During the past couple weeks I have had two opportunities to serve with Feed My Starving Children. The first was with my family (mom, dad, and sis). We went to the Bright Hope facility where they partnered with FMSC. It was the 1st time I had volunteered with FMSC and it was alot of fun. Basically we were filling bags with food: Chicken, Veggies, Soy, Rice. It’s an assembly line and I really enjoyed serving in this capacity. We had a pretty big group overall and everyone was clipping along at a good speed. We worked for 2 hours and were able to feed 67 kids for a year.
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| Me and Mom at Bright Hope |
These particular boxes of meals were being shipped to Haiti. They gave us some info on their partnerships there and how much of a difference the food makes. I think one of the most heart-breaking things I heard was about how they are so hungry that they make these mud cakes to eat. They mix it and let it dry out. But the thing that really makes it worse is that things are so bad that people have to buy the mud cakes to eat and she said prices had gone up. It’s really hard for me to wrap my mind around that kind of poverty when I can go to my fridge any time and have something to eat. It really breaks my heart.
With that in mind I was happy to serve again with Feed My Starving Children this past week. We did it at their facility in Schaumburg with our small group from church. Even though there were only a few of us who could make it I think we’d all agree we had a great time. It’s such a simple thing we can do. It doesn’t take much thought or effort and only a little time. We were a much smaller group overall and only worked about 1.5 hours. We were able to feed 15 kids for a year. That might not seem like much, but to those 15 kids I bet it seems like the world.
This is something that continually is laid on my heart. How can I serve more? How can I give more? But I want to make sure that what I am doing and giving is actually going to those who need it. No offense, but our government does not do a great job of that. They might give money but it is not distributed correctly. However, that’s a whole other issue because they have no money management skills. Dave Ramsey, can you take on the government? They need to start the debt snowball already! Where is their gazelle like intensity?
Sorry, tangent. John and I have both been convicted in this area. I think God is really challenging us to give, and not just give what we think we can afford, but to give generously and freely. That might mean we have to make sacrifices in some areas. But so what? Is it too much to sacrifice a convenience so someone else can eat a cup of rice to keep from starving to death? In perspective our wants and desires seem so small.
It is a struggle though because we do have needs too and are trying to save and do the best with what God’s given us. It feels like a balancing act for sure. But I think the important thing is being willing to give. If God lays it on our hearts to give then we need to give no matter what we were saving that money for. One thing we’ve found throughout our marriage is that God has blessed us tremendously; Not necessarily financially because our income is about the same as it was before we were married. But He always provides. Sometimes it’s through meals from my family or other people allowing our food budget to stretch out longer. Sometimes it’s gifts from birthdays or Christmas. Things that we’ve thought about doing but held off on because it wouldn’t be good use of our funds God has given to us through other people. It continues to amaze me!
We have a long way to go and I know God will continue to work in our hearts, but I would challenge you to think about ways that God may be asking you to give more, whether that is time, talents or money. And you should definitely check out Bright Hope and Feed My Starving Children as they are both local ministries that you can volunteer with and both work with people living on less than $1 a day. That’s less than $365 a year. Ouch!
