FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN!


I hardly know where to begin…

I first became acquainted with this organization when FMSC was at CHIC in 2006 and 2009 and students and leaders packed hundreds of thousands of meals for hungry children around the world.


Over a year ago, Hilmar Covenant committed to hosting a “Feed My Starving Children” food packing event, after I learned that another Covenant church in New England had raised the money necessary to do such an event. Each meal now costs 24 cents, and to make the event cost effective, we had to commit to packing a minimum of 100,000 meals – which meant raising $24,000! I was apprehensive about this; with the economy the way it is (especially here in Merced County), the number of organizations and groups seeking financial support these days, and the many other ministry responsibilities that are on my plate, I saw a long hard road ahead, trying to make our FMSC food packing event a reality. We had a big publicity kick-off for our congregation in March.

Our food packing event takes place on January 20 and 21, 2012. Volunteers sign up for two hour shifts, and work in cells of 20 people, to assemble as many packets of food as possible. Children as young as 5 years old can participate, making this a tremendous intergenerational and family event. Students receive two hours of community service credit for their involvement. Businesses, schools, churches, clubs, and other organizations receive excellent publicity for helping to sponsor the event. Best of all, a food packing event is both FUN and meaningful, knowing that you are doing a very practical, hands-on activity locally and, at the same time, doing something to make a huge difference globally: feeding hungry kids.


Fast forward to today: Not only did we meet our minimum goal before the end of October, we are currently at about $40,000 – and 166,666 meals! Through matching grants, generous donations, advertising spots, an ingenious M&M tube program (fill the tube with quarters – that’s $14, and 58 meals!), and many solicitations, we have been stunned at the tremendous response to our FMSC event.

Last week, it was time for two of us on our FMSC committee to get trained in how to sign up volunteers for the food packing shifts in January. This took about 45 minutes. At the end of our training, the woman at FMSC headquarters in the Twin Cities encouraged us to consider going ahead and committing to our “God-sized miracle goal” of $72,000, 300,000 meals, and nearly 1500 volunteers! These numbers had been thrown out in one of our early committee meetings, and we have continued to keep them before us as a goal that was FAR beyond what our human abilities would ever be able to achieve. Our trainer kept offering us positive information and encouragement and…(gulp)…well…WE SAID YES!

It’s still rather unbelievable to me that these are the new numbers we are now working with, leading up to our January event. Yes, it does seem totally insane – impossible – irresponsible, even! But somehow, we are convinced that we’re being called to take this huge leap of faith and give God space “to do immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Also last week, I was interviewed by the biggest newspaper in our area, the Modesto Bee, about our FMSC food packing event. It made the front page of the Sunday “Lifestyle” section of the paper...

And since then, it’s been all I can do to keep up with the interest, the inquiries, talking with people, making connections, discovering new funding sources, registering volunteers, etc. all week long! New signs of support are popping up all over the place, including our local Hilmar public schools (which is very cool)! It’s almost like God is saying to us: “You did the right thing. You tested me in this, so now “see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it!” (Malachi 3:10b)


That’s why I have not had time to even think about writing another provocative blog post. Instead, I’m sharing my current, incredible experience with any of you who are now reading this so you will know what’s going on in my life right now. Click ModBeeArticle to read the Modesto Bee article, which is super! And if you would like to donate to this food packing event and be part of the miracle that God is doing in our midst, you can end your contribution to: Hilmar Covenant Church, PO Box 340, Hilmar CA 95324 (with “FMSC” on the memo line). We only need 288,000 quarters to reach our goal! And if you live close to us, why not sign up for a food packing shift and be part of this fantastic opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children around the world? Go to www.hilmarcovenant.org for loads of information about Feed My Starving Children, and to volunteer.


Finally, PRAY for us! The semi truck arrives on Thursday, January 19, full of everything we’re going to need to fill 300,000 bags with rice, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins and minerals (with chicken flavor), and soy protein. In the meantime, we have a huge financial commitment to reach and hundreds of people to organize for the food packing event. The whole thing is going to takes supernatural strength and action.

And I can’t wait to see what God is going to do as we keep stepping out in faith!