDonald's playground, let alone gotten the chance to climb through the colored sections. So when Timothy Warden's uncle stumbled upon an old play center in a goat field in Somerville, Warden requested it be sent to his mission. Once the playscape was built in the grounds at their church building, children and parents couldn't help but stop by to take a look, Warden said. "They come from all over to line up to go slide down that slide and run through the tunnel," he said. "It really put us on the map, because there's not a single playground like that anywhere in the city." Warden, a native of College Station, has spent the past 25 years running the San Fernando Christian Community. He built the church and a foundation -- Make Kids Smile -- from the ground up, and launched with just a few attendees at his services. His four services on the weekend now boast over 600 people, and the building is bursting at the seams, he said. A former regular at the A&M Church of Christ in College Station, Warden attended Brazos Christian School and A&M Consolidated High School, then spent two years as a missionary intern in various parts of the Philippines. He returned to Texas to become a chef, and even registered with the Culinary Institute of New York and started cooking at an old private dining restaurant in Bryan. But, in 1990, he felt he was called to uproot himself. He moved to San Fernando to start the mission with a local businessman. But it proved difficult to break into the community for a few years, he said, because the local residents were not open to outsiders. "It was difficult to be accepted and for people to trust you," he said. "I couldn't get a bank account, nobody would let me use their telephone." He joined a Rotary club, where he grew to know the community and build rapport. He worked to bring in locals to the church grounds, known as the Champion Center, and began providing education, clothes and food to impoverished children through his foundation. And he's in an area that struggles economically; San Fernando is centered around manufacturing, agriculture and information technology services, and the average resident often doesn't finish elementary school, he said. Traditionally, families plan on sending a child overseas to get an education and a job, then have them send money back to the family. The church encourages them to stay, though, and help invest in a growing middle class, Warden said. "That's the thing about the Philippines, it's a nation of paradoxes. There's the extreme rich, but then the very extreme poor and there's not much in the middle," he said. "You'd cry if you walked through their village and saw how they live: open sewage, kids with no underwear, no shoes. But then down the street, somebody's living in a mansion." His foundation, Make Kids Smile, provides local children with basic needs and education. The center holds an after-school program to further children's studies, provides them with clothes, food and school supplies, and funds some scholarships for children to attend public school, which is still a cost to most families. Since its conception, Warden estimates the center has served thousands of impoverished children. Every summer the foundation provides a leadership training program for high school-aged students that teaches and encourages spiritual development, but also invests in life and job skills. The students are trained in all of the departments throughout the church, such as learning to use computers, cameras and editing software, or accounting, filing and guest relations. They learn how to talk on the phone, give a proper greeting and conduct research. "We teach people how to create their personal mission statement, so at interviews, they ace it," Warden said. "They know how to look people in the eye, fill out a resume, just things like that that they don't learn in school." Warden, his wife, Bambi, and their 3-year-old son, Zion, return to the Brazos Valley about once a year to visit family and check on Warden's missionary foundation in College Station -- All The World Mission Network -- which sends missionaries to other countries. The three will take some time to thank those who have supported them financially and prayed for them and the mission, Warden said. The family held a dinner for about 40 friends and family members last week at the Briarcrest Country Club to show pictures and videos to update them on the mission. Linda Houser, a member of A&M Church of Christ, has known Warden since he moved, and said she's always thinking and praying for him. "Every time there's a hurricane, I pull out my map to check on him," she said. "It's just amazing the work that he's done down there." Warden's next goal is to open a crisis center at the mission to help those who are abused find a place of refuge. The church is also in need of a building expansion; people have had to be turned away because of space issues, he said. After spending a few weeks with his family, Warden said, returning home causes him to appreciate what he has back in College Station. "You don't sometimes appreciate all of where you've come from and what you've been given until you see and experience life without it all," he said. "I appreciate [College Station], my family, the church, everything so much more having lived overseas for so long. I'm very thankful." To learn more about the mission and the foundation, visit makekidssmile.org or alltheworld.org. ___ (c)2014 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) Visit The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) at www.theeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |