A creative idea that is changing the world.........

It has been an interesting few days.  Ken just commented that we have really had an unusual week.  Today I actually got to check something off of my "bucket list" that I have been wanting to do for quite some time.   It may not seem exciting to some people, but today Ken and I got to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children.  

I know a lot of people who have volunteered to pack meals, but I have never gotten the chance to actually do it.  So Ken and I went as a part of  the team from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wheaton, thanks to an invite from our friends Bryon and Pat Noeske.  If you are not familiar with this organization, I suggest you click on the link and read about the amazing work that is being done to bring nutrition to starving children around the world.  We packed "Manna Rice" meals today.  It is a world wide meal with vitamins, spices, soy and rice that is acceptable to ALL people - regardless of their religious dietary restrictions.  I learned today that rice is one "grain" that is recognized and used around the world.  

We actually got to sample one of the meals.  It was interesting and actually not unlike a rice dish you might make at home.  I learned that 99.8% of the boxes that are shipped out of the United States actually get to their destinations and feed children.  This is truly a miraculous number when you consider the trip these boxes have to make! Surely God is in this process. All of the 100 or so people that volunteered during the shift we were on, got a chance to pray over the finished boxes.  The workers were very clear that prayer is an important part of their mission.  We were told that 100 is a good number of boxes to be packed in a two hour shift.  Here are the results of our time....

We had the amazing opportunity to help feed 66 children for AN ENTIRE YEAR!  Such an amazing experience.  Feed My Starving Children has shipped over 250 BILLION meals to 99 countries.  Thanks to this organization, we can all be a part of the solution to world hunger instead of just lamenting the state of the world.  I love how God uses people to be His hands and feet with creative ideas that truly change the world.  Just an example of how much power is in your "God Suit"!

We all helped clean up our packing stations at the end of our shift.  They are very careful to keep any products that are "clean" able to be used separate. .  It was interesting to hear that the soy/rice/vitamin mixtures that were spilled on the tables or on the equipment are not just thrown out.  They are actually collected and given to farmers to feed to their sheep and pigs!  

This was very fitting for our unusual week!  On Thursday, Ken and I went to our local County Fair!

We have lived in this county for 41 years and we have never gone.  In total truth telling, we most likely would not have bothered going this year if I had not heard that "seniors" were free if you went before 3:00pm.   So we decided to check it out!  

We saw lots of pigs and sheep!  Also cows, donkeys, goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, ducks, ponies, and even a camel!  It was mostly 4H kids who have raised these animals.  Very interesting to watch these young kids "showing" their animals, and to hear how the judges graded each one.  We got to see sheep being sheared and the wool being spun into yarn.  Certainly not a "normal" event for us. 

Sitting in my suburban house, working on a laptop with a smart phone by my side, it can be pretty easy to forget the agricultural life that our country was built on and we all depend on for our food.  I am incredibly thankful that I grew up with close family members farming.   The need for food is universal but the distribution of the worlds food supply is out of whack. One example of Jesus' solution to this problem is found at Feed My Starving Children.  What a blessing it is to know that Feed My Starving Children is also helping feed local farm animals.  

Two very different activities just days apart.  Yet Jesus found a way to show me his hand in directing my life.  It was so much more meaningful for me to consider the gift of animal feed when I had just touched, smelled and heard some of these local animals.  And children have and will always have a big place in my heart.  I am sure that Ken and I will be going back to volunteer many more times in the days ahead.  Standing in front of the big world map showing their distribution sights at Feed My Starving Children it seemed possible to "go into all the world".

Jesus, thank you for loving ALL of the children of the world.  Holy Spirit, it is your gift of creative ideas that helps us reach and touch multitudes of children around the world - even when we don't leave our homes.  Jesus, thank you for your heart of compassion for the hungry.  Give us all ears to hear your gentle whispers to help us fulfill your destiny in our life.  Amen