03/17/2026
With big hearts to serve!
From Katrina to Helene and Many in Between...I can't believe I don't remember her being there. Granted, there were lots of volunteers that came to Biloxi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But I can't believe I don't remember Wendy White being at Camp Biloxi. If you've met Wendy, you probably know why I say that. She's got a big personality. That's not a bad thing. She's just memorable. She has a way of making a lasting impression.
David, her husband is much quieter; subdued if you will. He's what I would describe as the "Steady Eddie" of volunteers, a man with a very even temperament who will do anything needed. He's the calm, she's the excitement. But together, they make an incredible team. I know, because I've had the privilege of working with them quite extensively over the last 20 months. They are members of an amazing congregation, Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church in Hendersonville, NC; a church that hosted nearly a couple hundred volunteers in 10 months after Hurricane Helene.
From day one David and Wendy were the horses pulling the cart in Hendersonville. In addition to volunteering on teams removing trees from properties, it was David and Wendy who precipitated the partnership with Pastor Paul Birner (and congregations in the Pacific Northwest) and the purchase of SHM's first tractor in October of 2024. The tractor has remained with Mt. Pisgah so they can continue to serve their community and be prepared to deploy to the next disaster.
The reality is they have been partners with SHM for many years. They first served with Pastor Ed and SHM in 2011, after a series of tornadoes ripped through central Alabama.
Since then, they have not only served with Pastor Ed after other tornadoes and Hurricanes, but they went back to their congregation and championed SHM to be part of their mission budget. For over 4 years now, Mt. Pisgah has supported SHM financially. Mt. Pisgah began supporting SHM solely because the Whites believed in the mission of SHM and began speaking on our behalf and getting their congregation to put us in their mission budget.
Volunteers like David and Wendy White are invaluable and quite frankly, few and far between. They are what makes Shepherd's Heart able to respond at a moment's notice to disasters. To clearly articulate what I mean, I believe David and Wendy encapsulate the three most important roles you can play in helping us impact the lives of those affected by storms:
1) Praying for our ministry.
2) Physically volunteering.
3) Be a Champion for SHM in your congregation.
It's for all three of these invaluable roles in supporting the work we do, that we present a long overdue award to them as Shepherd's Heart Ministry's Big Heart Award.
David and Wendy, thank you for all you do for Shepherd's Heart, but more importantly, for our Good Shepherd, Jesus, and all of His flock. You truly are making an eternal impact in the lives of others!
"If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 4:11
