Famine Results!!

Alright, so I know you're all on pins and needles wondering about my challenge to the youth group in raising money for hungry kids around the world. Since I blew them all away last year, I told them that if one of them could raise more than me, I would commit to running a 5K race. Well, the results are in...

I'm running a 5K race.

Tehia Goben raised $850 to my $745. She worked very hard for it, too! Many phone calls were made, and she thought outside of the box, asking friends, relatives, church members, and even her dad's clients.

But here's the great news:

We raised $3,320 this year, which is about $1,000 more than last year! Guess how many kids that feeds, clothes, educates and provides medical care for?

NINE KIDS for ONE YEAR!!!

I pulled nine children up on stage to help us visualize this accomplishment. All we did was fast for 30 hours and make a few phone calls. I hope the teens realized on Sunday that they CAN make a difference in this world! Is fasting for 30 hours and asking for money worth it in order to save ONE LIFE? YOU BET!!

If you're ever down on yourself; if you ever believe that you cannot make a difference; if you think the problem is so big that you do nothing...just realize that Jesus asks us for SOMETHING. One meal, one kind word, one cup of water.

I don't have to change the world. God can do a GREAT job at that without my help. But I can help change the trajectory of one life. And I believe God smiles when His children start to believe that.

If you want to learn what 30 Hour Famine is all about, check out their website at:

www.30hourfamine.org

Another Insight

Just another insight from the 30 Hour Famine...
It is EXTREMELY difficult to concentrate when you are hungry!! I found my mind wandering, and I could not concentrate.
It's great that American schools (more and more of them) are now serving breakfast as well as lunch. I wish we could get the breakfast thing going in other countries. It is a vicious cycle that when people are hungry, they cannot concentrate, and when they cannot concentrate, they cannot get or hold a job, and when they don't have a job, they are hungry...
Test it out, if you wish! Go a day without food and see how your mind wanders.

30 Hour Famine

We did it!! Friends and family came through and pledged to give $520 to World Vision to help feed hungry kids. So, as promised, I shaved off my beard!!
The Famine was awesome...I am SO proud of the teens at Southwest! I only heard a few complaints, but they were all in fun, and in good spirits. Never angry or bitter.
Some other things that stuck with me...

• Over 26,000 CHILDREN have been kidnapped and forced to kill for the "Lord's Resistance Army" in the country of Uganda. Sometimes they have even forced the children to kill their own parents. I have a hard time deciding which is worse, the things they do, or using the Lord's name as a cover for those activities.
• These children find hope at the World Vision Children of War Rehabilitation Center, where they are welcomed, counseled, and shown God's love. The Rehab Center has an amazing theme song that is sung every time a truckful of ex-child soldiers arrives..."God Has Saved Us." WOW! That is powerful.
• Isaiah 58 has a lot to say about the way God wants us to fast. When we fast, just because we go without food doesn't mean we can do other things to please ourselves. In fact, it says that when we are hungry, we should FEED OTHERS!! Just read it...it's awesome.
• A bunch of babies are still dying of malnutrition EVERY DAY. We saw one community of 300,000 that had only ONE hospital with ONE doctor (see my last post.) It's still a problem. I challenge you next time you see those heartbreaking commercials...will you flip the channel?

As a group, we received pledges of about $2,100. What does that mean in the big scheme of things? It means that we have fed 6 kids for one year. I think that's pretty awesome. I think our teens are awesome. But above all, I think God is awesome. And I hope He sees these kids being fed and taken care of...and smiles.