You’re going to have to forgive me because this might be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever said.
(Which is saying a lot, because I’m kinda known for my ability to blurt out some really dumb stuff.)
But, here goes…
My two middle kids are participating with their youth group in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine this weekend, and this Mama is kinda struggling with the thought of my babies being hungry.
Told you it was dumb. Or maybe “crazy” is the more accurate term.
I mean, it’s only 30 hours. Unlike people in the world who are really starving, they’ll have free access to water and fruit juice. Their suffering will be minimal, but hopefully enough to create a lasting memory of what it feels like to really be hungry. A memory that will hopefully imprint our youth with a lifelong desire to alleviate the suffering of others.
Of course, my daughter is well acquainted with hunger. She boasts about how she can go all day without eating if she wants to, saying that being hungry is no big deal to her. But it still breaks my heart to think of all the times my little girl went to bed hungry in Uganda.
Her main meal for months, years on end was beans and posho–a very thick paste made of cornmeal and water.
She hated posho with a passion, so she usually only had a cup of porridge for breakfast and some beans for dinner. Even now, she won’t eat anything reminiscent of posho–no cream of wheat, polenta or oatmeal. She doesn’t even like the flavor of corn chips or cornbread very much.
Eli, my 14-year-old son that’s also participating, is probably going to have a rougher time of it. He’s in that eat-constantly stage of life and tends to get HANGRY if he goes too long without food. So this is going to be interesting for him. (Not to mention the group leaders who have to deal with his hangry self!)
I wonder if the other youth group moms feel the same way I have? I’m not even participating in the fast, but the thought of my kids being uncomfortable makes me uncomfortable. And I think about the millions (billions?) of moms around the world who at this very moment are watching their kids go hungry for real, and it seems so silly to even feel this way at all.
I know that it’s a universal concern of mothers, to want their children to be comfortable, but what I feel is just a drop in the ocean compared to what they experience. I don’t even want my kids to be hungry for a day! So how excruciating it must be for a mother to have her children crying for food, and be unable to alleviate their suffering?
That’s the point of the 30 Hour Famine: to raise money to help feed families who otherwise wouldn’t eat. So could you please click here and sponsor our youth group’s team this weekend? All proceeds go straight to World Vision. Donating is super-easy through that link, and no amount is too small.
Because of our connection to Uganda, our youth group has chosen to help Ugandan families with the money they raise through their fast. So won’t you please help out, in honor of our sweet girl who knows all too well the pangs of true hunger?
P.S. There are more kids participating than what shows on the site–some of the kids didn’t make online profiles. Also, if you’re stumbling across this post after our campaign ends, please consider donating to World Vision anyway. They do a lot of good in this world!