Last year we went to Feed My Starving Children for the first time as a part of Noah's Kindness Project and we had so much fun, and were so moved by the experience, we decided we knew we had to do it again.
While it is hard to describe the experience, simply put it is very humbling and moving. Never before did I realize how many people in this world are dying from hunger. Having food readily available is something I always take for granted. I can't imagine going hungry like so many of these children and families do on a daily basis. Here again are some of the startling statistics
Today 6,200 children across the world will die from hunger related causes.
You read that correctly.
According to Feed My Starving Children, by the end of THIS day more than 6,200 children across this world will DIE from hunger related causes.
We are lucky to be included in those who are fortunate enough to never have to worry about where our next meal will come and as one of the lucky ones, we feel it is important that we try to do something to help address this problem.
After the very powerful experience last year, we felt called to go back. Their process is pretty simple... Volunteers sign up to help pack meals, people donate money to help fund the meal ingredients and meals are donated to FMSC food partners around the world. Kids are fed and LIVES ARE SAVED!
In our most recent visit (on Noah's birthday our family went back and heard the story about a baby who was on the edge of death because he was starving to death. Here is that story...
Baby Judeson’s mother knocked on our food partner’s gate. She was looking for someone who could help save her baby.
“I looked at the child and saw death in his face,” said Sandra, an FMSC food partner. Eight-month-old Judeson weighed only four pounds. His eyes were sunken and his skin was shrinking around his bones.
“We held the baby and prayed over him,” Sandra said.
Judeson was rushed to a hospital. He was severely undernourished and had a bad infection. Doctors said he had just hours to live.
Sandra receives FMSC meals through her ministry Help For Haiti, Inc (HFH). She had FMSC MannaPack™ Potato-W meals and asked the doctors to feed them to Judeson.
After a few days of medical treatment and FMSC meals, he grew a little stronger. Days later he was released from the hospital! Sandra gave his mother MannaPack Potato-W to feed him at home, as well as MannaPack Rice for her to eat. They both began eating nutritious FMSC meals consistently. As a result, their health soared. Judeson’s mom was able to provide enough breast milk to feed her son again.
Judeson gained several pounds. He learned to stand.
"We saw a dying baby miraculously develop into a 10-pound happy little boy. We saw the miracle of what MannaPack Potato-W and prayer can do," Sandra said.
“I looked at the child and saw death in his face,” said Sandra, an FMSC food partner. Eight-month-old Judeson weighed only four pounds. His eyes were sunken and his skin was shrinking around his bones.
“We held the baby and prayed over him,” Sandra said.
Judeson was rushed to a hospital. He was severely undernourished and had a bad infection. Doctors said he had just hours to live.
Sandra receives FMSC meals through her ministry Help For Haiti, Inc (HFH). She had FMSC MannaPack™ Potato-W meals and asked the doctors to feed them to Judeson.
After a few days of medical treatment and FMSC meals, he grew a little stronger. Days later he was released from the hospital! Sandra gave his mother MannaPack Potato-W to feed him at home, as well as MannaPack Rice for her to eat. They both began eating nutritious FMSC meals consistently. As a result, their health soared. Judeson’s mom was able to provide enough breast milk to feed her son again.
Judeson gained several pounds. He learned to stand.
"We saw a dying baby miraculously develop into a 10-pound happy little boy. We saw the miracle of what MannaPack Potato-W and prayer can do," Sandra said.
Hearing Baby Jude's story is just one of many that makes my heart ache to think of just how many children are dying simply because they don't have enough food. When we live here with so much (and so much wasted), I feel guilty not doing anything. So that's another reason why we are going back. If we can do ANYTHING to help, I feel truly called. We ask you to please join us for the afternoon. I promise you it will be an experience you will never forget, and on top of knowing you have done something to help save children's lives, you will have fun too.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1) SIGN UP TO HELP US PACK MEALS:
So here is how we plan to help. We have reserved a group volunteer shift for Saturday afternoon from 2-4 p.m. in Mesa, AZ and we invite those who are available to join us for the Noah's Kindness Project team. If you are local and would like to be a part of our team to help pack meals, please sign up here.
2) DONATE TO HELP PURCHASE FOOD
If you are unable to help pack food, or are not local, but still feel called to participate in this act of kindness with us, you can still help! Because this group is a non-profit and they have to purchase the ingredients for the meals, they ask for donations to help offset the cost of the food. If you would like to donate to help provide meals, please visit their donation link here. If you so choose, please check the box and mark that you are donating as a part of Noah's Kindness Project.
3) or Do BOTH!
We hope you'll consider joining us for what will be a very moving and impactful experience. Children who are 5 years or older are welcome to participate so bring your whole family if you'd like. Please sign up today.
Thank you and until next time,
Angie and Jarrett
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