30 Hour Famine

This weekend the youth group participated in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. The purpose was twofold: to raise money to feed poor children of the world, and to increase awareness and understanding of poverty around the world.

The kids set a goal of $1200, but after the first week, they had already exceeded that goal, so they increased it. Lots of the kids worked hard, but Julianne really outdid herself. Her personal goal was $1500. Brad and I didn't want to discourage her high ambitions, but we thought that was an impossible goal and we gently suggested that she might consider changing it. She wouldn't hear of it.

She worked very hard, asking friends, neighbors, and people in the church to sponsor her. When that didn't bring her to her goal, she started going to businesses in Coquille, and eventually door-to-door. Every day after school, she'd head out--rain or shine--raising money. We are so proud of her determination and hard work. Brad and I were blown away when she announced that she had exceeded her goal. Wow!

Igor initially didn't want to ask for money (this simply isn't done in his culture), but once he tried it, he enjoyed the experience. He ended up raising around $240.

The event was this weekend. The kids were supposed to eat breakfast at home and be at the church by 7:00 a.m. They spent the time doing games and activities that taught them about living conditions and situations in other parts of the world. Each participant was given a card that described the role they would play during activities. It included age, background, and any physical disabilities the child they were portraying had. They also did some community service projects during their 30 hours together.

The group did a presentation at church this morning and announced that they raised over $3400--enough to feed nine children for a whole year! After church we had a potluck to help the kids break their 30 hour fast.