MIDLAND, Texas — After an evening service on Sunday, Stonegate Fellowship’s youth group did their part in giving troops overseas a taste of home.
“So all the donations you see behind me, everything goes inside the care packages," said SSG David Perez, Army National Guard and full-time Honor Our Troops volunteer. "Nothing goes to waste once these soldiers receive them overseas. So with everything inside there’s about 40 products that we send. From baby wipes to ramen noodles to snacks and gummies. Anything from back home just makes it feel like Christmas every time you receive one.”
Stonegate felt it was important for the troops to know that they have their backs even if they’re far away from the states.
“Often times they might feel like they’re forgotten about, that they are not appreciated," said Chase Gilbert, student pastor at Stonegate. "So our hope is that they’ll realize how much we are grateful for them, how much we value them and respect them. And we’re just so grateful for what they do on our behalf each day.”
Ever since moving to Texas, Perez can feel that the people of our state and region hold service men and women in high regard and will do whatever we can to show that.
“West Texas, Texas overall is great support for the troops," Perez continued. "It lets us know that people still care, that people are still with us, that people still support us.”
And events like these show that just because it's not Veterans Day, West Texans are still always thinking of people serving the country.